Suddenly, the machine gun jammed. “Fuck.” Xander spun around and hurried back over to Essie. “Let’s go!”
They raced across the deck, Xander gripping her arm to keep her going while he provided a barrier between her and Manuel. When a guard popped up and tried to attack, Xander swung the jammed machine gun like a bat, smashing it into face. The narco went down hard.
Just a little further.
Keeping Essie in front of him, they bolted down several steps and ran toward the motorboat bobbing on the waves ahead of them.
So close.
A gunshot rang out and Xander’s body jerked forward. He hit the deck like a sack of potatoes. For a stunned moment, he wasn’t sure what happened. But when he touched his side and lifted his bloody fingers, he knew he’d been shot.
And when Essie should’ve been getting on the boat and leaving his dumb ass, she ran back, dropping to her knees beside him.
“Oh, my God!” Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand.
He willed himself to get up, knew he had to stand, had to keep moving, but his body refused to cooperate.
You can do this. Get. Up.
Blackness began to creep in at the edges of his vision, growing closer and closer, until all he saw was Essie’s beautiful, very worried face staring down at him.
“Xander! No!”
Her voice faded away and, for a moment, he saw her lips keep moving. He had to inwardly smile because he was willing to bet she was yelling at Manuel. Giving him quite an earful of her fiery side.
You can’t leave her with him.
With one last supreme effort, he tried to force his limbs to work, but a searing burst of pain flared across his side, and darkness pulled him under.
The horror of the situation hit Essie like a sledgehammer. Manuel had shot Xander, and now the man she loved was bleeding out all over the yacht’s deck. Without a second thought, she’d dropped the gun and pressed her hands to his side, trying to stop the flow of blood. Saving Xander’s life was much more important. Besides, there was no way she could outshoot Manuel and his soldiers. Fear and fury filled her as she glared up at Manuel.
“Stay away from him!” she raged, absolutely beside herself. Xander wasn’t moving, his eyes remaining closed. He was so still. So unresponsive. Tears slid down her face. It couldn’t end like this. She couldn’t lose him. A sob tore from her throat.
“Now we’ve both lost someone today.” Manuel watched her with narrowed eyes.
“No.” She shook her head hard, refusing to accept it. She lifted Xander’s slack hand, pressing it to her chest, smearing his blood all over her hands and clothes. Pressing her lips to his knuckles.“You can’t die. You can’t leave me.” A sob racked through her body. “I love you, Xander.”
“Get up,” Manuel snapped. When Essie ignored him, he pushed the barrel of his gun against her temple. “Either get up right now, or you’ll join him.”
Forcing herself to move, she lowered his hand and dragged herself up to her feet. Her knees shook, threatening to give out, but she forced herself to push her shoulders back and meet Manuel’s angry gaze.
Xander is still alive.His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. Taking comfort in the fact he was still holding on, Essie prayed his friends would arrive and save the day. But there was no sound of an approaching boat. Just Manuel dishing out orders to a couple of his men and screaming for them to turn the boat around.
Then he kicked Xander and snarled, “Throw him overboard!”
“No!” Essie shouted. “He’s still alive!”
“Not for long. The sharks will take care of him.” Manuel grabbed her arm, his fingers digging so hard into her skin, she yelped. “You and I are going back to have a little talk with your brother. I don’t appreciate being lied to and tricked.”
“No,” she cried, trying to break free and help Xander. But Manuel was far too strong and started pulling her away.
Looking back over her shoulder, Essie watched, absolutely horrified, as two guards dragged Xander to the edge of the platform and heaved him over the side of the deck.
With a cry of despair, Essie’s world crumpled, and she wept for the man she loved and who would never hear her say the words.
The moment he hit the cold water, Xander’s eyes flew open. Coughing out a mouthful of briny ocean, he shifted into survival mode as the superyacht left him bobbing in its wake.
His very first thought: he’d been shot. It wasn’t the first time, but the last time it happened, it had only been a graze. This felt… worse.
