In the glow of the rising moon, arms and legs sliced through the waves as a Savage closed in on David’s boat. Liam revved his engine and gunned it toward the vampire who never stopped swimming to look at the vessel bearing down on him.
Grabbing Dylan, Charlie pressed his face against her belly and covered his ears to block out the resounding thunk the boat made when it ran over its target. Charlie glimpsed a lifeless body sinking beneath the waves when Liam pulled the vessel away. More splashes sounded as, uncaring of what happened to their friend, some of the Savages fleeing the island plunged into the sea.
Liam and David pulled out guns and started firing. Some of the Savages retreated to the beach, but some of the others remained undeterred. A couple of the Savages who fled to the shore turned toward them, their red eyes blazing through the darkness.
“We have to go!” Jack said and clasped Dylan and Charlie’s hands.
Charlie released Dylan’s shoulders and took his other hand as she ran toward the sea with him. She ignored the biting cold of the ocean and the way her lungs clenched as if they were already trying to protect themselves from water filling them again.
Just keep swimming. You can do this,she assured herself as the water rose to her waist. She released Dylan’s hand and dove into the ocean. Between the waves and the Savages, she felt as if she’d plunged into a sea of man-eating sharks.
Staying close to Dylan and Jack, she cut through the waves as she focused on remembering her lessons while fighting the pull of the undertow. It became increasingly difficult to breathe as she waited for a hand to seize her ankle and drag her to the bottom of the ocean.
The retort of gunshots pierced the air. Charlie couldn’t see the Savages over the swell of the waves, but she knew they were there, and they were just as desperate to reach the boats. Where were they? Were they beneath her and Dylan?
When she imagined a hand shooting up from the gloomy depths of the ocean toward her exposed belly, she buried her head in the water to see beneath her. All she got was a glimpse of the murky sea, a mouthful of water, and salt in her eyes. Spitting out the water, she cursed herself as an idiot as she wiped her hair from her eyes. She was only wasting time.
Kicking hard again, Charlie did her best to keep her eyes on Dylan. If something grabbed him, she would tear them apart.
Riding the next wave into the air, Jack saw two Savages closing in on Mike. David gunned his boat toward the Savages and ran them over before pulling up beside Mike and extending his hand to him.
“Get Dylan first!” Mike shouted at him.
Jack stopped swimming and grasped Charlie and Dylan to stop them as David guided the boat toward them. Bending down, David stretched out his hand, and Jack helped lift Dylan to him as Liam continued shooting at the Savages. Craning his head to see around the boat, Jack spotted Ethan and the others also firing on the Savages.
With Dylan settled in the boat, David grasped Charlie’s arm next and pulled her up. Jack and Mike gripped the sides of the boat and pulled themselves over before collapsing on the floor. Pushing himself up, Jack reached for Charlie as Mia draped a blanket around Dylan, and David put the boat in reverse.
Chapter Forty-Six
They spentthe rest of the night circling the island and shooting any Savages they spotted on the shore. A few times they stopped the boats and waited to lure in a couple of the more desperate and foolish Savages before killing them. The other Savages caught on that it wasn’t help in the water as, around midnight, they stopped trying to swim out to the boats and started fleeing when they saw them coming.
When they first climbed onto the boat, the Byrnes who hadn’t seen Jack yet navigated over to hug him and meet her. Charlie had always had a good memory and was able to remember their names, and he’d told her about all of them, but it was still a little overwhelming. The love they shared was evident on their smiling faces, and the joy Jack radiated as he embraced them all.
Now, with the ocean lapping against the sides of the boat and sitting with her back against Jack’s chest, Charlie felt safer than she had in years. With the blanket around his shoulders, Dylan knelt at the end of the seat to stare at the island with his hands on the side of the boat. Only blackened trees and seared earth remained on the island. Tendrils of smoke spiraled from the remains of the lighthouse, and in a few places, flames still lit the night.
“Before we stepped foot on the island, we destroyed their boats,” David said. “We risked drawing attention to ourselves by doing it then, but we didn’t want any Savages fleeing the island while we were on it.”
“Good,” Charlie said.
“Where did you disembark?” Jack asked.
“We swam in,” Mike said. “The cabin cruiser has a dinghy attached to it, but we decided against leaving anything on shore that the Savages could use to escape. We anchored the cabin cruiser and Liam’s boat further out to sea while Mia kept this boat free to help us if necessary. She picked us up off the island when we were ready to go.”
Dylan twisted in his seat to look at them. “How did she know where to find you when you were ready to leave?”
Jack tapped the side of his head as he smiled at Dylan. “Mated vampires can communicate telepathically.”
Dylan glanced excitedly between Charlie and Jack. “Canyoudo that?”
“Yes,” Charlie said.
“Awesome,” he breathed.
He moved away from the side of the boat to snuggle in against her side, and Charlie hugged him close while Jack rested his hand on Dylan’s shoulder. Through their bond, she felt a swell of love from Jack and realized it was for her son.
Tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She’d assumed Dylan would never have a father in his life, but she’d been wrong, and she couldn’t think of anyone who would make a better dad than Jack.
“We’re free,” Dylan whispered.
