Chapter 9
HOLLYN STARED AT THEmassive ship moving on a trajectory that would pass right by their lifeboat. It seemed to be the perfect solution, but this was an unknown, and Hollyn didn’t have a good track record with the unknown.
She didn’t take her gaze off the large vessel headed toward them as she asked, “Do you think we can trust them to help us?”
He didn’t answer at first—simply worked to take off his harness so he could slip free from the parachute pack. He finally glanced up at the ship and shrugged. “Probably not. Be ready for anything.”
What?!Be ready for anything? How did one even do that? But before she could get more solid details, a dinghy left the ship and headed in the direction of their lifeboat. Clearly, they were going to have to prepare to meet more possible hostiles.
Hollyn looked toward the sky, a hand shading her eyes from the hot sun. The plane was returning, and she wasn’t quite sure they wouldn’t fire more missiles on all of them.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake! I just wish anyone working for my father would sink to the bottom of this ocean and never be seen again.”
Behind her, Hollyn heard movement before the sound of a splash made her turn around quickly. Her gaze raked over the scene before her. Her father’s hired man was nowhere to be seen on the boat.
“Did he just...?”
“Jump over the side of the boat? Yes. He did.” Kai finished her question and answered it.
“Why would he do that?”
“Um...he’s still under your control. You said you ‘wish anyone working for my father would sink to the bottom of this ocean and never be seen again.’ Those were your exact words, so that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
“What?” Without thinking, Hollyn dove over the side of the boat into the sea.
She resurfaced just as Kai looked down over the side and shouted, “Are you crazy? Get back in the boat.”
But she didn’t answer him. She gulped in a few deep breaths and began swimming down into the depths. Fortunately, the crazy man hadn’t made it too far down. He was simply dropping slowly into the dark water. Hollyn thought she heard a splash as she turned toward the sinking fool and began propelling herself quickly toward him.
The water looked empty of fish, and she prayed no dangerous wildlife suddenly showed up, but she pushed that thought out of her head and began swimming downward, fighting the need to take a breath.
Her heart started pounding as a dark figure came up beside her, but she realized quickly that it was just Kai. She glanced at his face, set in determined lines, and knew he wasn’t happy with her. She wasn’t exactly proud of the fact she had the ability to turn someone into a zombie, open to her every suggestion and whim. It was dangerous and frightening. It was too great of a power to have, and she wished she could make it go away.
The pressure of the water built around her, and though she could feel it, it didn’t deter her mission. Yet, her need to breathe was becoming insistent, and she pushed quicker toward the dead weight of the idiot who’d listened to her.
Kai and she reached him at the same time, and she wrapped her arms around his upper left arm as Kai grabbed his right shoulder. But with a determined shake of his body, the fool pulled free and began to propel himself deeper.
Hollyn met Kai’s watery gaze and knew he was ready to say good riddance, but she couldn’t give up that easily. She turned to swim even further down, persistence in every stroke of her arms and kick of her legs, but out of the darkness, three familiar shapes appeared and began circling her father’s man. Sharks! She knew they would show eventually. No doubt, the man’s open wounds from Kai and his fight on the plane had attracted the predators.
She desperately needed to take a breath, but she was driven by guilt to get to the hypnotized man. She was nearly on top of him when she felt Kai’s hand grab her leg and pull her back just as the first shark swam in for the attack. The man never tried to fight back, never even showed a sign of pain as the fish tore him apart.
Kai pulled Hollyn into his arms and pushed them both toward the surface. Hollyn fought him to get free at first, but eventually as the gruesome scene below grew further and further away, she turned her face toward the surface of the water and kicked her legs toward the waiting breath.
Once they broke the surface, they both gasped in air, pulling the relief of oxygen into their needy lungs. She pulled away from him and treaded water, feeling the anger in his gaze.
“Why did you do that, Hollyn?”
She didn’t mean to lose her shit, but emotion overwhelmed her, and she broke into heavy sobs. He pulled her tightly against him as they bobbed in the water, and she wrapped herself around him, accepting the comfort he provided.
The dinghy from the ship arrived at that moment and found the pair in the water, holding each other.
“Oh, ho! What have we here? Bath time, is it?”
Kai smoothed her hair back and looked at Hollyn. In a low rumble, he said, “It wasn’t your fault. He didn’t want to be saved.”
Hollyn finally steadied herself enough to reluctantly let go of Kai. He seemed reluctant to release her, too, as they stared into each other’s eyes. For a moment, Hollyn saw something in his gaze that she liked, something she wanted more of. He wasn’t judging her, though he probably should. For just a moment, he seemed to understand her pain. It gave her a sense that she wasn’t alone. Someone else saw her for what she was, and he didn’t treat her like a monster.
