Page 87 of Reclaimed By My Ex’s Bratva Brother

Rory was still at home, waiting for me to make dinner. He might complain it was awful, but he always ate every bite. I kicked hard, dragged more air into my throat.

Varlam reached Brinny, held her firmly above the water. She immediately went limp in his arms. She'd been slapping at the water moments ago. Now she didn't move. Her face pressed against his shoulder.

Varlam tapped her cheek. She didn't respond.

"Brinny, look at me." Panic crept into his voice.

Crew members lowered the platform, prepared to pull them up.

I could only watch as Varlam swam farther away with Brinny in his arms. He pushed her onto the platform first, then gripped the edge and hauled himself up.

I clawed at the water, tried to stay afloat.

"Varlam, I'm still here!" I coughed violently. Tears and seawater blurred everything.

The night waves got rougher. One after another, pushing my chin back under. Fear gripped my heart. I had no doubt I would die here.

The current dragged me farther from the yacht. I could still see the people on board. Could still see Varlam kneeling beside Brinny, gently brushing wet hair off her face, then lowering his head, pressing his lips to hers. CPR.

My chest felt like someone had punched straight through it. All his attention was on Brinny. And I was still hoping he'd remember there was a second person in the water.

Varlam bent down again and breathed more air into her. Brinny coughed up water violently. Her eyes opened. She grabbed his shirt, frightened. She said something I couldn't hear. I only saw her crying as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Varlam immediately lifted her.

"Get a hospital on the line!" Varlam shouted as he carried Brinny into the cabin.

My heart went completely cold. The cold burrowed into my bones. I couldn't feel my hands or feet anymore.

I didn't even know if anyone on the yacht remembered I was still in the water.

"Help... here..." My throat produced barely a rasp.

Finally, white light flickered across the water, then disappeared behind a closing wave. Everything from the yacht vanished. I sank. Only the muffled sound of water in my ears. I really was going to die. I'd never see Rory again. My consciousness was being pulled away. I closed my eyes, unwilling.

Just as my awareness was about to fade, a hand suddenly clamped around my wrist. Another arm came from behind, caught my shoulder, dragged me up.

Was it Varlam? Had he come back for me?

"Hold on!" The voice came through the water, distant, like from another world.

But it wasn't Varlam. My mouth filled with bitterness.

I felt myself being pulled away from the deepening dark. Then my body landed on something solid.

Hands pressed on my sternum. Once. Again. Water surged up my throat. I turned my face and coughed violently. The first breath felt like fire, burning all the way down into my lungs.

"Easy. Breathe." Someone held my shoulder, kept me from thrashing.

I was placed on a bed. The air warmed, but my body shook harder. My teeth chattered, a sound I couldn't control.

"She's hypothermic." The voice wrapped more thermal blankets around me.

I don't know how long I lay there. Minutes. Maybe an hour. Varlam never appeared. My chest ached with that suffocating pain again.

I half-registered being lifted. When I finally caught the scent of antiseptic, I slowly opened my eyes.

The yacht had docked. Several ambulances lined the shore, lights flashing.

One ambulance had its rear doors open. Brinny lay on a stretcher inside, oxygen mask over her face. Varlam sat beside her, completely focused on her. My stretcher was pushed to the other side. The restraints clicked into place.