Page 53 of Two Favors Repaid

Emma had never been a particularly strong swimmer, but she knew how to swim. She reminded herself of this as she splashed and choked, striving to keep her head out of the water.

She heard a loud splash beside her and panicked again before realizing it had to be Rob.

Rob surfaced cleanly. Even with his hands tied in front of him, he seemed to have no trouble keeping himself afloat.

His presence helped to calm her.

On the boat, Ford started humming a little tune. He was grabbing something heavy and dragging it towards them.

“What is that?” Emma gasped.

She watched Ford heave the small drum’s contents over the edge. The water around her turned oily and red. It was a scene directly from one of her nightmares.

“Relax, Emma. It’s just chum,” Rob said calmly, treading water beside her. His gaze was on Ford until the man disappeared from view, walking towards the cockpit.

Emma concentrated on staying afloat and breathing slowly.

In and out.

Chum.

In and out.

Sharks.

In and out.

Oh my God.

Emma resumed her thrashing. She was so panicked she didn’t even hear the sound of the engine as it started. And even though there was a madman on board, a part of her wanted to be up on that boat, anywhere but out here.

Alone.

“You’re not alone, Emma,” Rob said.

Emma realized she’d spoken aloud.

“I’m with you, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. She watched him squirm, his head going under for a second before coming back up.

“Are you okay, Rob?”

By the time he raised his head his hands weren’t bound anymore. “I had a knife strapped to my ankle,” he explained.

He looked once more towards the departing boat, by now just a dot on the horizon. “That asshole took my boat.”

This time, Emma couldn’t help but laugh.

“Keep swimming with me, Emma. You’re doing great.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

Rob arched an eyebrow. “We’re going to swim to shore,” he said.

Emma tried to find the shore with her eyes but could only see the ocean, all around them.

Just then a huge swell appeared in front of them. She saw Rob turn sideways and tried to do the same but was too slow. The water covered her head, and she breathed in salty water. Her clothes dragged her down. It brought her back to that night a year earlier when she’d known she was drowning. Panic got the best of her, and she thrashed. Something pulled at her, she no longer knew whether up or down. She tried to fight back, but her punches were feeble.

“It’s okay, Emma,” he said calmly. “Stay with me. Everything’s going to be okay.”