Page 42 of Anchored to the Storm

“Besides Saleeni?”

“Maddox!”

“Okaaaay.” Rushed, I replied, “The shared dream was the day of the accident with Dad. Saleeni was with her family. They were agitated, but she was too young to notice, so she didn’t stay close to them.” I swallowed. “It’s what saved her.”

His head drew back. “From what?”

I drew in air to speak of that horrid day. “From the bomb attached to a bridge’s pillar.”

Through the cell, now on speaker, I heard a sharp intake of breath.

My Life Date was so cursed, it even took poor Saleeni’s family. How could she ever forgive me?

Styx quickly stepped forward, putting us face to face. “Real important, so listen the fuck up.”

So intimidated by this reaction, I didn’t say a word.

He asked, “Were they following you up the bridge?”

My brows bunched as my face crinkled. “The sea-dudes and dudettes?”

He poked my forehead, then growled, “The men trying to kill Lennox.”

I didn’t want to relive the memory, but Styx, being somewhat frantic, told me I had no choice. I thought back to the day… Sunshine… Bullets…. I swallowed, begging my throat not to implode. I had to be able to speak. “The last time I looked back, a bike was catching up and going to follow us right up the bridge.”

The voice over the phone groaned, “They didn’t know of the bomb⁠—”

Styx was paler than I had ever seen him. “Because they didn’t plant it.” He stumbled back a few steps. “That bomb wasn’t for us.”

“Fuck. Me,” growled from over the cell. “I’m on it here.”

The line went dead, so I asked, “What is he on there? Styx, am I missing something?”

Appearing to be in shock, he stared up at all the monitors in the lagoon. “But I haven’t seen a soul.”

I glanced behind me at a few monitors. “What do you mean?”

Stressed, he jogged out of the pool to another set of monitors, hitting buttons and replaying past recordings. “This can’t be.”

Standing next to him, studying the screens yet not knowing what I was looking for, I asked, “Gramps, you losin’ it?”

“Maybe I mistook a raccoon or something.” He kept searching and searching. Finally, he said, “Nothing. No one.”

My heart was beginning to pound. This old dog was sniffing the air for something I couldn’t see coming. “Styx, please talk to me.”

Seeming mystified, he stepped back from the screens. His mind was elsewhere as he spoke to himself aloud. “Is that why I couldn’t get any answers? They truly didn’t know?” Lost in thought, he walked away slowly. “That means someone else is involved—” He spun to face me. Pointing to my chest, he said, “And you’re safe for now.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yes, maybe that was only a coincidence?” He faced the wall of my room as if seeing through it. “Maybe they don’t know she survived.”

My ears perked. “You talkin’ about Saleeni?”

“But who are they? How’d they know where they were?”

I was getting beyond frustrated. “River Styx, I demand you talk to me.”

As if he were in boot camp, Styx faced me. The only part of his posture that didn’t meet military stance was his lack of salute.