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“I did nothing to you!” Evelyn replied. “The hammerhead did it!”
“Fuck you!” Penny howled as she fell on top of Evelyn and pummeled her with both fists.
Sylvia could barely see through the pain. Her leg was destroyed.
“Thane,” Sylvia said.
Thane dropped to a knee to help her.
“Help Penny,” she said.
Thane looked back and it was clear he didn’t know what to do. If he got in the middle of it, he might accidentally hurt Penny.
“I hate you!” Penny yelled as she climbed on top of Evelyn and clawed at her face, neck, and tits, slashing at her the best she could with the nails she had.
“I’m sorry,” Evelyn said. “I would never have actually—”
Penny smash
ed a closed fist against the woman’s jaw, and she went out cold. Thane ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. Penny trembled and cried. She sobbed into his chest, bellowing out all the pain she’d held inside since being knocked overboard.
“My baby,” she cried. “She took my baby away.”
“I know,” he said softly as he stroked her hair and held her tight against his body.
“Thane!” Sylvia yelled.
Behind him, Evelyn climbed to her feet, blood staining the spot where she’d been lying, and pitched herself over the railing and into the water. Sylvia stood to try to go after her, but she fell to the ground in pain. She couldn’t do it. Thane could have, but he didn’t. He only held Penny as they both looked at the puddle of blood in awe.
Chapter 32 – Rafe
Rafe’s injuries were the easiest to heal. He’d been gashed and sliced and torn into by jagged jaws, but the amount of blood lost by Cobalt was so much the sand ran red between them. The blue mist of Horace’s tent seeped into their wounds and swirled around them, filling their mouths and nostrils. Rafe looked through bleary eyes to see Kalina behind him. She was in bad shape too. Blood ran from one of her eyes and she breathed in shuddering gasps. Rafe reached out to her and held her hand, giving it a squeeze and hoping she could feel that he was there for her. He would have moved to her side if he could, but the pain was too immense.
Outside the tent, Horace healed minor wounds. Rafe could only see through a sliver of space between the tent flaps, but it looked as if Squid was having a black mud-like substance smoothed over his shoulder. They would all be okay.
Two days later, Rafe was fully healed and he found out how wrong he’d been. They were not all okay. A nasty scar decorated the right side of his body and smaller ones were on his neck and ass. In the real world, the one where people didn’t walk around naked all that often, he wouldn’t have worried anyone would see it other than maybe a lover he’d decided to be with in broad daylight. In his new life, this scar would adorn his body every time he stepped naked out of the ocean. He’d have to get used to it. It could have been worse. He could have ended up like Beanie, out there somewhere in the ocean, probably shark food. He missed his buddy, and only last night, after a few drinks, his mind had raced with flashbacks. Beanie had been one of the happiest people he’d ever known, and Rafe had brought his friends into this war as if he were asking them to volunteer for a surfing competition. Beanie, Hightail, and Squid had accepted the invite excitedly. If they’d only known. If Rafe had known. Now, after all they’d been through, he knew they all would have opted out. They had been young-hearted, dumb, and always impulsive. Now, Beanie was dead.
And Kalina…
He loved Kalina so much his heart hurt whenever he thought about her. The way she’d dealt with losing an eye… it said so much about her strength and her tenacity. Of course, she’d cried, but she hadn’t let it stop her. She’d only allowed a few tears, far less than Rafe had expected. Yet, given the circumstances, and all else they’d lost, Kalina had said she was thankful to be alive.
“I’ve lost an eye,” she’d told him only last night. “Penny lost a child, and Paisley… Paisley lost a good man. One of the best.”
Rickshaw hadn’t made it. Penny had told them all the story as Horace was healing Sylvia’s knee. Paisley hadn’t been able to listen. She’d gone off someplace to cry. Her wails upon first hearing of Rickshaw’s death still gave Rafe chills.
“When you left us to go to the festival,” Penny had told them. “Rickshaw…he tried to stop them. He watched over us like he was ordered to do. But Evelyn… she… she showed up with six men. They’d walked onto the beach and into our camp like they owned the place. Rickshaw hid us in the trees. But one of the kids sneezed. It was an accident. But it was enough. They came at us hard. All they wanted was me. If I’d known that, I would have stepped out and let them take me, but we didn’t know. We thought they wanted to kill us all. So, we fought. We fought the best we could for pregnant women. Rickshaw held off three of the guys, but a fourth stepped in and used our wood chopping axe. And then it was over. Once I saw that, I froze, and Evelyn swore she wouldn’t hurt the children if I went with her. So, I did.”
They’d found the blood covered axe next to Rickshaw’s body. The kids hadn’t been harmed, nor had Ruby. Evelyn had stuck to her word. All she’d wanted was Penny. And she’d succeeded.
Rafe could only imagine the pain Paisley was going through. And the anguish Penny and Thane must have felt losing a child. He’d almost lost Kalina. Both of them had almost ended up dead. If the sharks hadn’t saved Rafe and if Kane hadn’t saved Kalina, they would have perished in the ocean. All he knew now was he wouldn’t waste another second wondering what life might be like with Kalina. He was going to start that life right now.
Chapter 33 - Kalina
Kalina had tried to warn Rafe and his friends what would happen if they got involved in this war. In some ways, she was pissed at Faith for going against her wishes and turning Beanie and his friends into shark shifters. This wasn’t a day camp. It wasn’t a joke. Making mistakes in this lifestyle meant dire consequences. Now, Beanie was gone. Rickshaw was gone. The baby… Penny and Thane’s baby was gone.
Kalina blinked and her eyelid felt heavy. Her left one was stitched shut and covered with white gauze. She was a pirate, or she felt like one anyway. How could Rafe love someone who looked like her? This was a Halloween costume, not part of an everyday ensemble. She’d have to wear an eyepatch once her wound healed properly. Earlier today, he’d winked at her flirtatiously, and the thought crossed her mind that he might be making fun of her. Of course, he wasn’t, but the thought was still there, and she realized this would be hard work, accepting that he might still find her attractive.
I’m so vain. All the others have gone through so much. They’ve suffered such loss, and here I am worried about what my boyfriend thinks of me.
