Page 113 of Endless Depths

My arms tremble as my strength drains. God, I wish I could take Cole’s place. He doesn’t deserve to die in such a painful way when he already survived that kind of pain.

Then, theBriarcorrects, rolling to starboard and knocking the trap back over the rail and into the ocean.

I exhale. We can afford to lose a couple grand in crab and equipment, but I can’t lose Cole again. I can’t lose any of them?—

My feet rip out from under me. Pain slices into my ankle, a bite from the coiled rope I must have tangled myself in. Fuck. I’m usually so careful.

I slam onto my back on the deck. Hard. I open my mouth to scream for help, but the force of impact knocked the air from my lungs with the same intensity as when I jumped into the near-freezing water to rescue Cole.

“Morgan!” Cole screams, running toward me.

He won’t be fast enough. The symmetry is not lost on me as the rope rips me down the deck and toward the rail like the tentacles of a sea monster dragging me into the depths. I fight to free myself, scrambling to kick off my boot, to grab the rope, to grab anything. Hell, I even try digging my fingernails in the wood to buy me time, but my gloves are in the way, and I’m out of time.

The rope runs out of length. My feet leave the deck, and my legs follow suit. Fleeting milliseconds are all I have left before a fatal ride to the bottom of the ocean with the crab trap.

Finn is going to be devastated. I promised I would come back, and I’d bring Cole back with me, but now he’ll have to suffer through losing another parent.

At least he’ll still have Cole. This trip changed him. He won’tabandon Finn. I just wish my death wasn’t going to hurt him. He better not blame himself again.

Fuck. I’m going to miss them.

A heavy weight crashes into me as Cole tackles me in a blur of motion, and straddles my lap, digging his knees into my sides. The rope strangles my ankle at the sudden stop, and the strain on my leg is excruciating, but there’s no limit to the pain I’ll take to stay with him and Finn. Lawrence skids to my side like he’s trying to steal home base, and pins my shoulders to the deck. Javi slams his body over my legs, yanking them back to the ground.

Alejo sprints toward us, but he’s too far away. “Cole, catch!” He tosses his folding knife.

Cole snatches it from the air, flips it open, and swivels toward my feet. Metal strikes metal. The rope severs. My feet fall back onto the deck with Cole still straddling my lap.

“I go where you go,” he says between frantic breaths as he presses his forehead against mine. “And we’re both going home.”

Tears glaze my vision. I hide inside Cole’s irises, catching my breath while my sluggish thoughts process how close I came to death, and my heart races ahead, still hopped up on adrenaline.

I wrap an arm around Cole, hauling him closer, and kiss him. “Let’s go home then.”

Cole told me some fishermen believe fallen sailors return as seagulls. I don’t know where souls lost at sea go when they die, but maybe they become the ocean, and when you miss them, you can summon them.

Maybe when you feel lost without your captain, he can lead you back to the boat that made your crew a family, and lure you out on deck, not to drown you, but to help you find a way back to your husband. Maybe a fallen captain can appear to his crew to help the new captain realize how much his crew needs him. Maybe he can save them.

Or maybe it’s all a coincidence, but it doesn’t feel like a coincidence. It feels like Seb taking care of us, like he always did.

THIRTY-ONE

Cole

TWO WEEKS LATER

“Cole Sunshine Morrissey,you are a Bering Sea fisherman. You don’t need to be afraid of a five-year-old.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple. “He’s going to lose his shit.”

Morgan raps the door. He texted Shay to warn her so Finn would answer. Footsteps race across the floor.

“You said I’m not allowed to open the door. Ever,” Finn’s muffled voice says. “What if it’s the pest guy on the electric scooter?”

“It’s not. I think,” Shay yells. “Just open it.”

“Pest guy?” I ask.

“He wants to sell us a pest control package and he’s very persistent.”

Morgan knocks again.