Page 44 of Blue in the Deep Blue Sea

I rushed to the sofa, grabbed the white linen pants, and yanked them on, hopping on one foot until I pulled them up to my waist. I didn’t even bother looking for shoes. Barefoot, I rushed out of the suite.

My breathing matched the pounding of my heart. The only sound filling my ears was the dull thud of my feet against the carpet as I sprinted across the upper deck. I reached the door leading to the outside stairs, grabbed the handle, and shoved.

But it was locked.

I spun around and raced for the lower deck instead. The doors to the staff cabins stayed shut. I had no intention of wasting time knocking to find out who had screamed. The moment I pushed through the door leading to the aft deck, I spotted someone crumpled on the balcony.

Blue…

My throat tightened. I swallowed hard as I rushed to her side.

She turned her head toward me, but her eyes stayed fixed on the covered plunge pool below. Tears clung to her lashes, streaking her flushed cheeks. Her fingers were wrapped so tightly around the railing that her knuckles had turned white. Angry red scratches marked the backs of her hands, fresh enough that a few of them still wept blood.

Was she really that scared?

“Are you…” I swallowed again. “Okay?”

She shook her head. A sob tore from her throat, a few drops of spit landing on my hand as she struggled to loosen her grip on the railing and point somewhere.

I followed her trembling finger to the sun deck below.

“The pool?” I asked.

She nodded, burying her face back into her knees, her whole body shaking.

I crouched beside her. I wanted to touch her, to do something, but my hand only hovered above her head. I closed my eyes, let out a slow breath, then pulled it back. Straightening, I took off toward the plunge pool.

By the time I reached it, the hooded man was not even here. Still, something felt off.

I scanned the deck, then looked at the pool. The waves slapped against the yacht, mixing with the faint sloshing beneath the white cover.

A hand print pressed up from underneath it.

I gasped.

Rushing to the edge, I untied the cover and yanked it off the pool.

The moment it came free, a woman burst to the surface. Half her body collapsed onto the wooden deck while the rest remained submerged. She dragged a hand through her soaked hair and coughed violently, water spilling from her lungs before she hauled herself completely out of the pool. Only when she rolled onto her back did I finally see her face.

Isabella.

She braced a hand against the deck and cried out. Then she covered her face before dropping both hands to the wooden boards again, her fingers scraping frantically across them as she fought to steady her breathing.

“You good?”

“I…” She coughed up another mouthful of water, then lifted her face toward me. “I’ll be fine.”

I nodded, my eyes moving to the balcony railing on the lower deck.

“How afraid is she?” I asked quietly, almost whispering.

“Not that much.” Isabella pressed her lips together and gave a small shake of her head.

I raised a brow and walked past her. Halfway there, I turned around and tilted my chin toward the stairs.

“You coming, or do you want another swim in the pool?”

She muttered a curse under her breath in Italian, probably condemning my entire bloodline, before pushing herself up and stomping after me, her wet feet leaving dark prints across the deck.