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I don’t know what I’ll do the next time he does it, don’t know if I’ll stay or if I’ll go. But something in his eyes, something in the way he holds himself, tells me we’ll find out soon enough.
“Are you hungry?” he asks some time later, when Hunter finally slows the boat on the far side of Coronado and drops anchor.
I am, but I’m comfortable right where I am and don’t want him to move, so I shake my head. It works for several more minutes, until Emerson grabs my hand and pulls me across the deck to the ladder on the other side of the boat.
“Last one in is on cleanup duty,” she calls right before launching herself over the edge of the boat.
There’s a mad scramble behind me and before I know it, I’m caught up in it. In fact, I barely get my cover-up off before Tanner picks me up and throws me over the edge and into the water.
He follows seconds later with the kids, leaving Hunter and Shawn alone on the boat. At least until they both make a mad dash for the side.
Seconds later, Shawn’s wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me under. I go with him easily, luxuriating in the warmth of him even in the cold ocean.
The group of us spend the next forty-five minutes or so fooling around in the water. I stay pretty much to the surface, paddling around with Lucy and Emerson while the guys act like idiots.
Eventually I get cold and start thinking about climbing back into the boat. But when I swim over to the guys to tell Shawn, I realize he’s nowhere around.
“Hey, Hunter,” I call, trying to ignore the sudden clench of my stomach. “Have you seen Shawn?”
The Lightning’s star quarterback shoots me a strange look. “He was just here a second ago.” But he starts glancing around, too.
We wait a few more seconds and then a few more seconds after that, but there’s still no Shawn. The tightness in my stomach gets worse and I dive under the surface to look for him. The salt water’s hard on my eyes, though, and I can’t see much so I come back up.
It’s been nearly a minute and a half since I started looking for Shawn—which seems like nothing and like forever all at the same time. A quick look at Hunter and Tanner tell me they’re suddenly as concerned as I am.
And when Hunter shouts, “Emerson, take the kids!” I start counting even as I do my best to ignore the fear stalking me.
Tanner dives under the water and I follow him, all the while counting in my head. We’re coming up on close to three minutes now and there’s still no sign of Shawn. Two more minutes and—
I cut the thought off as soon as it can form. He’s a strong swimmer, stronger than me certainly, and I’m okay. He’s fine, I tell myself as I surface again. Fine, I say again as I gulp in a couple big breaths of air.
It makes no sense. One second he was right there and the next he was gone.
I dive back down at three minutes and twelve seconds. By now, panic is a live wire inside of me, tearing at my nerves and making it harder and harder for me to hold my breath as my heart rate spins out of control.
I surface again at four minutes. Usually I can hold my breath longer, but fear has me practically hyperventilating. Thoughts of sharks and God only knows what are tearing through my brain and even though I tell myself that we would have noticed a predator swimming around these waters, it does nothing to stop the images invading my head.
I glance around wildly, but Tanner and Hunter are both still under the water. Emerson is halfway up the ladder, Brent and Lucy in front of her.
“It’s okay,” she calls to me.
I nod back, trying to calm down enough that I can take a breath and dive again.
But as I pull air into my lungs and prepare to go back under, something grabs at my legs. I scream, kick out, but whatever it is pulls me down, deep and fast and hard.
I full-on panic now, kicking and thrashing around in a desperate bid to get free.
Whatever grabbed on to me lets go as fast as it took hold, and then I’m being dragged toward the surface…by Shawn.
“Hey, are you okay?” he gasps out when we break through the waves. “I was just fooling around—”
Rage swells deep inside of me, and I stop him with a fist to the gut. “Fuck you,” I scream as Hunter and Tanner surface several yards away from us and each other.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Shawn reaches for me, but I swim backward. If he touches me now I know I’ll hit him again.
“Where were you?” I try to modulate my voice but the words come out on another scream. “We looked everywhere—”
“I’m sorry. I was free diving. I didn’t think—”
