Page 45 of Kyle

“I told you I would, sweetheart. Just try to relax.” He looked around then yelled, “Declan!”

Declan swam to us and tread water, too. “Hold her while I pull out a life vest.”

My body went solid as Kyle transferred me to Declan.

“Anaya,” Declan called. “Look at me and breathe.” I heard Kyle mutter a curse before Declan started talking to me. “You’re safe. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

I was being ridiculous. “I know. I’m sorry. I don’t think you’d hurt me.”

“Nothing to apologize for.”

Kyle fitted a deflated life preserver over my head and fastened the straps around my waist before he pulled the handle and the rubber inflated. Declan slowly let go, testing my buoyancy. When I didn’t sink, he pulled his pack off and started rummaging through it until he came out with his own life preserver.

“Always prepared,” I muttered gratefully.

“Always,” Declan said and smiled.

Kyle was bobbing in the water next me, studying my face with a grimace.

“Does it look bad?” I asked.

“Motherfuckers.”

It wasn’t necessarily the answer I was after, but it pretty much told me everything I needed to know.

“My ribs are the worst,” I told them. “It hurts when I take a deep breath.”

“Anywhere else?”

I held my chafed wrists out of the water. “This and whatever happened to my face.” Kyle nodded and brushed a few strands of hair off my forehead. “Thank you for coming.”

“I’m so fucking sorry it took us so long.”

“You made it just in time. He was getting ready to kill me.”

“Who was?”

“I don’t know his name. He was tall, black hair, looked like an Italian.”

Kyle’s eyes squinted and his jaw ticked. “He won’t ever get near you again.”

“I’d guess not. The boat exploded,” I reminded him.

“He was dead before that happened.”

A piece of debris floated by and Kyle pushed it away as he inflated his flotation device.

“I can’t believe that just happened.” Both men looked at me with their brows pulled together. “That really happened, the boat exploded.”

Without warning, lunacy hit and a laugh bubbled to the surface. I was alive. They made it to me in time. My giggle started slowly until my body was shaking with laughter. Each time I moved it felt like someone was stabbing me in the side but I couldn’t stop it.

“Sweetheart?”

“Oh my God!” I croaked and my hilarity turned to sobs. “The boat…”

“Anaya, look at me,” Kyle murmured at the same time Declan muttered, “Fuck.”

“He was going to kill me.” I tried to stop the tears from coming but all of the emotions I had bottled up spilled over and I couldn’t stop them. “I promise I didn’t tell.”