Page 95 of Rescuing You

“They took everything. But this is not about that. We cannot. We will not.”

“Sweetheart.” He reached for her, but she backed away, bumping into the bed but not sitting.

Standing her ground.

“I am not going in the water. No.”

“If there were any other way⁠—”

“No. We are not going.”

“You have a plan B?” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice. But he didn’t lower it. “Because I’ve been over this and over it, and there’s no other way.”

“We sneak across the border. We go over the mountains like I did last time.”

“We’d have to go on foot. You think Jasmine can walk that far?” He flicked a gaze at the other twin, who’d slumped in a chair. Making his point. “I can have you in the US in forty-eight hours. How long did your way take? Weeks?”

Leila’s gaze flicked around the room as if there might be a solution hovering just out of sight. “We cannot swim.” Her voice was low, filled with fear.

“You don’t have to swim.”

“We will go in the water, and we will drown.”

“You really think I’d let that happen? After everything?”

“I think…I think you are doing your best.”

Which apparently wasn’t good enough for her highness.

Fury sparked inside him. He turned, marched back into his own room, and slammed the door. It didn’t latch, though, just bounced off the jamb. Stupid door.

Leila pushed it open. “You don’t understand what the smugglers are like. You don’t understand⁠—”

“You don’t understand.” Did she really think he’d let some smuggler swindle them? Did she really think one would dare? He was strong and intimidating. He had weapons. Did he really seem so inept to her?

He could buy functional life jackets. He could pilot a boat. It was only four miles from the coast of Turkey to Lesvos. People made the trip every day. Yeah, smugglers couldn’t always be trusted, but…

But what?

But smugglers would be too intimidated by him to give him a lousy boat?

Maybe. Maybe not, but even if they did, he’d be able to tell. He could demand better. But at what cost—in money, in time? In Jasmine and Leila’s well-being?

He’d seen videos of boats dead in the water, their engines lifeless.

Others simply leaked out air until they sank.

He’d seen a movie about two Syrian teenagers. When their boat had started to sink because it was overloaded with refugees, they got out and swam to Lesvos.

Was Michael really going to subject Leila and Jasmine to that?

He sat on the side of the bed and dropped his head into his hands.

Wisdom, Lord. Please.

He couldn’t exactly drag them through the water to the island, even if they did have life jackets on. If they couldn’t swim, and if the boat sank or the engine died, then they’d be in trouble.

Dead in the water.