Page 100 of Shallow Remains

“It’ll b-be okay,” she blurted, gasping for breath, praying it was true. The cold was taking hold, sinking deeper and draining her remaining strength. Her breaths came in shallow hitches. It felt like steel cables were clamped around her ribcage, preventing her from getting a full breath.

But she wouldn’t let go. She would not let him go.

Another swell of fear swamped her when a wave broke over her head. She kicked hard, fighting to get above the surface. When her head popped through she hauled in as much air as she could.

But the boat seemed just as far away as it had when she’d started for it. Maybe farther. As if the waves and current were pulling it away from her.

Over the frantic pounding of her heart, she heard a rhythmic thumping above her. Moments later a powerful wind bore down on her, spraying water in her face. She clenched her eyes shut, then forced them open a sliver to look up and saw the helicopter hovering above them.

Blaine. Blaine had come for them.

Another sob caught in her throat.

An instant later, someone leaped out of the helo and plunged into the water feet first a dozen yards away. The man surfaced almost instantly and gave a thumbs-up to the helo. The aircraft rose and drifted away slightly, reducing the blast of air and water.

Maddy struggled to keep her legs moving, arms and legs numb and heavy. She had to glance at her numb hand to make sure she was still holding onto Lachlan.

The man in the water was cutting toward them in a front crawl with sure, strong strokes, the end of his snorkel staying above the waves. He lifted his head as he reached them.

“Grey,” she croaked, and started to cry.

“Maddy. You okay?”

She nodded jerkily. He was so calm. She was on the verge of a breakdown. “He’s h-hurt.”

He swam the last stroke to them and checked his brother. “Lach, it’s me. You good?”

“Y-yeah,” Lachlan wheezed. His lips were blue and his voice was weak. Head injury from the explosion? Hypothermia?

“I’m gonna tow you guys to the other boat and get you outta here.” Grey turned back to Maddy. “I’ve got you guys. Can you swim?”

She shook her head, still crying. Trembling all over, so hard her teeth chattered. “M-my arm… Th-think it’s…br-broken.”

“Can you keep holding Lach’s jacket?”

“I d-dunno.” She was done. Completely exhausted and freezing.

“If you can’t, all you need to do is float. You’re gonna be okay. I’m right here, and I’m gonna get you both out of here.” He moved in behind Lachlan and wrapped an arm around his brother’s chest in a rescue hold, supporting the back of Lachlan’s head on his shoulder. “Here we go.”

“B-Blaine…”

“He’s tracking us from the helo, but there’s nowhere for it to set down around here. The Coast Guard is deploying, but we’re not waiting that long.”

Oh God, the boat. “B-boat eng-gine…d-dead.” Eve probably was too at this point.

“Maddy.”

Her gaze jerked to him. He was looking right at her as he swam, towing them both back toward the boat with steady progress. “Curl up on your side to conserve your body heat and focus on your breathing. It’s gonna be okay.”

She wanted to believe that, so she did as he said, let go of Lachlan’s sleeve for an instant to wrap her forearm under his arm and lock it in the crook of her elbow. The waves kept bobbing them up and down as Grey pulled them through the water. Their progress seemed agonizingly slow, but Grey never stopped, relentlessly pulling them toward the other boat.

When they reached it at last, he grasped her right upper arm and steered her to the edge. “Reach up and put your arm over the side.” He helped her. “Good.”

Then he wrapped an arm around her hips. “On the count of three, I’m going to boost you up so you can climb in. Ready? One. Two. Three.” At the last second, he set his palm on her butt and shoved her upward.

Maddy threw a leg over the edge to anchor herself and scrambled over the side, her injured arm making it five times as hard. She hit the deck with a thud. Eve lay where she’d fallen in a horrific amount of blood, eyes partly open, bloody hands lying palms up on the deck, her skin waxy and grey.

Maddy looked away, shaking so hard she could barely get to her knees. By the time she turned around, Grey was already in and hauling Lachlan after him.