Page 103 of Shallow Remains

She bit down on the inside of her bottom lip to keep from crying. Sat up and leaned forward, reaching for him.

Lachlan curled an arm around her back and drew her to the left side of his chest, burying his lips in her hair. Maddy pressed her face into the side of his neck and closed her eyes, struggling not to cry again. He’d almost died. It scared her so much how close he’d come to the edge because of her.

His hand moved up and down her back. “I’m okay, sweetheart. Thanks to you.”

She shook her head. She’d been too weak to save him. “That was Grey.”

“She raw dogged it and jumped in without a flotation device to swim to you with a busted wrist,” Grey said.

Lachlan’s hand stopped on her back. “It’s broken?”

“Eve did it. I need surgery.” She didn’t want to let go of him. Wished everyone would go away and let them be alone.

“Speaking of that,” said a female voice behind them.

Maddy lifted her head as Naya came over to them. She smiled at Grey. Didn’t seem to notice the way he stared at her as she focused on Maddy. “I just spoke to ortho. They’re prepping an OR for you now.”

A lick of panic streaked through her. “Now?” She’d never had surgery before. Didn’t want to leave Lachlan yet.

She looked at Blaine. Too much was happening too fast. She didn’t know what to do. Couldn’t think. She shook her head, too overwhelmed to put her thoughts into words.

“Let’s give them a few minutes,” Blaine said, and drew the others away.

“Grey,” Lachlan said as his brother reached the door. “Get the lights.”

Grey hit the button and the lights shut off, plunging the room into dimness. That and the sudden quiet, and being alone with Lachlan, helped the panic subside.

She sighed in relief. Tucked her head back in the curve of Lachlan’s neck. He smelled like saltwater and disinfectant. She thanked God he was still here. “Thank you.”

“Better now?”

“Yes. My wrist still hurts though.”

He made a sympathetic sound and kissed the top of her head. “They’ll fix it soon.”

“How’s your head?”

“Sore, but I’ll live.”

Yes. That was all that mattered.

“Eve’s dead,” she said into the quiet a minute later. It was so much easier to keep it together when it was just the two of them alone with the room quiet and the lights off.

“I heard. God, I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

She frowned. “For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

“You couldn’t have known what would happen. Neither of us could’ve, and you had to go to work.”

He grunted. Ran his fingers through her hair.

“I shot her, but that’s not how she died. A piece of shrapnel hit her in the throat when your boat blew up.” There was a certain amount of karmic justice that her own bomb had killed her.

“Jesus. You okay?”

“Not really, but now that I know you’re going to be okay, I’m better.” She didn’t want to talk about what had happened anymore. Or about Eve. Or any of it. Didn’t want to think about the explosion and seeing him floating in the water. She would never forget it.