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She turned to reach for Ethan, but he was doing some commando shit to get himself on board.

A woman in a hoop skirt whipped the cloths off the tables to wrap them up.

The cloth was a thin polyester, but anything was a gift.

“Body heat,” Ethan said, holding his tablecloth wide, and Piper finally got what she’d wanted since she was in the hall at Alabaster: a reason to run into his arms.

She remembered Chanti’s persistent admonition, “Be careful what you wish for.”

This wasn’t anything Piper could have envisioned to get to her goal.

They collapsed together onto the deck, partly protected from the wind by the bar with its flashing red, white, and blue lights.

Absurd. Absolutely mind-bogglingly absurd.

Both of them were heaving for breath.

Both of them trembled from cold.

Ethan had turned her away from him so he could wrap his whole body protectively around her with a, “Sorry, I’m about to yell.” He lifted his chin. “Tango, follow.” He seemed to focus hard on the shoreline, then he tucked back down around her. She tipped her head back and rested it on his muscled chest.

“That your dog?” a guy asked. “She’s got something in her mouth. She put it down.”

Three sharp barks cracked the silence.

“Tango, follow,” Ethan yelled.

“She’s got it again,” the man said. “Looks good. She’s coming along with us. How the heck did the two of you get in the river?”

A woman came up to them, using the table to help her down to one knee so they were eye to eye. “Sweetheart, your bra and panties are see-through. I just bought this T-shirt from up by the Smithsonian. I’m a men’s three X, so it should cover you up. Maybe keep you a little warmer.”

Piper looked up. She’d lost her ability to reach or speak.

“Thank you, ma’am. She’s having a medical emergency.” Ethan took the shirt. “Can you make sure the captain called for an ambulance?”

“I heard him. He said we’re pulling in just up the way here, and they have rescue heading to meet us.”

While the woman struggled back to her feet, Ethan worked the shirt over Piper’s reluctant arms, and she knew Ethan was only in his underwear, too. Cold, too.

“You all hunker down there.” The man held up his binoculars. “I’ll keep an eye on the dog.”

“Thank you, sir.” Ethan lowered his voice. “Piper, I need you to keep talking to me. I’m worried about shock.”

Shock.

That was dangerous. She was still in danger. She didn’t know what to say. Her teeth rattled as she opened her mouth.

Ethan seemed to understand that her brain wasn’t firing right. “How about you tell me what happened on the bridge?”

Piper thought back, trying to remember.

There had been the van. And she thought—hoped—that it was probably Ethan and Tango. To be honest, the chivalrous gesture would have been much appreciated. Her heels were bleeding.

As she moved toward the passenger window to look in to see if she was right, a large man in a psychedelic hoodie blocked her path; a medical mask covered the bottom of his face, and sunglasses protected his eyes.

The side door slid open to another man dressed in the same uniform.

And while Piper couldn’t process what was happening, her survival instincts had her spinning toward help.