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Harper felt like she was tumbling around in a washing machine. Every time she managed to right herself, another wave tore through the narrow cavern’s tunnel and she got sucked under and began to somersault, head over heels.
Ironic because that’s exactly how she felt about Ryland. He’d swept into her world and flipped it completely upside down. But she wouldn’t have changed a damn thing.
Even if that meant she was going to die right now.
Because spending the past week with Ryland had been the highlight of her life. He showed her how she deserved to be treated and he worshipped her like no one ever had before. The kindness, playfulness and fierce protection he’d shown her meant so very much.
Harper had been hurt badly by her ex and Ryland was like some magic eraser who came in and wiped all the hurt, anger and bitterness away. She was so incredibly grateful to him and, more than anything, she wanted to tell him what he meant to her.
But fear had held her back and now regret poured through her.
Harper hadn’t planned on drowning today, but sometimes fate had other things in store.
Lungs screaming, body bruised and fingers cut from trying to hold onto the sharp rocks, Harper had two options: give up or fight like hell.
And she decided to fight.
Lungs burning from the lack of oxygen, she kicked hard, using the last of her strength, and attempted to swim to the surface. Right before her head broke through, another massive wave plowed through the cavern and she went tumbling backwards, out of control and out of breath.
Before she could right herself, Harper’s head slammed against a rock jutting up from the floor. And everything went black.
???
Ryland prided himself on his ability to control his emotions, especially while on a mission. But now, a sick panic began coursing through his veins. He still didn’t see Harper anywhere. He also didn’t see their pursuers, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The worst of the high tide was over and the sea level was beginning to drop again. Ryland swam forward, kicking hard and using powerful strokes to cut through the water. He wanted to yell for Harper, but he didn’t want to draw unwanted attention and guns. Because right now they were like two flopping fish in a barrel. Vulnerable and easy to take out.
He was nearing the mouth of the cavern when he saw her floating face down on the surface, blonde hair spread out around her.
Ryland’s heart crashed against his chest and he swam harder and faster than he ever had in his life.Harper!his mind screamed. This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t moving, just rising and falling with the surf.
Please, no. Don’t take her from me.
They hadn’t had enough time together. There was so much he wanted to do with her. Things he wanted to tell her. Like how he knew from the first moment he laid eyes on her that she was different from every other woman who had ever crossed his path.
He’d seen a future with her flash before his eyes. And that had scared the shit out of him. It was the reason it had been so hard for him to ask her out. He was scared to fuck it up. And now he’d done more than just fuck it up.
He’d failed her.
Finally reaching her, Ryland grabbed Harper in a rescue hold and swam over to the rocks. He seized hold of an outcropping and hauled himself and her out of the suddenly calmer waters. Laying Harper down on her back, his old training surfaced, and he automatically started going through the steps he’d learned in the Navy.
Check for breath.Her chest wasn’t moving which meant she wasn’t breathing. Slapping two fingers on her neck, he found a weak pulse. He didn’t know exactly how long she’d been underwater, but the whole episode had been less than five minutes, and he needed to get her breathing again. That was most important. And that meant performing CPR with rescue breaths.
Dropping down, Ryland carefully tilted her head back and gave five initial rescue breaths before starting the cycle of chest compressions which would hopefully clear her airways and expel any water. After performing thirty compressions, he checked to see if she was breathing.
Nothing.
Godfuckingdammit.Shewas so cold and her normally flushed face was blue. His heart clenched and cold fear trickled through him.
First his father. Then his mother. Then Tanner. Now Harper. It was like an endless nightmare on repeat. The people he cared about the most dying, leaving him alone.
Ryland grit his teeth, determined to bring her back, and performed two more rescue breaths.
“C’mon, sweetheart. Don’t do this to me.Please,” he begged and started more compressions. The dark part of himself laughed and scoffed, telling him this was exactly what he deserved. After all the people he killed, it was karma that those he loved should be taken away. It didn’t matter that he’d been following orders or at one point even had noble intentions about saving the world from bad guys.
It all boiled down to one thing—Ryland was an assassin. He had been in one way or another since he’d been eighteen, enlisted and been trained to kill.
The woman he’d fallen in love with was gone. And it was all his fault. He never should’ve approached her, much less caught her up in his chaotic world. He’d never forgive himself.
