Chapter 27 #2
“Good. We need to get these papers inside. Sign them so we can get his ceremony going,” Heath tells Mattheus. Emma’s birth brother grins happily, then leans down and signs his name.
I turn my attention back to Emma.
Armed guards surround us. They’ll make the escape a lot harder—but not impossible if I can disarm the guy next to me.
“There. Signed. Now, when will my money be in my account?”
Heath looks down at the papers, then smiles, closes the folder, and hands it to the captain. “Right away.” Heath slings an arm around Mattheus’s shoulders and guides him toward the edge of the ship. “Brother,” he adds.
Mattheus grins at him, victory etched in every line of his face.
Because he doesn’t see what’s coming.
I do.
Heath shoves Mattheus overboard into the angry sea.
He screams as he falls, but I don’t wait for him to do the same to me.
I slam my heel down onto the foot of the guard who’s on my left.
He loosens enough that I rip my arm free.
I slam it into his gut, then rip his weapon from its holster, aim at the guard closest to me, and fire.
He goes down.
Chaos erupts as I sprint toward Emma.
Tori withdraws a knife and presses it to Emma’s throat. “Uh-uh-uh,” she says. “Put it down, or I’ll paint her pretty neck.”
I freeze.
A foot slams into the back of my left knee, then my right, dropping me moments before the gun is wrenched from my hand.
“Just what was your plan? Fight your way off a ship full of armed guards?” Heath comes around in front of me. “What a shame.”
As he’s glaring down at me, a man comes forward, wearing slacks and a white polo shirt. “Mr. Slater,” he says.
“What is it?” Heath snaps, though he keeps his gaze on me.
“You said to contact you if there was another ship in the vicinity?”
“Yes.”
“There’s one approaching now. Looks like a fishing boat, but—”
“Better to be safe than sorry. Okay. Time to speed this up. Grab him.” He snaps his fingers, and two of the guards rip me off of the ground.
I fight, thrashing my body, but the grip they have on me is far too strong.
“If you ask me, you’re getting off easy,” the guard to my left growls.
I don’t bite—because my focus is on the open safe in front of me. Just large enough for two people to slowly suffocate to death.
They shove me inside.
Emma screams.
“Don’t worry, little dove, you’re going in there too.”
“No! Leave her alone! This is between us. I’m the one you’re mad at.” If she makes it off this boat, she stands a chance at escape. My brothers will come for her. I know they will.
Heath shoves her into the safe with me. “I have no use for her. Mattheus just signed over the entire Karver fortune to a corporation that I own.”
“Your plan all along?” Keep him talking.
Heath grins. “Now I want you to die knowing that I plan to tear that ranch apart even if it means burning the entire town of Pine Creek to the ground.”
Rain falls in a single sheet, soaking the boat deck in an instant. The ship rocks, creaking as it rises and falls with the waves. Emma closes her eyes tightly, her hands squeezed into fists right in front of her face.
“This isn’t the end,” I tell him. “Even if we die here today, what’s coming to you is so much worse.”
“And what’s that?”
“Judgment day.”
He smirks. “I don’t fear fiction, cowboy.”
“My God is very real, and you’re going to find out way too late if you go through with this.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He steps back, gun still aimed at Emma. “Seal it up, then throw it over.”
Emma sobs, her entire body shaking.
The door to the safe slams shut, and the locks engage, plunging us into darkness.
God, be with us. Please, Lord. If it’s not good, then I know You’re not done.
“Baby, breathe.”
I can feel rather than see Emma shake her head.
Outside, I hear the faint hum of a motor seconds before the safe is lifted. I pull her closer to me, hugging her to my chest. Step one, make sure we survive the fall.
Thunder booms.
Step two, find a way to get out of the safe.
Step three—Lord, please let there be a step three.
The movement stops.
And then—we fall.
I hold her tightly, pressing one foot on the floor, one hand above us to try and brace for the fall. “Dylan,” she cries.
“I’ve got you, baby.”
We hit the water with such force that it slams the side of my head against the steel of the safe. Water begins to pour in from the bottom. Considering how quickly it does, I imagine they drilled holes to make sure it sinks nice and fast.
My heart rate remains steady. I didn’t lean on God back in that cave, and it cost me a piece of myself I only recently got back. I won’t make the same mistake.
I only wish I could see her face.
“This isn’t how I pictured your wedding day,” I whisper.
“Drowning? No, I can’t say I did either.”
“No,” I say. “Walking down the aisle toward anybody but me.” I trace her shoulders until I find her face, then I cup her cheeks and pull her forehead against mine. “I am so sorry I wasted so much time.”
“I’m so scared,” she cries.
“I’m not,” I tell her. “Because I know He has us. Even now, Emma.” The water is up to our hips now. We have a minute—maybe less. “I’ll see you on the other side.”
She laughs, and I brush her wet cheeks with my thumbs for a moment before guiding her toward me and pressing my lips to hers.
It’s just a kiss.
But for me, it’s deliverance.
Not from sin—no, Jesus Christ did that on the cross. He died so that we could be cleansed by His blood and stand spotless before God.
Her lips tremble beneath mine, fear rooting in her heart. I wish I could take it all away so she could feel the peace radiating through mine.
And if this kiss is my final act on this earth, then it was time well spent. My only regret is that I couldn’t free her from this fate.
Emma pulls back slowly, then presses her cheek to my chest. Her shoulders shake as she cries, and I wrap my arms around her, holding on tightly as the water continues to climb. It’s up to her shoulders now.
“Put your legs around my waist.” I lift her, and she does, keeping her in the oxygen a little longer. “Listen to me, okay? I love you. We’re going to be okay. No matter what happens, everything is going to be okay.”
“Okay,” she cries.
“‘The Lord is my Shepherd,’” I start, using the King James version of Psalm 23 that I memorized when I was a kid.
“‘I shall not want,’” she says.
“‘He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.’”
“‘He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake,’” she adds, voice trembling.
“‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.’”
The cold water hits my shoulders, and I know we’re seconds away now.
It climbs my neck, brushing the bottom of my ears.
“Dylan,” she cries.
“I’m right here, baby.” I hoist her up higher, trying to keep her toward the top.
“God, we ask that You be with us in this moment. Even if it’s not to take us to safety, we trust in Your plan.
Because when life is not good, You are, and Your promises are waiting for us.
Thank You, God, for the time you did give us.
” The water hits my chin. “I pray this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
“Amen,” Emma chokes out.
Water covers my mouth.
I close my eyes and wait, surrendering everything I have to the understanding that bad things might happen, but God is always good. Because it’s not what happens in this world that matters but what happens next.
And I finally know where I’m going.
The water begins to lower.
“What’s happening?” she asks, breathing ragged.
“God,” I tell her, joy surging toward me. “Thank You, God! Thank You!” I kiss her loudly and lower her so she can stand on the bottom of the safe, though I keep her close so I can brace her if we fall again.
The water continues lowering until we hit something hard. My head bangs on the back of the safe once more, but it doesn’t knock the smile from my face.
Because I’m not sure how I know it, but I know it won’t be Heath on the other side when that door finally opens.
Seconds tick by in the dark silence, with just our ragged breathing to keep us company.
Muted voices carry outside. Someone yells, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.
A loud whirring fills my ears, so I do what I can to protect Emma’s face as I imagine a steel cutter slicing through the hinges.
And then light.
Air.
Sweet oxygen fills my lungs as the door is lifted. Sunlight blinds me, but then a man comes into view, blocking it so my vision can clear.
He’s grinning at me.
“Tucker, I have never been happier to see you,” I say.
“You too, brother.” My twin grins and reaches in to help Emma out and to her feet. She’s shivering, her entire body trembling.
“Here,” Riley offers Emma a towel, and she wraps it around her shoulders.
I sit up, and Bradyn tugs me to my feet. “You guys took long enough,” I joke.
“We had to find a boat,” Riley says. “Silas came through for us. Seems the two of you share a friend who was more than happy to help us get you out of deep waters.”
My cousin comes into view, and I surprise him by pulling him in for a hug. He’s wearing a wetsuit, his hair soaking. Which means he was likely the one who dove down to hook the safe up to the crane they used to pull us out. “It’s good to see you, cousin,” he says.
“You too.” I pull away, then take a deep breath. “I’m sad I missed the action.” Heath is kneeling on the ground, his hands zip-tied behind his back. The captain is right beside him, Tori on his other side, and—to my surprise—Mattheus Karver is right beside her. Wet and furious.
Seven of the guards are dead, the others kneeling.
“Did you find Delta?” I ask.
“Nova and Elliot went to look for him. We assumed he was here when he wasn’t on the plane.”
“You found Jesper, then?”
Tucker nods. “When you didn’t show up in Maine, we tracked his financials and saw a payment of half a million dollars had hit his bank account. Then we tried to trace his plane, but it was untraceable. Had Delta’s tracker not come on when it did, we wouldn’t have found you.”
Right as he finishes, Delta, happy and unmuzzled, bolts around the side of the ship. I drop to my knees as ninety-five pounds of furry German shepherd slams into me like a speeding bullet. He spins in a circle, rubbing against me and doing what I’ve always called his happy dance.
“I love you too, buddy. I know. I love you.”
Nova and Elliot come around the side of the ship right behind him, both of them wearing relieved smiles.
Knowing my dog is safe too, I stand and turn toward Silas. “So which mutual friend do I have to thank for our rescue?” I ask, right as a man I never thought I’d see again steps into view.
His blonde hair is mostly covered by a worn baseball cap with an anchor on the front. He’s wearing a black sweater and holds out his hand when I cross toward him. “Dylan Hunt. It’s good to see you—alive.”
“Captain Knox,” I say, taking his offered hand. Zane Knox was lead of the SEAL team I trained with years ago, back when I was still in the service. He and Silas served together for a short period of time before my cousin was reassigned. “Thank you.”
“I’m just glad we got here in time,” he replies.
“Me too. Thank you,” I say again as I meet his blue gaze with my own. “Seriously.”
“God is the only One who gets the thanks. He cleared the skies for us,” he replies.
I tip my face to the sky and close my eyes. Thank You, God. When I open my eyes again, it’s to look at Emma. Nova is beside her, talking calmly to her as she rubs her arms on Emma’s shoulders. She’s shaking—but there’s a smile on her face.
Needing to hold her, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around her. She leans into me, resting her head on my chest.
“We need to redo that kiss-s-s,” she stammers.
“Anytime.” I cup her cheeks and tilt her face up to mine. “See, I told you He had us.”
She smiles. “He did.”
Leaning in, I capture her lips with mine.
It took nearly dying—again—for me to fully surrender to God. But I see now that He was always there. Waiting for me to accept Him and forgive myself for surviving when I lost all of my friends. I’d turned into the pain instead of laying it down at His feet.
A mistake I’m going to try really, really hard not to make again.
But even if I do, I know He will still be right there—waiting for me.
Because He is always good.
And if it’s not good, then He’s not done yet.