Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
This has to be karma. And I’m not talking about the town. No, this shit is some fucked up cosmic bitchslap.
Our boat is going down.
“Get your clothes.”
Ally, blinking sleepy eyes at me, scrambles off the bed into the quickly rising water.
It’s already shin deep and rising fast.
“There’s no way I can bail this. It’s going down. We’re going to have to swim.”
“Again?”
Leaping into action, with her mouth locked in a grim line, Allison makes a beeline for the clothing.
Seeing her upset again hits me hard.
Get it together, Truck.
Clicking into gear, I assess what we’re facing. As soon as we hit the shore, we’re going to be either in the jungle or on the riverbank.
The ocean beach is still a mile away at least. That was my goal for a place to spend the night. But that was with the boat anchored in a cove.
That plan’s shot.
We need supplies.
I snatch up the fabric I had worn around my waist and fashion a makeshift bag by tying the corners. “Grab everything you can that looks useful.”
Filling the cloth with provisions, I scan the boat for anything else we might want. Survival requires a minimum, but comfort is a different story.
Ally makes me consider everything from a different light.
“What happened to the boat?”
“Hard to say.” I grab some fishing line and hooks, shoving them into my pocket. “I didn’t inspect the boat before I took it. It was floating. The engine worked.”
“Stole it.”
“I planned to return it.”
She gives me a look—one raised brow—as she climbs onto the bed, which is now just a couple of inches above the rising water.
I have to force myself not to watch as she wiggles her pretty little ass into her pants, shirt and jacket.
Still no panties.
“Hey.” She tosses me my shirt.
When I snatch it out of the air, instinct has me shoving it to my nose, inhaling deeply as my eyes close. “God, I hate for this to get wet. Got your sexy scent all over it.”
“Here we are, about to go down with the ship.” She shoves my arm with a laugh as she hurries to the side of the boat. “And you’re worried about that?”
I chuckle and tug the shirt on over my head. “Can you blame me?”
She startles when I pick her up in my arms. No skin to skin this time.
I’m hating that she’s covered from wrist to toes now, but at the same time glad she’s protected.
With a wiggle, she protests, “What are you doing?”
“Getting out of here.” I hold her with one arm and set the bundle of supplies on top. “Hold these like your life depends on it, I’ll swim us to shore.”
“I may never go swimming again after all this is over.”
“You wouldn't have liked BUDS. It took weeks to dry out, but I agree, a nice clear tropical ocean would be nice right about now. At least I’m warning you this time. Here we go. Hold your breath.”
She makes a mmmph sound as we hit the water.
“See, that wasn’t so bad.” I roll the two of us over to our backs so she’s lying on my front and I’m behind her. For a beat, I just hold her, surprised at the spreading weight inside of my chest where there has only been a hollow feeling.
“Swim!” she says with a choked laugh.
That sweet sound of her happiness tightens my gut and makes my throat sting like I’ve swallowed a shot of lemon.
“Oh, right.” I force a laugh. “I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.”
Holding her against me with one arm lashed around her torso, I side stroke us toward the shore, working to angle us toward shore as the current sweeps us along.
“The boat’s going down,” Ally says as she peeks over our shoulders.
“I liked it. It was crude, but effective. I have fond memories of that bed.”
She groans, wiggling in my hold. “Great, now that we’ve… you know… you went down on me. Is that all you’re going to be able to think about?”
“I’m a guy.”
But truthfully, my mission objective has changed. My sex hormones are pumping like an oil well right now, my head is still a mess, but I have to keep Ally safe in the jungle.
Without a working satellite phone, we’re on our own.
The team will be looking for us, but that could mean hours or days before we get picked up.
All kinds of nightmare scenarios play in my mind.
Dangerous rebels.
Aggressive wildlife.
Poisonous creatures.
I have to stuff my growl down.
Fuck.
This is not good. I’m fine tromping around in the jungle by myself, or with other SEALs, but taking Ally there scares the ever-loving-crap out of me.
“You okay?”
“No. I’m pissed as hell and hungry.” More like hangry. And worried as fuck. And not sure what my next play in this jacked up drama is going to be.
Ally laughs. “Lord, I’d kill for a Big Mac right now.”
Even though I’m a proverbial shitstorm in my head, a laugh bursts out of me. “Now who’s talking about sex?”
“I was talking about a hamburger.”
“Are you sure?”
“What do you mean?”
“McMillon is my first name. Reese is the last. Mack is what I was called since I was a kid. Until I got into the teams and someone called me Mack Truck. And that’s how Truck happened.”
With a dramatic groan, she splashes me over her shoulder. “So, now you’ll tell me, I thought you wouldn’t until you were about to be—I can’t even say the testical word…”
I’m thinking about all kinds of dirty things and miss the strainer—the cluster of tangled trees in the water ahead of us, until we’re aiming right for it.
“Oh, fuck!” I shove Ally away from me, hoping my combined force and her swimming will be enough to get here away from it. “Swim as hard as you can!”
“Truck!”
The force of the river plasters me against the trunk of a submerged tree.
Ally’s voice—high and frantic—is barely audible over the chaotic gurgling. “Truck! Truck! Oh my god, I can’t get to you!”
Gulping air, I push against the wood with all my strength.
I’m no match for the river. Mother nature always wins in this war. I’m like an ant caught under a human foot. My only hope is moving along the tree. Maybe I can slip free.
Fire burns in the pit of my lungs. Need to breathe.
Ally’s long gone by now. Alone. Dragged along by the river, farther and farther from my protection with every second.
I surface for another gulp of air.
Think.
No… survive.
All I have to do is keep catching breaths of air, and slide along the log. I’ve been trained on drownproofing.
Not that SEALs can’t drown. But maybe the whole tree will give way because of my added resistance.
Alright, god, or universe, or whoever you are out there, you brought her to me, and now I need a hand. I need a miracle ? —
Snap. The force of water shifts. The water sucks at my clothing, my skin. Desperation lights through me, making me snatch a final breath. Like a giant unseen fish is gulping me down, I’m pulled under.
Down and down. The light above me grows hazy. Murky brown light filters all around as I’m twisted like a ragdoll.
I’ve heard the stories. Life flashing before your eyes.
Mine does. All the mistakes.
Ally could die because of me too.
I’m so damned sorry, Ally. You didn’t deserve this.
Because I was distracted. Because I was selfish and didn’t take her back to the team’s protection.
A dagger of guilt slices my already burning lungs.
I can’t stop fighting.