Chapter 22
FRANKIE
Every inch of Frankie’s body screamed. Her ankle throbbed with every kick, her ribs stabbed like broken glass, and her lungs burned from smoke or the raw scream she’d let out as she’d fallen off the deck.
Around her, the water shimmered with thick rainbow slicks of oil, stinking of high-octane chemicals. Flames flickered across the surface in ragged patches, creeping toward her like hungry beasts.
She spun in the water, trying to orient herself, but the world was chaos. The rig loomed overhead like a dying giant, groaning under its own weight. Steel shrieked. Girders snapped.
Chunks of metal rained from above like a meteor storm, some glowing red-hot, others black and jagged. One slammed into the ocean not ten feet away, sending up a wall of steam and fire.
A wave crashed over her head, dragging her under.
The sea tasted like fire. Oil filled her mouth. Her throat seized as panic ripped through her.
She clawed upward and broke the surface, coughing, gasping, and blinking stinging salt water and smoke from her eyes.
The air was thick with heat and flames that the waves pulsed toward her face, forcing her to keep moving. Gagging on the stench of burning toxic fuel, she tread water, craning her neck toward the deck, searching for Stone. All she could see was smoke and fire.
Come on, Stone. Kill that bastard and jump, before this whole fucking rig comes down on top of us.
The upper levels were a twisted blur of smoke and mangled rig structures. Flames clawed at the sky. Black smoke billowed upward in dense, choking clouds, hanging above the rig like a massive thunderstorm.
Then the smoke twisted into a violent spiral, like it had been sucked into a vortex.
A shape cut through it.
A helicopter.
It roared overhead, blades thundering, scattering fire and smoke in every direction as it hovered above the deck.
Two men leaned out the open side, rifles aimed toward the deck.
Stone’s team.
Relief washed over her like a wave. Tears burned her eyes. Yes. Oh God, yes. They’re here. Stone’s not alone. They’ll save him.
Above her, the rig let out a tortured groan. Steel screamed as it tore itself apart, piece by piece. The whole structure shuddered, like it couldn’t hold itself together any longer.
I have to move. Now. Before this whole fucking thing comes down on top of me.
She spun in the water, searching through haze and flames, trying to get her bearings. One of the rig’s massive legs loomed nearby, and its framework was twisted and buckled, only just hanging in there.
The southern leg.
That’s where I kayaked to every shift, through rain and sweltering heat. Every damn day.
Her breath caught. Kevin, my kayak.
A deep ache clenched in her chest.
The last time she’d seen her kayak was when she’d tied it off at the base of that leg.
It’s all I have left from my father. I have to get it!
She ducked under a curtain of flames and swam hard, ignoring the white-hot pain tearing through her ankle. The water boiled around her. Debris crashed down from above like shrapnel, bits and pieces of her rig splashing down around her.
The sea hissed and steamed. Smoke clung to the surface like a morning fog.
Still, she didn’t stop.
The base of the strut came into view, and she pushed upward, straining to find the dock.
Her breath hitched. Kevin was upside down on the dock.
She nearly sobbed with relief. Thank God those bastards hadn’t cut her kayak loose when they'd searched the rig for clues.
She dove beneath the flames and powered through the final strokes. At the dock, her fingers slipped on the oil-slick rope, but she gripped tight, untied the cord, and hauled herself into the kayak.
Kevin rocked violently under her weight, and her hands trembled as she grabbed the paddle and shoved off.
Kevin surged forward, and she dug the blade into the water and pulled hard, desperate to escape the rig before it collapsed. Chunks of metal rained down all around her. Twisted beams, coils of pipe, flaming debris that sizzled and steamed as they hit the surface.
A body fell from the sky.
Arms and legs flailed as he spun wildly, trying to right himself midair.
Her breath caught. Time stopped. “Stone!”
He slammed into the sea back-first with a sickening splash. The sound tore through her chest like a blade.
“No!” She screamed into the smoke. Panic took over as she paddled harder than she ever had in her life, muscles burning as Kevin sliced through the oily water like a missile.
Please be alive. Please be alive. Please.
Another figure plummeted from the rig.
“Shit!”
She recognized his clothes. Nick O’Halloran.
Nick didn’t flail. He fell from the sky like a ragdoll, limp and floppy. He hit the water face-first with a flat, dead splash, then vanished beneath the surface.
Good. If he wasn’t already dead, he will be soon.
Frankie locked her gaze on the spot where Stone had gone under. But when she got there, she couldn’t find him.
“Stone! Stone!”
She couldn’t see him. Couldn’t hear him.
“Stone. Where are you?”
All around her was nothing but fire, smoke, and churning blackened waves.
“No. No. No.” Her voice cracked, raw and trembling. “No!”
Dropping the paddle, she dove into the water. Oil stung her eyes, and her ankle shrieked with every kick. She forced herself deeper, scanning the murky water, lungs burning.
Come on. Come on. Where are you?
The shape of a man sinking emerged in the darkness.
Shit! Stone!
Her heart seized. He wasn’t moving.
She shot back to the surface, gasping, lungs burned for air, and then dove again, kicking harder through fire and pain.
The water was darker down there, warmer in patches. Ash drifted around her like black snow.
Her chest tightened. Her ears roared. Please be okay. Please be okay.
Finally, she reached him. She looped her arms around his chest and dragged him toward the flaming surface.
He was heavy, limp. A dead weight.
She kicked upward with everything she had.
Her ankle was on fire. Her burning lungs were about to burst. But she clawed at the water, dragging him up inch by inch.
Darkness crept in at the edges of her vision.
Come on, Stone. Please don’t die. Stay with me.
She kicked harder and harder, her legs shaking, her body on fire. Finally, they broke the surface in a violent splash. She hauled his head above the water, choking, sobbing, gasping for breath.
She tipped his head back. His eyes were closed. His skin was deathly pale.
“Breathe, goddamn it!” she shouted, voice breaking. “Come on, Stone. Please!”
She slapped his cheek. Once. Twice.
His head lolled. His lips were blue.
“No. No. No. Please.” Her voice cracked as a sob tore from her throat. Her chest felt like it was splitting open. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t you fucking do this.”
Tears blurred her vision. She couldn’t lose him. Not after everything. Not now.
She pressed her mouth to his and gave him a desperate breath. Then another.
“Come on, Stone,” she yelled. “Please.” She slapped his cheek.
Stone jerked forward.
“Yes!” she gasped. “Oh, thank God.”
He hacked, coughed up water, chest heaving as he fought for air.
“Oh my god.” She cupped his cheek, half-laughing, half-crying. “You scared the absolute shit out of me, you bastard.”
His eyes fluttered open, unfocused and dazed, then he found hers. A weak, crooked grin tugged at his mouth. “Daisy Duke?”
Frankie let out a choked, sobbing laugh and threw her arms around him.
“Jesus, Stone. You’re killing me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as a messy flood of emotions surged through her. Relief, joy, and a feeling so fierce and beautiful it stole her breath . . . love.
He gently cupped her face in his trembling hands. “Not anymore.” He exhaled like it was the first breath he’d taken all day. “It’s over.”
A wave rolled into them, rocking her kayak as it rose with the swell with flames licking along the blue plastic.
“Shit! Kevin!” Frankie swam over and slapped water onto the fire until it fizzled out with a sharp hiss of steam.
Stone tapped the side of the scorched kayak. “So this is Kevin, huh?”
“Yeah. The only thing I have left.”
“Not true. You have your dad’s coffee mug. And you have me.”
She blinked at him, and her throat tightened as his words sank in. They floated together in the flaming sea, surrounded by smoke, ash, and wreckage.
“What?” Stone said, reading her expression. “You didn’t really think I was going to let you go after everything we’ve been through, did you?”
She gave a shaky laugh.
“I thought you were too smart for that,” she said, trying to sound tough, but her voice cracked on the last word, and the truth was right there in his eyes.
“Come here, you.”
Still clinging to the kayak, he hauled her in and crushed his mouth to hers. She melted into him, into the promise burning behind his kiss. This wasn’t just passion, this kiss went so much deeper.
Despite everything she’d lost, her father, her home, her career, those tragedies had led her to here.
To Stone.
To a man who didn’t just see her, he believed in her. A man who saw the real Frankie Mason and wanted all of her.
Her future no longer felt impossible. It felt like an adventure waiting to begin.
And holy shit, it was exciting.
Overhead, the chopper thundered in, rotor wash slicing through the smoke and whipping at the waves.
Stone broke the kiss and glanced up at his team, but his arms never left her.
Frankie followed his gaze.
The helicopter hovered above them, and McGuire and Cross leaned out the open door, pumping their fists and shouting words she couldn’t hear. But their faces were lit with joy.
Blinking through her tears, Frankie grinned. “The cavalry’s here.”
Stone squeezed her tighter and planted a quick kiss on her forehead. “Let’s get out of here.”
Two ropes dropped from the side of the chopper. Stone grabbed them both, but to her surprise, he hooked one around Kevin’s scorched bow handle.
He glanced at her. “Can’t leave Kevin behind. He’s family now.”
Emotion swelled in her chest so fierce and sudden that it stole her breath. A grin tugged at her lips, one that went so deep it felt rooted in her bones. “Careful, Stone. I could really get to like you.”
“Good. Because I’m well and truly past that.” He looped his foot through the second rope and pulled her against his chest. “Now hang on.”
She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, and as he kissed her again, the rope lifted them from the water together. Below them, Kevin rose, too, twisting and swinging on the rope.
Blackwater Deep let out a long, agonizing groan, like a dying animal. Frankie broke off the kiss and looked down, and through the smoke whipping past them, her rig collapsed. Steel snapped. Fire burst outward. The entire structure plunged into the sea with a thunderous crash.
Spray and flames exploded upward in a final, furious gasp.
As they flew away, dangling on the rope below the chopper, her second home crumbled and disappeared beneath the waves.
And yet, she wasn’t overcome with sorrow.
Instead, peace settled over her, like a soft, familiar blanket.
Like the rig was where it should be . . .
with her father: gone, but forever alive in her memory.
It was a long moment before she turned back to Stone. He held her tight, like she was his whole world.
Her heart thundered because deep down, she knew it was true.
“So what now, Prince Charming?” she called over the thumping beat of the chopper blades.
He looked at her . . . really, truly looked at her.
“You and I have a whole new adventure.” He smiled. “Preferably one without bullets.”
Her heart soared. And for the first time in her life, she didn’t need to know what came next.
She just knew Stone would be with her every step of the way.
Are you ready for a brand new romantic thriller set in the Australian Outback?
Meet Mitch Branson, a Special Forces soldier who swore he'd never return to Koolaroo Ranch, his family's vast cattle station in the heart of the Outback. But when his tyrannical father vanishes without a trace, Mitch is forced home to face the brutal past he fled.
The last thing he needs is a fiercely independent paleontologist who’s digging illegally on his land. Charlie Macintyre is chasing a career-defining dinosaur discovery, and she's not backing down for anyone. Especially not a brooding soldier determined to shut down her dig.
When a flash flood traps them in hidden caves, survival becomes their only mission.
But they stumble on evidence of a decades-old murder, and the Branson family's secrets are about to explode.
As danger escalates and attraction flares between two people who started as enemies, Mitch and Charlie discover some truths are worth fighting for.