Chapter 17
17
Axel stood over the body. It had been moved from the gentle surf to the beach. He crouched down. “According to the local guys, David was strangled, and that’s quite evident. Look at the bruising around his neck.” The deep marks were a dark purple, showing a lot of force. “It took some rage to do this, and that makes it completely personal.”
“I’m getting a very bad feeling about this,” Griffin said, frowning. “If Burton didn’t kill Mercer, then who did? And, better yet, who killed Burton and why?”
“All good questions, and I have to agree with you.” The FBI forensic team showed up, and Axel indicated they could bag the body. “Let’s get back to command and see if my hunch panned out. Although now I’m not so sure about whether or not I’m on the money.”
Dagger watched the surrounding area. Even though the threat of Seven Demands had been resolved, he and Twister wouldn’t let down their guards. Twister, Sadie, Neil, and Dagger had only descended to the sub-level moments ago. Sadie and Neil were going to make one more pass through the sub to collect anything that may have been missed.
The torpedoes in the bow of the ship had been rendered safe by the EOD techs, and the Seabee team was going to come in and remove them, then carve up the sub for extraction onto a barge that would take the artifact to Norfolk, where it would be reassembled for inclusion in the Naval Museum.
This was their last dive before they were going to be shipped back to Little Creek, but they would have to wait to fly for all the nitrogen to dissolve from their bodies, giving them some much-needed downtime on the beautiful island of Bali. After about half an hour, Dagger started experiencing a tightness in his chest. He breathed normally, and it lessened a bit, but on the next two breaths, it tightened again.
He knew immediately from experience that he wasn’t getting enough air. He signaled Twister and his teammate swam down to him. Through hand signals, he indicated that he was going to have to surface. Twister nodded, looked at his dive watch, and indicated that they would be following in about fifteen more minutes.
Dagger nodded, reluctant to leave his teammate, but he couldn’t chance that he would encounter a more serious breathing issue. He headed toward the line and started to ascend. Each time he breathed out, it lessened, but two breaths later, it was back again. It was completely odd. He looked down, then around one more time before he started up the rope. SEALs were taught never to leave their swim buddy, and he got such a pushback from his conscience. But Twister could handle just about anything.
As soon as he was topside, he decided to grab a new set of equipment before he came back down…if Tex authorized it. His CO wouldn’t be too keen on having Dagger doing two dives in such a short timeframe.
Back at command, Axel went over to his assistant. “Did you finish with that data I asked you to collect?”
Axel had the idea that maybe Burton had been stalking Sadie Tompkins. She seemed to be at the nexus of all of this. After her comment about the guys she'd dated ghosting her, Axel had gotten into her account and found the names of the men she’d made contact with—Josh Carter, an architect and recreational diver, Mike Branson, a CPA, and another recreational diver, and finally Pete Young, a food truck owner, and, ha, a recreational diver. The woman looked up and nodded. “No luck on David Burton, but the other three names came up as deceased.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. According to local law enforcement, all of them died while diving, all ruled accidental.”
“Yeah, that’s unlikely,” he said. He went over to his computer, knowing that there was something nefarious here. He opened up his browser and typed in another name. He perused the manifests of several airports before he hit paydirt.
He looked up at Griffin. “I got something.” He explained about his searches and Griffin’s eyes gleamed with admiration.
“And?”
“Neil Lancaster was in Hawaii on each date one of Sadie’s boyfriends showed up dead.”
“Oh, my God.”
Both of them rushed out of the command center up to Neil’s room. They broke down the door and stopped when they saw a photo album on the bed next to a dirty and grimy Jiminy Cricket T-shirt.
Axel picked it up and sighed. “He’s been impersonating Burton all this time. Probably had him stashed somewhere, and it explains the ligature marks on his wrists and ankles.”
Griffin held the photo album, flipping through the pages.
“Axel. They’re pictures of Sadie, everywhere. In Hawaii, and here, including her trip off compound with Twister.” His mouth was pulled into a grim line. “And check this out. Not only are all her boyfriends X-d out in red, but Twister’s picture is also mutilated.
“Fuck,” Axel said succinctly. “Where is he now?”
“At the wreck, diving with Sadie, Dagger, and…Twister.”
Axel and Griffin left the room at a run.
Twister’s senses were heightened now that Dagger had to return prematurely topside. He never took his eyes off the surrounding area or Sadie and Neil. Currently, both of them were inside the sub, but moments later, Sadie emerged with what looked like a full bag. She turned, looking down at the hatch. After a minute passed, she looked up, searching for Twister. He swam over immediately, reacting to her body language.
She made it clear that Neil had been right behind her. He signaled for her to stay put, and he would check it out. If there was any danger, she needed to get to the rope immediately. She touched her dive knife and nodded.
Twister turned to the dark hole of the hatch. There was no light inside, which meant either Neil was in trouble or he’d gotten snagged. He turned on his headlamp and swam inside, first going into the back to check the crew quarters.
Neil wasn’t there, so he turned around, preparing to swim back to the hatch and into the forward part of the sub. Something stirred the hair on the back of his neck, a warning sign that he never ignored. He turned just in time to see Neil come at him with a knife. It sunk into his shoulder, and pain shot through him, blossoming into excruciating as Neil’s knife hit bone, and he inhaled as his teeth clenched around his regulator. Neil pulled out the knife, dripping with his blood, his arm swinging back, and the six-inch blade headed for Twister’s heart. Twister jerked to the side and the knife hit his collarbone. With an enraged snarl, Neil swung at him and hit a stunning blow with the knife handle against his temple, and Twister slammed his head against a bulkhead and immediately blacked out.
Sadie waited anxiously, already having reported the problem topside. Neil emerged from the hatch, quickly swimming to her, but her eyes were glued to the hole in the sub. Where was Twister?
Neil swam to her. “Where is he?” The eerily calm yet calculated look in his eyes sparked a sense of unease deep inside her stomach.
He brought up his dive knife, red curling from the blade, and her heart almost stopped as realization hit her in a stunning blow. Was that blood ?
“Drop your dive knife, remove your umbilical, and switch to your reserve tanks,” he ordered, grabbing her arm in a tight vise, and she noticed that his umbilical wasn’t attached to his yellow helmet anymore. They couldn’t hear him topside, and the alarm would be spreading up there. She stared at him, trying to understand what was happening. “Do it now!” He set the knife against her breast, just above her heart— the bastard . Just a little pressure and she was a dead woman. There was no way to help Twister if that happened.
She pulled the knife from her sheath and let it drop, then reached up and unseated the coupling, then switched to her reserve tanks just as her dive master’s voice asking her what was happening got cut off. They would be scrambling up top, protocol kicking in. Divers would be getting in the water. But she suspected whatever bad thing that happened had already happened to Twister. Her only hope was that he was still alive and the good guys would get to them before it was too late.
Satisfied, he tightened his grip, a wholly sexual smile curving the corners of his mouth. “There. Now we have privacy.”
“What have you done?” This was insane. “Where is Twister?”
“He won’t be bothering us from now on.”
She stiffened. “What do you mean? Where is he?” she asked, trying not to panic, like it was a casual question, not one of survival, and failing miserably.
He shrugged nonchalantly like Twister’s life was nothing to him. “He was in my way. Just like I had to get rid of Dagger.” He chuckled. “All it took was a small bead in his hose. Every time he breathed in, it would get stuck, but when he breathed out, he was fine. I can’t have him interfering, but I have no beef with him.” He looked back at the sub, his face twisted with anger. “You always have guys in my way, Sadie,” he said as if he was chastising a child.
She gave him an incredulous look, the fact dawning on her that he was nuts. “What? What are you talking about?”
“You love me. It’s so clear, and I love you. I have for a long time. First there was Dylan, and you were confused, then you broke up with him and everything was great, until you started with those guys in Hawaii.” His bitter words broadsided her, and it was clear to her that he was caught up in some delusional mind game of his own. “But I took care of them, too, just like I did with Dylan and David. They started arguing with each other all over again, then David said that he wanted you, and that set Dylan off. I lured David out and stashed him on a secluded beach, pretending that he went AWOL. It was me who threw that rock and me who tried to get you to go with me, but I’m sure you were confused.”
“Not in the slightest.”
He whipped the knife up and waved it in her face. “I fixed all your problems, including Twister.” He ranted angrily, his mouth twisting with resentment. “He was the worst one. I tried to kill him with the rock, then shot him, but he was stubborn. He’ll die in the dark down there, giving us time to get away.” His rage over Twister’s refusal to die was tangible. “Then we can be together.”
It was chilling how normal he sounded, as if everything he said he believed. His dark gaze raked down the length of her, not bothering to disguise the fact that he wanted her. His meaning was clear, and as frantic as her heart was beating beneath her chest, she refused to panic or allow him to bully her into going with him.
“I have everything planned.” His smile was pure evil.
Oh, stars. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her and she had dragged Twister into her mess. Neil didn’t know what love was. He barely knew her, and she had no interest in getting to know him at all.
She moved to the right to go around him and bolted for the hatch that looked so far away, but he countered the move and blocked the way with his body. His stare turned hot and predatory.
“Neil, that’s never going to happen. We’re in the Navy. You can’t just kidnap me and swim away from our responsibilities. They will come after us, and you'll be arrested and go to jail. Do you want that!” she cried, asserting a firm, confident tone to her voice despite the fear nearly strangling her.
“Shut up.” His hand tightened around her arm in a crushing, bruising hold. He might look gangly, but he was muscular.You’re coming with me one way or another.”
No .
The one word was very clear in her mind. She wasn’t going anywhere with him, and she had to be as brave as her great-grandfather, who had perished with eighty-four of his crew. She didn’t care what it took, but she was not going with him on this delusional escapade. She was going to make her stand right here. She’d rather die fighting for her life, and for Twister where the Kittiwake had made its last stand, where Twister had a chance, than be kidnapped, raped, and probably end up dead anyway.
Oh, hell, yeah, she was going to fight for her life and for Twister’s—with everything she had, right here because that was what was required of her. Her life with Twister in it. No doubt at all in her mind.
Her head was clear, her choices limited, her decision made.
What did she have to lose? Every-damn-thing .
“No,” she said, her voice barely audible, then louder and stronger. “No fucking way.” She struggled against him to get away, but he was so much stronger than she was, and he managed to subdue her much too easily, a quiet kind of fury brewing within him.
Her words didn’t affect him at all. He was too caught up in his own madness to care. “You are going to be mine,” he said, menacing and ominous. “I’ve waited for you to come to your senses…for years. I’ve watched you with all those other guys, knowing that you loved me. Only me. I’m tired of waiting, Sadie.”
“Don’t do this, Neil,” she said, doing and saying whatever it took to change his mind. Because right now, she had no leverage that could save them other than her words.
“I’m also tired of everyone taking and taking from me,” he said spitefully. “Now I’m going to take what I want, and nobody is going to stop me. Not even your precious Twister. You’ll be mine.”
“I’ll never be yours, Neil,” she said, her voice strong and sure in her conviction. “I love Shane, and nothing you do to me will ever change that.” In her heart, soul, and mind, she knew it was true. She loved him unconditionally, the love she felt true and deep.
He turned and started to swim, kicking his fins hard, dragging her. She pulled and twisted, trying to get loose, but he was relentless.
Twister came to in the dark, a lethargy weighing him down, the blood loss a remembered feeling. He forced himself to move, even as his shoulder protested with a surge of excruciating pain that ran between the wound there to the one near his clavicle. He kept moving, the urgency to get to Sadie burning like a fire through him, his head throbbing and his ears ringing. The bastard had not only shut off his headlamp, but he’d taken it. He was lost in the dark in the sub. But the usual chest-tight feeling didn’t overcome him; in fact, there was nothing but determination, anger, and a killing urge to get free of the sub and get his hands on Neil. No panic attack was going to stop him.
He felt around and discovered that he was at the bulkhead, guessing that the crew’s quarters were behind him. With measured, methodical movement, he ran his hand above him to the sub’s ceiling until he reached the depression in the metal, discovering that Neil had closed the hatch—the fucker . A beep started pulsing, the notification that he was running out of air in his tanks. They should have already been halfway to the surface. Even with his axillary tank, he wasn’t sure he could make it with the decompression stops.
He gritted his teeth as he tried to turn the latch, his breath catching on the deep, clawing pain, a groan rumbling in his throat, the movement opening the wound and releasing even more blood, his head swimming and pounding. He dug deeper for the energy and mustered everything he had, knowing the pain was going to flare even worse. But he bit down, endured the agony as the hatch gave way, opening up into the ocean.
With his energy flagging, he swam through, mustered what he had left, and with adrenaline kicking into his system, he looked around. Above him, two bodies were wrestling, and without hesitation, with every fiber of his being locked and loaded, he reached down for his dive knife, nothing on his mind but dealing death, saving Sadie before he succumbed to his injuries, and lack of air. He had to give her a fighting chance—even if he didn’t make it, she would. That was all that mattered to him. In that instant, he realized that he loved her…this visceral feeling, this need to make sure she was safe all washed over him in a stunning wave.
For the first time in his life. He was in love.
Sadie broke free and realized it was because Neil had to face Twister. He’d come out of nowhere. Twister brought up his dive knife, slicing at Neil’s inner thigh. He was going for the femoral, but Neil twisted his body, and the knife sliced into the side of his thigh. He brought his own knife around and slashed at Twister, but he blocked Neil’s swing.
Sadie lunged toward Neil, grabbed onto his hoses, and with a yank, pulled them out, then with her legs, she kicked him away. His face was pinched and shocked at her betrayal, and like a lost little boy’s as he frantically tried to find his hoses. She swam down to Twister, grabbed him around the waist, and started for the line to guide them back to the ship.
Twister weakly gave her the signal that he was running out of air. She found her dangling umbilical near the line, retrieved it, and Twister treaded water while she plugged it back into her helmet, shutting off her reserve.
With communication restored, she said, “Neil attacked us. He’s wounded Twister. I don’t know how bad. We’re coming up.” She was intent on getting him out of the water and to medical attention. She couldn’t lose him. He was the only man who really saw her, pushed her to stand up for herself, protected her, and gave of himself to her in an open and authentic place. It made her understand that her whole life had been about taking care of other people, but it wasn’t a sin to take care of herself. The thought of that felt so freeing, and she found the courage to be who she was no matter what. She understood that the emotional benefits she’d received from nurturing herself were far greater than fulfilling her need for indispensability. It was all she needed to find a balanced life. And that life was going to be with this man. She was damned determined about that.
“Copy that. Divers in the water on their way to you. Hold on.”
She asked Twister through gestures how much air he had left.
He flashed his five fingers twice. “He’s got ten minutes. That’s enough for one stop.” She held onto him at their one and only stop, then she finned hard, the closer they got to the surface, the more buoyant they were.
“He’s bleeding pretty badly and is almost out of air.”
“Sadie, you know the emergency protocols. We’ll be ready for you.”
“Copy that.” She looked at Twister through his face mask. He signaled he only had minutes of air. She nodded, indicating they were going to do a rapid ascent. He nodded. They both knew what to do.
As they ascended, they had to exhale all the air out of their lungs. It may or may not result in the bends, decompression sickness, but they had a dive doctor on board, decompression chambers, and plenty of oxygen. What they didn’t have was time.
She pressed her face mask against his, trying to infuse him with everything she was feeling, fear for him, so much love, and that she wouldn’t let him down.
She signaled to him that she was ready, then counted to three. They headed for the surface. When she could see the light bouncing off the rippling waves, she noticed two divers swimming strongly toward her and the dark blob of the boat bobbing in the water.
It was Tex and Bondo. Tex took Twister, and Bondo supported her as they all finned to the surface. She started to feel dizzy, dry-mouthed, and her body started to shake. It was uncontrollable as they hauled her aboard. Twister was crying out as they administered oxygen to him, then someone slipped a mask over her mouth and nose. She wanted to go to Twister, but she couldn’t as tingling started in her spine and continued to get worse.
The man at the helm gunned the boat, and they rapidly approached the USNS Guardian . She waited as they transferred Twister up. The dive doctor went up after him, then her. Twister was on the deck, the doctor working over him. They headed right to the hyperbaric chamber with her, sliding her inside.
She had no idea what was happening with Twister. There was a communication link, and she pulled the mask away from her face. “Twister,” she rasped out.
“He’s being transported to the hospital. Now stop talking and rest,” her dive master answered.
“Neil?”
“We have divers searching for him now. Seriously, Sadie. Stop talking.”
She closed her eyes, breathing easier knowing that Twister was in his team’s hands, and those men would never let him down. They had run through hostile territory, defended him, and got him to the airport on time to save his life. He was going to survive, and she was going to give him her answer in person.
Twister stirred, feeling as if an elephant had stomped all over him. All he could remember was a lot of movement, the sounds of metal banging, and later, the caress of warm, soft hands.
He opened his eyes and turned his head. He was in the hospital, the lights low in the room, the windows dark with night. Dagger’s strong hand rested on his shoulder.
“Sadie?”
“She’s in treatment right now for the bends. She saved your ass.” He smiled. “You owe her. We all do.” His face grew serious. “You both have been getting hyperbaric treatment on and off once you came back from surgery and plenty of good old oxygen.” He sighed. “You know, buddy. This bleeding-out thing has got to stop. We’re really over it,” Dagger said, his voice low, his words heavy with the emotion Twister could see on his face.
Twister nodded solemnly. His lungs hurt, and the right side of his upper body was stiff and sore. But he reached up and pulled his brother in close, his good arm tightening around Dagger’s shoulders, all too aware that Dagger had already lost one brother and how tough it must be to have to see Twister back in the hospital.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been stabbed and got the bends,” he said. “That fucker, Neil?”
“Dead. They found him not far from the sub.”
“That’s good,” Twister said. “He won’t ever bother Sadie again.”
“Yeah, he was a fruit loop, had what’s called erotomania. He thought Sadie was in love with him, but she wasn’t. According to NCIS, he has been stalking her for years, ever since dive school. He killed three of her boyfriends, along with Mercer and Burton. Tried to take you out with that rock, and he was behind the sniper attack. Seven Demands was just his cover story. He underestimated you, my friend, and he most definitely underestimated Sadie.”
He could feel the fatigue and the drugs pulling him back under.
The next time he woke, morning sunshine was streaming through the windows and the one person he most wanted to see was sitting beside his bed. Damn, it was the best thing he’d seen in a long time. His heart filled.
“Babe,” he said.
“Hello, handsome.”
“A better sight than Dagger’s mug.”
She smiled. “There’s been plenty of other mugs through here, namely seven of them,” she said, inclining her head toward the door. “It’s standing room only out in the hall. Tex has been here since you were admitted, through your surgery, and treatments. He looks like hell. You should tell him to get some sleep.”
“You want me to order my CO to stop worrying about me and take care of himself?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Well, this CO doesn’t take orders from just anyone,” he growled from the door. Sadie moved away to give him room beside the bed.
“I’ll get you some fresh ice water,” she murmured, slipping out.
“There’s a little Déjà vu here.” A flush of some emotion washed across Tex’s face, but Twister couldn’t quite define it. It would only be guesswork, but relief was certainly part of it, and another part of it was pride that his teammate had not only protected Sadie but gotten himself back all in one piece, albeit with a couple of holes.
Twister nodded. “I’m going to work on not getting stabbed in the future.”
“That sounds like a solid plan.” Tex grinned. “Although, in your defense, you did have that bastard gunning for you behind your back. Behind all our backs, and killing civilians and his own dive partners.”
“What’s the damage, and when can I get back to duty?”
“Not so fast. That whack job missed your arteries both times and hit bone both times. The doc repaired your muscles and nerves. How does the arm feel?”
“Good. Not even a tingle.”
“That’s a good sign. We’re going to be holed up here with the team for a week so that the nitrogen is fully exhaled from all of us, including Sadie. Then it’s back to Little Creek, a six-to-eight-week recovery, then you should be able to go back to work.”
“Hoo-yah,” Twister said. His gaze went to the door, and his heart melted again. Tex looked over his shoulder, then gave Twister a knowing smirk, clearing his throat. “I’ll clear out.”
“Get some sleep, LT. That’s a request.”
He nodded. “I’m thankful you’re both all right.”
Sadie squeezed his arm as he passed. “There might be a mutiny in the hall if your team doesn’t get a chance to see you all pink and recovering,” she said when she reached the bed. She poured him a cup of water. “You get a bendy straw, so fun,” she said with a little giggle.
He sipped from the straw. Easy poked his head in, whining, “Sadie…can we come in?”
She giggled again. “Let me see about getting you some breakfast.” And she was gone again.
The guys filed in, and there were plenty of digs and general horsing around until Sadie came back, and like a drill sergeant, shooed them all from the room with stern looks and a firm voice.
“What a bunch of lovable knuckleheads,” she said, setting a tray on his hospital table and wheeling it over to him.
He pushed it back and grabbed her with his good arm, pulling her across his body. There was some pain, but he didn’t give a damn. She started to protest, then when his mouth covered hers, she choked out his name, her mouth meeting his. Shifting her head, he resealed his mouth over hers, and she opened to him, moving against his lips with fierce energy. Deepening the kiss with a slow, soothing thoroughness, he savored the taste of her, her hair tangling like silk around his fingers.
His chest tightened at how she got to him every time. He had no idea this would feel so damn good.
She leveraged herself away from him. “You’re going to pop your stitches, or at least pull them. I don’t want you in pain.”
“I don’t care.” Clamping down on all the emotions running through him, he couldn’t hide how he felt. “I needed that. I needed to feel your breath in my mouth, your warm body against mine.” He lifted her face, gazing into her eyes, his soul naked to her as he ran his thumb along her jaw. “I was scared to death that he would hurt you,” he said gruffly.
She shook her head. “Me? You’re the one in the hospital, and I was just as terrified, especially when you didn’t emerge from the hatch.”
“I’m sorry about that. He got the drop on me…almost.”
She stared up at him, her eyes full of a tenderness that made him lose himself in them. “I love you, Shane,” she said, her voice shaking. “So much. So, yes, I want to be with you after this.”
His heart jumped into overdrive, pounding so hard that it felt as if it would come through his ribs. He had wanted this more than he could say, his hope full of the promise of what they could be together.
“But more importantly, I want you to have the space you need to feel how you feel, whether that means expressing your anger without taking it personally, hoping you always feel safe being vulnerable with me, or any other emotion that you need to express. I’ll always be that safe space for you to be yourself. That’s infinitely important to me.”
He stared at her, his pulse laboring, his breath jammed up in his chest, fighting to maintain his common sense, his equilibrium.
Her eyes filled up with tears, and she worked at swallowing as she reached up and cupped his jaw. He inhaled sharply and caught her hand, blood rushing in his ears. It took him two tries before he could get the words out. “Ah, Sadie. Are you sure about this?”
Holding his gaze, she stared at him with a look of determination flickering in her eyes, tears spilling over. Her voice breaking, she said, “Yes. Very sure.”
Twister tightened his hold on her hand and tried to regain some control, then he realized there wasn’t any such thing and told her what was in his heart. “I love you, Sadie,” he said, his voice a whispering rasp. Struggling with the thick surge of love for her, he clenched his jaw and rested his forehead against hers. “I have experienced your incredible warmth, passion, and kindness. I want to mirror that for you and make space for uninterrupted quality time. It’s going to be challenging, but we’ll find a way. And, like you said, I appreciate you for who you are.”
She choked out his name and came into his arms, holding on to him with desperate strength. His heart laboring against the frenzy in his chest, he caught her against him. It took him a long time to conclude that being vulnerable and feeling the impact of different emotions was not a sign of weakness. Instead, it showed immense strength. With Sadie by his side, they would conquer, master, and overcome all that life threw at them for what he hoped was a lifetime. Together forever after through the magic they created in each other and for each other.