Chapter 30 #2
But do I have a better option? I used to be a strong swimmer. Maybe I stand a chance at survival. And if not? Drowning is a lot better than what he’s going to do to me.
Jack walks toward me, so I lunge toward the left and grab the boat hook secured just below the railing. I turn and swing with all of my strength.
Lightning flashes right as his hand catches it.
He rips it from my grasp and throws it to the side.
“You are going to suffer—greatly.”
Lightning flashes again, illuminating the boat. Right as a man, dressed in a black wetsuit, pulls himself up over the ledge.
My heart leaps.
Sawyer! Even in the dim light above the cabin door, I recognize him. Lightning flashes again, and the ferocity in his murderous gaze is something I will never forget. Jack hasn’t noticed him yet, so I force myself to focus only on the man who killed my friend.
“Please don’t do this, Jack.”
“Go ahead and beg all you want, Anastasia. It won’t mean a thing.” He reaches behind him and pulls out his gun, then aims it at me. “Now, get up, or I’ll add another bullet hole. I don’t need you to survive long. Just long enough.”
Sawyer slams into Jack, knocking him forward. The gun flings to the side—right down into the dark waters. He pins him to the deck, but a wave slams into the side of the boat, and Sawyer is tossed to the side.
Jack is on him in an instant while I scan for another weapon. Something—anything that can help.
Lightning flashes, and the little cabin light dies, plunging us into complete darkness.
“Sawyer!” I scream.
“Stay back!” he yells back.
A wave smashes into us, and I’m thrown toward the side. I hit the railing and wrap both arms around it to keep from going overboard. Water from the rain and the waves saturates my clothes. My hair is thick ropes against the side of my head.
Another flash of lightning.
Jack and Sawyer are facing off, both men with ferocious expressions.
Sawyer lunges—it goes black again.
Someone grunts, and as much as I want to call out to him, distracting Sawyer is not an option. So, I do the only thing I can.
I hold on for dear life…and I pray.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.
A hand touches my arm, and I scream.
“Baby, it’s me!” Sawyer calls out.
A light clicks on, illuminating the area around us with the beam of his flashlight.
“Are you okay?” he asks, gaze frantic.
“I’m—is he gone?”
Sawyer shines the light on Jack. He’s lying on his back, eyes closed. “Unfortunately not. Come on, I need to get you out of here before—” A gun goes off, and Sawyer grunts.
“Sawyer!” I scream.
“I’m fine,” he growls and turns toward Jack. “I’m afraid you missed anything vital.”
“I wasn’t aiming for anything vital. I want you alive to watch her die.”
“Now, Demo,” Sawyer says, barely loud enough for me to hear over the storm. “I know, but I don’t care. Do it. Now.”
“Sawyer?”
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
“How sweet,” Jack sneers. “Too bad you’re both going to die.”
“Of course,” I reply, ignoring Jack’s threats. Because Sawyer is here. And if he is here—I’m safe.
Always.
He turns back toward me, caramel gaze illuminated just enough that I can see fear reflected in the depths. “Then jump, baby.”
I spin toward the edge as an explosion tears through the front of the boat. The deafening crack fills my ears moments before the force of it throws me from the deck. Fresh pain shoots through me as I hit the water, the ringing in my ears so loud I can hear nothing else.
Saltwater fills my mouth and shoots up my nose, the resulting headache so powerful it disorients. My lungs burn as I fight the water, desperate to reach the surface and find Sawyer.
Did he fall off, too?
The water is ice cold around me, and every time I think I’m close to the surface, I find I’m nowhere close. I kick my legs frantically, my chest on fire. Spots invade my vision, and my limbs grow heavy with every passing second.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here with me.
A hand grips my arm and rips me up. Air hits my lungs with such force that my vision wavers. I’m dropped onto a hard surface as rain hammers down on top of me.
“Oxygen mask!”
Zane?
I open my eyes as my big brother places a mask over my mouth and nose. Tears blur my vision as he cups my cheek.
“Hey, Stasia,” he whispers. “We’ve got you.”
“Sawyer.” My voice is raspy and barely above a whisper. I shoot upright, but dizziness has my vision swimming. I try to get the mask off, but Zane touches my arm and shakes his head.
“Not yet. Keep it on.”
“Sawyer. Where is Sawyer?” I demand again, throat burning with each word.
Garrison and Ryker exchange looks with Zane and Weston, and all four men turn toward the inky black waters.
No. I can’t lose him. Not now. Not ever.
“Sawyer!” I scream into the storm.
The seconds feel like lifetimes until he finally calls back. “Over here!”
Weston fires up the small motor and guides the boat across the surface, navigating debris from the boat as rain continues to hammer down on top of us.
Sawyer comes into view, Jack unconscious beside him. A wave slams into him, momentarily ripping him from my view.
“Sawyer!”
“Sorry, carrying extra weight,” he grunts when he comes back into view right beside the boat. He shoves Jack’s body toward the boat.
“Then let him drown,” Weston growls.
“Not the right thing to do, no matter how tempting it is,” Sawyer replies.
Ryker reaches down and hoists Jack from the water, tossing him onto the bottom of the boat. He wastes no time zip-tying his hands despite his unconscious state.
Weston helps Sawyer onto the boat, and I throw myself onto him. His arms come around me, holding me to his chest. My entire body trembles, violent shaking that rattles my teeth as the cold seeps into my bones.
He’s here.
Sawyer is here, and he’s alive.
“I’ve got you, baby,” he whispers.
The boat’s motor makes it nearly impossible to hear anything—but I hear that. A blanket is thrown around us, and I lie against his chest, breathing into the mask and closing my eyes.
Thank You, Lord. Thank You.