Chapter 52
FIFTY-TWO
The shock of the cold water took her breath away.
When her head broke through the surface a second later she heaved in a ragged breath and gave an involuntary cry. Oh shit, shit, shit…
With effort, she rolled onto her stomach and began swimming toward Lachlan. Kicking her legs in a breaststroke pattern and pulling herself with her one good arm.
The pain in her other was sharp and nauseating, and being in the freezing ocean without a lifejacket scared her. This was nothing like swimming in a pool. Knowing there was nothing beneath her for hundreds of feet was terrifying, the rolling crests of the waves battering her.
Overhead in the distance, she spotted something coming through the clouds. An aircraft of some kind. She kept going, gaze anchored to Lachlan, the slow pace frustrating and disheartening. “Lachlan!”
She swam harder, pushing down the fear, fighting against despair and the cold that was already turning her limbs numb. “Lachlan!” Her voice was shrill.
He was only a few yards away now. She kicked with all her might. Stretched her right hand out, straining to grab hold of the nearest part of him she could reach.
His eyelids fluttered weakly when she finally pulled him to her.
A soft sob broke free. She clenched her icy fingers around a handful of his jacket, kept treading water. She didn’t see any blood, but he was definitely hurt. “Lachlan, look at me. P-please look at me…”
He groaned. Opened his eyes slowly. “Mad-dy,” he mumbled. His lips were slightly blue around the edges. He seemed to be having trouble breathing.
“Yes,” she whispered back through her tears. He recognized her and could speak. That had to be a good sign. “I’m here. Please hold on.”
She began towing him back toward the other boat. Or tried to, but with only her tired legs to propel them, it was like towing an anvil through the water.
“It’ll b-be okay,” she blurted, gasping for breath, praying it was true. The cold was taking hold, sinking deeper and draining her remaining strength. Her breaths came in shallow hitches. It felt like steel cables were clamped around her ribcage, preventing her from getting a full breath.
But she wouldn’t let go. She would not let him go.
Another swell of fear swamped her when a wave broke over her head. She kicked hard, fighting to get above the surface. When her head popped through she hauled in as much air as she could.
But the boat seemed just as far away as it had when she’d started for it. Maybe farther. As if the waves and current were pulling it away from her.
Over the frantic pounding of her heart, she heard a rhythmic thumping above her. Moments later a powerful wind bore down on her, spraying water in her face. She clenched her eyes shut, then forced them open a sliver to look up and saw the helicopter hovering above them.
Blaine. Blaine had come for them.
Another sob caught in her throat.
An instant later, someone leaped out of the helo and plunged into the water feet first a dozen yards away. The man surfaced almost instantly and gave a thumbs-up to the helo. The aircraft rose and drifted away slightly, reducing the blast of air and water.
Maddy struggled to keep her legs moving, arms and legs numb and heavy. She had to glance at her numb hand to make sure she was still holding onto Lachlan.
The man in the water was cutting toward them in a front crawl with sure, strong strokes, the end of his snorkel staying above the waves. He lifted his head as he reached them.
“Grey,” she croaked, and started to cry.
“Maddy. You okay?”
She nodded jerkily. He was so calm. She was on the verge of a breakdown. “He’s h-hurt.”
He swam the last stroke to them and checked his brother. “Lach, it’s me. You good?”
“Y-yeah,” Lachlan wheezed. His lips were blue and his voice was weak. Head injury from the explosion? Hypothermia?
“I’m gonna tow you guys to the other boat and get you outta here.” Grey turned back to Maddy. “I’ve got you guys. Can you swim?”
She shook her head, still crying. Trembling all over, so hard her teeth chattered. “M-my arm… Th-think it’s…br-broken.”
“Can you keep holding Lach’s jacket?”
“I d-dunno.” She was done. Completely exhausted and freezing.
“If you can’t, all you need to do is float. You’re gonna be okay. I’m right here, and I’m gonna get you both out of here.” He moved in behind Lachlan and wrapped an arm around his brother’s chest in a rescue hold, supporting the back of Lachlan’s head on his shoulder. “Here we go.”
“B-Blaine…”
“He’s tracking us from the helo, but there’s nowhere for it to set down around here. The Coast Guard is deploying, but we’re not waiting that long.”
Oh God, the boat. “B-boat eng-gine…d-dead.” Eve probably was too at this point.
“Maddy.”
Her gaze jerked to him. He was looking right at her as he swam, towing them both back toward the boat with steady progress. “Curl up on your side to conserve your body heat and focus on your breathing. It’s gonna be okay.”
She wanted to believe that, so she did as he said, let go of Lachlan’s sleeve for an instant to wrap her forearm under his arm and lock it in the crook of her elbow.
The waves kept bobbing them up and down as Grey pulled them through the water.
Their progress seemed agonizingly slow, but Grey never stopped, relentlessly pulling them toward the other boat.
When they reached it at last, he grasped her right upper arm and steered her to the edge. “Reach up and put your arm over the side.” He helped her. “Good.”
Then he wrapped an arm around her hips. “On the count of three, I’m going to boost you up so you can climb in. Ready? One. Two. Three.” At the last second, he set his palm on her butt and shoved her upward.
Maddy threw a leg over the edge to anchor herself and scrambled over the side, her injured arm making it five times as hard. She hit the deck with a thud. Eve lay where she’d fallen in a horrific amount of blood, eyes partly open, bloody hands lying palms up on the deck, her skin waxy and grey.
Maddy looked away, shaking so hard she could barely get to her knees. By the time she turned around, Grey was already in and hauling Lachlan after him.
She wrapped her arms around herself and knelt at Lachlan’s side as Grey started checking him over. Above them the helicopter continued to hover. Unable to do anything more than watch over them.
He patted Lachlan’s cheek none-too-gently. “Hey, man, you gotta stay with us.”
Lachlan forced his eyes open. Maddy grabbed one of his hands. He probably couldn’t feel the contact either, but she refused to let go. “What’s wrong? Where is he hurt?”
“Head injury, but his breathing’s off. Keep talking to him. I’m gonna get us to shore.” He stripped off his suit. “Put this on.” He helped her, then stood and turned toward the helm.
“It w-won’t st-start,” she said between chattering teeth.
He turned the ignition key. Nothing happened.
Her heart sank. To keep from crying in despair she babbled to Lachlan and watched Grey as he fiddled with the controls. He did something she couldn’t see, and she could have wept in relief when the engine started.
“Hang in there. I’ll get us to shore as fast as I can,” Grey said, and opened up the throttle.