Page 100 of Torn In Two

I stared at her. I’d seen her at the club as I’d…finished. Our eyes had locked, no denying on either of our parts what had happened.

But I’d assumed she’d seen me with that woman, been horrified, and hightailed it straight out of there with only a single, unlucky glance my way that had confirmed it was indeed me she was seeing in that state.

She twisted her fingers around in the blanket. “So you understand now why there is nothing for you to apologize for. It was me who was inappropriate. I stood there, watching you with that woman, and let Hawk touch me—” She looked up and suddenly pushed to her feet, scattering cracker crumbs across the blanket. “Hayley Jade!”

I jerked at the panicked tone in Kara’s voice, quickly scanning the sand for the little girl, my stomach sinking when she wasn’t picking up shells. I shot up, twisting each way searching for her pink beanie, spotting it as she waded through the shallows, waves splashing up the pant legs she’d been smart enough to roll up to her knees.

“Grayson, that wave…” Kara’s fingers clutched me tightly.

The surfers down the beach hooted and hollered, catching the massive swell rushing toward the beach, bigger and stronger than any of the waves we’d seen in the time we’d been here.

Hayley Jade didn’t notice us, our shouts to her lost on the wind, zero awareness of the danger hurtling toward her.

The huge swell hit Hayley Jade in the back, the ocean surging and swirling around her, taking out her feet and sending her face first into the white water.

Kara screamed, “She can’t swim!”

I was already running, gaze glued to the pink beanie being tossed around. Another unusually large wave hit the sand, pushing her beneath the water again.

I watched in horror as Hayley Jade flailed, trying to keep her head above water while the ocean drew her deeper and deeper into its depths, the tide sucking her in.

I hit the water at full pace, only to be smacked backward by the third wave of the set crashing onto the sand, freezing cold water filling my eyes and ears and nose.

Instantly I was ten years old again, being held down beneath the water, my foster dad laughing above me while I struggled against his grip.

I couldn’t breathe. There was water in my lungs. Fear in my blood. I screamed but didn’t make a sound.

“Hayley Jade!” Kara splashed into the water.

The fear in her voice cut through the panic inside me.

I looked around wildly, finding my feet in the churning sea, searching for any sign of Kara’s daughter.

I caught the little pink beanie as it slipped underneath the waves.

I dove beneath them, visibility zero, holding my breath the way I hadn’t been able to do when I was a kid.

She wasn’t fucking drowning in this ocean. I remembered the pain and the terror all too well, and I wasn’t letting her go through that.

My hands caught hold of something solid, and I clutched my fingers into the soaking fabric of her jacket, hauling her back to the surface and up into my arms.

She spluttered and coughed, but to my surprise breathed normally, her face white with fear but her lips were a bright pink, not blue-tinged like I would have expected if she’d been without oxygen for too long.

“I’ve got you.” I rubbed her back, encouraging her body to expel any water she’d swallowed.

Kara ran through the shallows to meet us, a worried expression chewing up her pretty face. “Oh my God. That wave got you good.”

“We need an ambulance,” I jogged now the water wasn’t holding me back.

Kara put her hand on my arm. “What? Why? Is she hurt?”

“She just nearly drowned!”

Kara screwed up her face in confusion. “She was only under for a second. You got to her so quick.”

I stopped, confused. “No. She was drowning. I saw…” I stared down at Hayley Jade who looked wet and cold and surprised, but definitely not like she had a lung full of ocean water or had been struggling for air…

The way I had.

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