Page 100 of Resisted

“Well, we know now,” I mumbled before using my booted foot to kick open the exit. The darkness outside was just as intense as it was inside, only it was shrouded by the soft glow of the moon. But it was the water all around us, the darkness that loomed in its depth, that put me on edge. I needed off this island. It gave me the creeps and made my skin crawl. “You ever fucking do that again, and I’ll kill you myself.”

“Bella wouldn’t let you,” Silas said confidently.

“I’ll help,” she retorted with a huff from the back as she tried to keep up.

“Watch your step,” I instructed as Bella’s fingers tightened in my shirt as we began down an unlit slope. The absolute last thing we wanted or needed was for her to get hurt on the last leg of our journey, delaying the amount of time before my wolf sunk his teeth into her skin and claimed her permanently as his own.

Below, I could see the faint lights coming from the boat as it docked, though docking was risky. To be seen out here at this hour could alert the human authorities on land that suspicious activities were going on. We’d almost made to the dock, when Bella said, “I was sort of looking forward to the jet skis.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll take you out a jet ski,” Gage broke in, and my posture stiffened.

“The fuck you will,” I spat, and the asshole only laughed.

“Afraid your girl will see what she’s missing and shift allegiances?” His words were playful, but his tone was filled with exhaustion, his usual carefree joy missing.

I hefted Silas higher on my shoulder, tightening my grip on him as my knees began to struggle to haul his weight. “I’m afraid after one day with you, she’ll swear off men altogether.”

“Not likely,” Gage shot back at the same time Vince chimed in with, “I wouldn’t be shocked.”

In the distance, I could hear the ocean sloshing against the side of the boat, and if I really strained, the faint sound of the city coming to life in the early morning hours. We were cutting it close, and as if to punctuate that, the faint sound of “One minute. Move it!” filtered through the radio that was in Vince’s ear behind us, reminding me that time was scarce.

My boots hit the wood of the dock planks right as the thirty-second warning was issued, and for a moment, I wondered just how good of a swimmer Bella was. If we didn’t make the distance in thirty seconds, she was going to need to help keep her mates afloat. Fates, I hoped it didn’t come to that. Saltwater in any wound is harsh, but frigid, Pacific Ocean saltwater hitting all your wounds all at once? Shit, I might as well rip out Silas’ heart with my bare hands and save him the pain and suffering.

Fifteen seconds sounded, and I still had half the dock’s distance to go. I could see the boat prepping to depart, could hear the shift in the engine, but with the weight of Silas over my shoulder, I couldn’t physically move faster than I was. That didn’t mean I didn’t try though. I moved and begged every cell in my body to give it all it had, just for the last few seconds, and I pushed forward, ignoring the ten-second warning followed by a curse from Roth.

The boat began to drift away from the dock, and this time, Roth’s voice was loud and clear, breaking the silence of the night around us as he told us to hurry our asses up. One second. My foot tilted on the edge of the wood as I carelessly tossed Silas over the edge of the boat, ignoring the thud and sound of pain as I did so. He’d survive, he’d made it this far not to. Without even thinking, I reached behind me, grabbed Bella’s hand that was still attached to my shirt, and pulled her forward, nearly pushing her headfirst onto the boat. She stumbled but managed to not fall as I turned back toward Vince.

“We’re going to have to do this one together,” Gage mumbled as he looked at the increasing space. We had mere seconds before it was too late, and like a well-oiled machine, we each grabbed a side, swinging him back before putting all our strength into slinging him on board. He landed feet first before sliding across the deck, cursing as he hit the side with a thunk.

“I don’t think we can make it. Run and jump?” Gage offered as the foot of space grew from one to two feet, then three. More space stretched each second, and he was right—we couldn’t make it. It was already five feet of space, so we had to jump it.

“I hope you’re good at swimming,” I muttered as I turned, running to the end of the dock with him on my heels, then I turned and ran full force toward the boat.

“I’m better at boating.” He half laughed as he huffed in a breath.

The dock’s end met us quicker than I’d anticipated, and when there was no room left for me to run, I jumped.

Chapter 45

BELLA

My heart spedup as panic gripped it before squeezing it in a vice. Watching Boyce and Gage turn around and run away from the boat as it began to pick up speed had me stumbling to the rail of the boat, my fingers wrapped around the cool metal bars so tightly, I was shocked I didn’t bend them.

“What are they are the doing?” My voice was barely audible over the sound of the ocean lapping against the boat, but it didn’t matter, not a single person answered me as we watched them run away from the boat as we drifted away.

Then they turned, and without missing a single beat, they began to run back toward the boat. My eyes grew wide as I realized what was about to transpire. They couldn’t make it. They would never make it. They’d barely gotten Vincent on the boat and that was from up close, and now they wanted to jump? I didn’t want to watch as they neared the dock’s edge, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

And then they jumped.

Their bodies sprung off the edge of the dock before sailing through the air. My heart refused to beat. My hands began to shake. There was no fucking way they would make it, and yet when gravity began to pull them down from the height of their jump, my soul grew hopeful. They could do it. They were so close. They could…

Boyce’s body slapped against the boat as his hands latched onto the edge. A few seconds later, Gage’s body hit with a bang, shaking the boat as it picked up speed, plowing forward into the night. Before I could realize I was moving, my feet carried me over to the edge, my eyes needing to see for myself that he was all right.

“Are you going to stand there and watch them struggle all fucking night or help him up?” Roth muttered as he pushed me to the side, leaning down to grab onto Gage’s wrist.

I blinked a few times, realizing that Boyce was struggling to pull himself up with the water that was tangling against his legs, trying to drag him down. He would gain an inch, but the water would take another two, while his grip was slipping, his fingers sliding closer to the edge that he was already precariously hanging on to.

I grabbed his wrist with one hand before reaching down with the other, trying to reach for his belt loop. If he went down now, I would go with him, but I didn’t care. I’d risk hypothermia for him, I would risk death. I would let this ocean take away my last breath if it meant my last gasp of air was attempting to save someone I loved. I loved them. Every stubborn cell in these men’s bodies was built specifically for me to love. How could I ever have thought differently?

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