Page 68 of Deep Waters

“He won’t be getting anyone else,” Harry said. He moved into a squat position and wrapped Christian’s good arm around his shoulder. “Put all of your weight on me and see if you can get up.”

As soon as he tried to stand, Christian cried in pain. Harry eased him back as another wave came over. Harry protected him as best he could, taking most of the force.

“You go,” Christian gasped. “I can’t make it. You go back and send help.”

“No fucking way. After all that we’ve been through, I’m not leaving you.” He shuffled around, getting both hands beneath Christian’s shoulders and holding him in the sitting position. “I’m going to drag you along, okay? It’s going to be rough, but try to hold out as long as you can, all right? I’ll stop if you need me to, but the sooner we get this done, the better.”

Christian nodded.

With his waterlogged clothes, he was heavier than Harry imagined, but drawing on an unknown reserve of strength, Harry lifted him enough to drag him backwards with just his heels trailing on the boards. He heaved and fought against the pain in his own back, making pitiful progress, pausing whenever they were beset by waves.

Halfway there, Christian stopped groaning. Harry prayed he had only passed out with the pain and nothing more serious. The urgency made him redouble his effort, making progress one agonising foot at a time.

Then there were voices behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw police and paramedics running in their direction.

With a cry, he lowered Christian to the boards, supporting his head and shoulders against his thighs. “It’s all right,” he said, stroking his brow. “Help is here. It’s over.”

“Where’s Stew Wallace?” one of the police officers shouted.

“He’s gone…into the sea.”

“Is there anyone else out there? Is anybody hurt?”

“Just Christian. He’s been stabbed in the stomach and the arm. Help him. Won’t you please do something?”

The paramedics reached them, going straight to work, assessing Christian’s wounds.

“It’s all right,” a voice said. “We’ve got you now. You’re both safe.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Harry spent the night in the hospital being treated for hypothermia, shock and a broken rib. Despite the best intentions of the medical staff, he didn’t care about his own condition. All that mattered was knowing that Christian was okay. The doctor, an exhausted looking woman in her mid-twenties, informed him that Christian was in surgery and they would update him as soon as they had news.

“We need to get in touch with Mr. Coster’s next of kin,” a nurse in his forties later enquired. “Do you have any contact details?”

Next of kin. Harry panicked. “Does that mean he didn’t make it?”

The nurse’s expression was reassuring. “He’s stable. He’s in recovery now. But we need to let his family, if he has any, know what has happened.”

Relief flooded his body. All the tension he’d been holding faded away. “He didn’t say too much. We’ve only known each other a week. His parents retired to Norway, but he has a brother and sister in this country. He works for theManchester Gazette. Contact them and they will have his personal details on file.”

“I’ll give them a call.”

“Can you let me know as soon as you know more about how he is doing?”

The nurse smiled and adjusted Harry’s oxygen mask, making it secure. “I will. In the meantime, try to relax and sleep a little. You’ve had a tough time of it yourself.”

Sleep did not seem possible, but eventually his brain gave in, and he fell into a deep, exhausted slumber.

* * * *

When Harry woke up the next morning, the ward was coming to life. Nurses and care assistants moved around the beds, carrying out their morning checks and delivering medication. The bed next to him that had been empty when he arrived was occupied. Harry rose into a sitting position so he could see.

Christian.

He was asleep on his back. His breath was deep but sound. He was hooked up to some machinery that Harry didn’t understand, but no alarms were ringing, and everything looked okay. They had erected a frame beneath the covers to keep the bedclothes off his midsection, and his right arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow.

Harry wiped his eyes. Christian looked so frail and vulnerable.

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