Page 24 of Stranded with a SEAL

“We might not,” he agreed. “When the rain let up, I’m sure he circled around looking for us. It was tough to see anything more than a few feet away in the storm. And we don’t have anything to signal them with.”

Bailey choked out a sob, and Noah’s grip tightened around her waist. His lips brushed against her hair. “Shhh, sunshine. We’ll be okay.”

As the clouds shifted in the sky, the sun broke through, she gasped in disbelief. “Is that an island over there?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. She had to be dreaming. Hallucinating. Islands didn’t just appear in the middle of the ocean.

“It is. There are lots of small islands off the coast. And we’re pretty damn lucky that we’re near one. Our best bet at this point is to get to dry land. We’ll head there and wait it out. Mason and the Coast Guard will be searching for us. Maybe we can find some way to light a signal fire once everything dries out after the rain.”

“Oh my God, it looks so far away.”

“We can make it there,” he assured her. “Hell, in the second phase of BUD/S, we swim five and a half miles off Coronado’s Coast. That’s a grueling four hours in the ocean.”

“But we’ve already been out here an hour or more. You must be exhausted.”

“That island’s got to be less than a mile away. We couldn’t see it before in the storm, but we’ll get there, sunshine. Just relax and let me help you. I know you’re tired and scared, but this is the kind of thing I train for.”

“I can swim some,” she protested. “You don’t want to have to drag me around after you all afternoon.”

The last thing she wanted was to be a burden on Noah. He’d already rescued her in the middle of the ocean and towed her along behind him for an hour. He didn’t look tired yet, but she didn’t want to push her luck.

“We haul our gear around in training and on missions. Believe me when I saw it’s not a problem pulling you along with me in the water. Just relax and let me swim holding on to you.”

His muscular arm tightened again around her waist, as if to prove his point, and she was thankful again that he was there with her. That even though she was terrified, he seemed to have a plan.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing toward something floating in the water twenty feet away.

Noah whooped in surprise. “That’s my backpack! It must’ve fallen overboard in the storm. Hell yeah. Let’s go grab it.”

“Everything inside is probably all wet though,” she said, chagrinned.

“Sunshine, I’m a Navy SEAL. I’ve got a drybag inside my backpack. And it’s full of supplies we can use—matches, an emergency blanket, flares, water purification tablets, protein bars. I’ve got an inflatable life vest, too, so let’s get that on you. I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe.”

“Okay, I can swim to it,” she said, lightly moving his arm away and swimming beside him toward the backpack. She spotted some other useless debris, but the boat was nowhere around. “Do you think Taylor and Mason are okay? I know you said they could ride out the storm, but I’m worried.”

“The boat was sound. I dove in after you, but they were manning the wheel. Mason knows how to handle a boat in a storm.”

“You dove in?” she asked in surprise.

She’d assumed Noah had fallen overboard, too. The boat had listed so much to the side, she hadn’t been able to get back to the middle.

“I wasn’t about to leave you out there alone in the ocean, sunshine. I dove in and swam a good distance underwater to get away from the engine. When I came up, the boat was nowhere in sight. Hell, it was raining so hard, they could’ve been right there, and I wouldn’t have known it. Wouldn’t even have heard it in the storm. They’re probably circling around right now to find us now that the weather’s cleared. Mason no doubt would’ve already notified the Coast Guard. And now that the storm has passed, they’ll send out helicopters to aid in the search as well.”

“Helicopters? Wow. How will they even see us out in the middle of the ocean?” She sputtered on some sea water, spitting it out as they swam to his backpack.

“You okay, sunshine?” Noah asked, his voice deep. His green eyes met hers, and she realized his trademark aviators were missing. Of course they’d have fallen off swimming in the Atlantic. He’d probably taken them off before even jumping in after her.

“I’m okay. Let’s get your stuff and get to the island. The sooner we can dry off, the better.”

Noah grabbed his gear in one muscular hand, pulling an inflatable life vest from large front pocket. With one quick tug, it was inflating. “Let’s get this on you,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’ll feel better knowing you can’t drown out here.”

She let him help her put it on, a task somewhat more difficult while already in the water.

“And to answer your question,” he said, “it will be hard to see us. If we see a helicopter, I can shoot off a flare gun. I’ve got a mirror, too. Now that the sun’s coming out, that will help to signal them, too.”

Noah tugged the straps, locking it to her. With his quick, sure movements, she was barely even sure what was happening. But one minute he’d been holding the life vest, the next it was strapped to her.

Noah seemed more relaxed now knowing that she was wearing it. He glanced over toward the island, squinting in the sun. “Let’s start swimming in that direction. The best-case scenario at this point is to signal them from dry land. We’ll start to tire with a couple more hours out here in the ocean. We need to dry off, rest, and have some food and water.”

“You don’t think they’ll find us before we get to the island?” she asking scrunching her nose.

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