Page 57 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

Male voices, muffled, coming from behind a closed door a few steps away.

I froze, steadying myself against the wall. Maybe they could help me upstairs—or at least back to Andrew. But something in the hushed tones stopped me from knocking.

"Your greed is making you reckless," one man said.

"I know what I’m doing," another man replied, his tone firm, dismissive. "The reward is more than worth the risk."

I frowned, my pulse skipping. The voices were familiar, but in my muddled state, I couldn’t place them.

"What about the investigator?" the first man asked.

"I’ll take care of him."

My stomach dropped.Take care of him? Were they talking about Ethan?

I pressed closer to the wall, tilting my head toward the door.

"I hope you know what you’re doing," the first voice said again. "This could all go very wrong."

"Or very right," the other man countered. "Thank you for your help."

"I owed you one."

"More than one."

"Well, you always know where to collect."

"I do. We should go."

I realized with a jolt they were about to come out. Panic surged through me.If they caught me standing there, eavesdropping, what would they do?My heart thundered as I stumbled away from the door, my hand catching the corner of the wall to steady myself.

I saw a side door to the lower deck and pushed it open, stepping into the sharp, salty wind. The ocean breeze whipped my hair across my face, stinging my skin like needles. The fresh air hit my lungs like a slap, momentarily shaking me out of my fog.

Who had been in that stateroom, and what had they been talking about?My mind wrestled sluggishly with the fragments of conversation. And who had been speaking? One had sounded like Victor or maybe Bennett. Although, it could have been someone else entirely.

I moved unsteadily down the corridor, the deck beneath my feet slick with sea spray. Before I realized it, I was standing on a swim platform at the stern of the boat, the waves crashing a few feet below me. The sound of the ocean was deafening here, a rhythmic roar that drowned out the faint laughter and music from the upper deck. I was completely alone.

The world tilted again, the platform swaying violently beneath me. I stumbled toward the railing, my palms slamming against the cold, wet metal. My breath came in short, gasping bursts as I fought to steady myself. My vision blurred. The horizon tilted.What on earth was wrong with me?

I leaned heavily against the rail, the cold steel biting into my palms. The water churned below, dark and ominous, the foam-tipped waves pulling and tugging as if they wanted to drag me under.

I needed to go back upstairs, to find Andrew. He would help me. He would take care of me.

I turned—or tried to. My feet felt heavy, uncooperative. I staggered, disoriented, and suddenly realized I was standing at the very edge of the platform. One wrong step and I’d be in the water. My heart thudded in warning, a sharp pulse of clarity cutting through the haze.

And then I felt a presence behind me. A hand on my back. Relief flooded through me.Andrew.

I swayed slightly, leaning back into the touch.He’d catch me. He always did. But there was no warmth behind me. No strong arms pulling me to safety. The hand pressed harder against my back, shoving me forward with sudden, brutal force. My arms flailed as I lost my balance. I tried to grab the railing, but it was too far away. A strangled scream tore from my throat as I tumbled forward.

For one heart-stopping moment, there was nothing. Just the cold, salty air rushing past me. And then I hit the water, and the ocean swallowed me whole.

ChapterFourteen

The icy water stopped my heart, and for a terrifying moment, it felt like it might never beat again. The darkness of the ocean wrapped around me, a relentless, suffocating force pulling me deeper and deeper. It was so damn cold. And so very dark.

It felt like a bad dream, a terrifying nightmare, but one I'd never had before. Usually, my nightmares were about driving down steep hills and not being able to brake. That was a favorite. Or another one where I was lost in a maze and unable to find my way out. But this one was different. I didn't know which way was up, and I was fast running out of breath.

Some desperate need to survive cut through the fog in my brain. Simple, horrifying facts brought me back to reality.I was drowning. I needed to swim. I needed to get air.

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