Page 95 of The Scout

A life.

Maybe even a baby with Ryker’s dark eyes and dangerous smirk.

But fate had ripped it all away.

And now, there was nothing.

Nothing but the howling wind, the scent of fire and salt, and the crushing weight of a world without them.

I couldn’t do this.

I couldn’t walk away from this beach, from the flames, from the blackened ruin of the pier where the two people I loved most in the world had just been swallowed whole.

I had nothing left.

My body felt light, almost detached, like I was floating outside myself, watching as my feet carried me forward, toward the water. The waves licked at the shore, dark and endless, whispering in soft, soothing murmurs.

The ocean had always been there, waiting. It had always been patient, always stretching out its arms for the lost.

Maybe that was all I was now.

Lost.

A wretched sob tore from my throat, my feet sinking into the cold, wet sand as I took another step. And another.

A few more, and I would be in the water.

A few more, and the current would take me.

A few more, and I would be with them.

“Izzy!”

I barely heard the shout. It was distant, meaningless, like the voices of the Folly Beach residents calling out in horror, like the sirens still wailing through the night.

Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, yanking me back just as the first wave crashed against my ankles. I struggled, twisting, clawing, but the grip was unyielding, dragging me away from the water.

“No—no, let me go!” My voice was ragged, frantic, as I fought against the hands gripping my arms. “Let mego!”

“Stop,” one of Ryker’s men ground out, his breath heavy in my ear. “You don’t want to do this.”

How did he know what I was doing? It didn’t matter, because I didn’t have the energy to fake being okay.

“Yes, I do!” I choked on a sob, my body trembling violently. “They’re gone! They’regone!”

Another set of hands joined the first, stronger this time, locking around my waist as I screamed, as I thrashed, as I tried with everything in me to break free.

“Izzy, stop!”

I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Because if I stopped, then I had to face it.

If I stopped, I had to accept the truth.

That there was no Ryker.

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