Page 100 of The Meaning Of You

But I only had eyes for the one in front.Madigan. Alive.My heart leaped in my throat and I kicked up a gear. I caught up to Gazza just as a small boat roared to life, somewhere in the dark. We hoofed it through the open gate onto the jetty, our shoes thundering along the wood like a herd of horses.

“I’ve lost them,” I panicked, my lungs close to exploding as I tried to see over the boats to the jetty that intersected with this one.

“Next right,” Gazza huffed, and when we turned Mads was back in the frame. But he’d stopped running and was standing still, head whipping from side to side as two shadowy figures advanced on him from opposite directions.

“Shit.” Gazza slowed, hesitating. “Maybe we should?—”

I flew past, barking Mads’ name into the dark.

The man closest to us jerked around while the other one raised his arm, the gun in his hand catching the light spilling over the boards.

No!My heart stuttered in my chest. “Move, Mads! Move!” My arms pumped for every scrap of speed I could muster; the bands of pain around my head could just fuck off and die. I wasn’t going to lose him too. I just fucking wasn’t. Dammit.

Davis! Help me!

Whether it was my prayer or simply the man’s beautiful big brain, Mads suddenly lurched forward and made a run for the water.

Do it, baby,I pleaded as he threw himself off the jetty and sailed into the air.

A gunshot fractured the night and a cry burst from Mads’ throat seconds before he crashed into the water and disappeared between the two boats.

“No!” I cried, adrenaline propelling me forward.

Keep running.Just keep running. He’s okay. He’s okay.

A siren sounded over the water and a police boat powered alongside the jetty, light bar flashing. Samuel and two officers leaped from the deck and hit the boards running.

The man closest to us ran to a moored dinghy and fired up the engine.

Almost there. Almost there.

I slowed and scanned the dark water where Mads had gone in, but there was no trace of him. I heard Samuel barking orders and feet thundering along the jetty, no doubt after the second man, but I was too busy pulling my shirt over my head.

Gazza slapped my shoulder, his chest heaving. “You guys have got this. I’m going after Ben. I wanna be there for that fucker’s arrest.”

I nodded. “Go.” Then I dropped my jeans and dived between the boats before Samuel could stop me.

Cool water shocked my heated skin. Darkness closed in as the lights of the jetty disappeared into the gloom.

When I kicked to the surface, my arm grazed the hull of a boat. I moved along its length, calling his name and feeling my way through the water.

“Madigan?”

No answer.

Samuel hit the water behind and his wake washed over me. He threw a marine flashlight my way. “I’ll take the jetty. You take the boats.”

I grabbed the flashlight and found my way under the first boat, light moving from side to side. Nothing but shades of grey and black. At the deepest point, a current kicked in and the boat’s hull grazed my back. I grunted and pushed myself free, cursing the deafeningthwump-thwumpof chopper blades and the unholy spotlight that lit up the water like a blinding stage.

Where is he?I swung the light in a slow arc, but still nothing.

Panic gripped my chest. It was taking way too long. Wherewashe?

I kicked for the surface, lungs burning, heart in my throat, and... there he was.

Floating.

His body sloshing back and forth against the hull.

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