Page 88 of Glass Rose
Please…
There—a hand breaking the surface fifty yards to my right. Then her head appears, gasping for air before disappearing again.
“Hold on!” I rush back to the controls and gun the engine.
The boat lurches forward, slicing through the water toward where I last saw her. She surfaces again, closer now, arms flailing. The current is sweeping her under.
Fuck she must be exhausted. But she’s still fighting. My girl is not giving up.
I cut the engine again as we close in, not wanting to risk hitting her with the propeller. “Sofia!” I lean over the side, extending my arm as far as I can reach. “Grab my hand!”
She stretches toward me, fingertips brushing mine before a wave pulls her away.
“Fuck!” I strip off my vest and kick off my boots. “I’m right back, John.”
His ragged voice calls out behind me, but his words are lost as I jump into the churning water, scanning for Sofia.
Her head barely crests the surface ten yards ahead before disappearing again. I swim through the water with powerful strokes. My enhanced strength gives me an edge, but even I feel the current that’s trying to drag us both under.
Don’t stop fighting, baby.
I reach the spot where she went under, diving deep. The murky water stings my eyes, but I glimpse dark hair floating like seaweed. My hand closes around her jacket, and I tow her with me, kicking hard for the surface. We break through together, Sofia’s head lolling against my shoulder, eyes closed, lipsblue.
“Fuck.” I tread water with one arm while holding her face above the surface with the other. “Breathe, goddammit.”
She coughs, water spilling from her mouth.
Water sloshes over the gunwale as I heave her limp body onto the boat. She lands hard on the deck, hair plastered across her face.
Not moving. Not breathing.
“No fucking way.” I roll her onto her side, pounding between her shoulder blades. “You don’t get to die after that stunt.”
Water gushes from her mouth in a violent stream. Her body convulses with a desperate, rattling gasp that sounds like victory to my ears. I flip her onto her back, hovering close enough to feel her shallow breaths against my cheek.
“Good girl.”
Her eyelids flutter, revealing bloodshot whites before focusing on my face, and her blue-tinged lips trying to form words.
“You’re okay.” I wrap my arms around her, crushing her to me as if I could absorb her into my body, keep her safe beneath my skin where nothing could ever touch her again. “You’re okay.”
Her heartbeat pounds against mine, irregular but strong.
Alive. Safe.
John’s raspy voice cuts through the moment. “Is she…?”
“She’s alive.” I clear my throat. Didn’t realize how tight it had become.
The harbor stretches before us, deceptively peaceful despite the infected still plummeting from the bridge. We need to move. John’s breathing sounds worse by the minute, and Sofia’s shivering violently beneath me.
“Stay here.” I settle her on the seat next to John, who watches through half-lidded eyes, and move to the console, opening the emergency kit stored in the cabinet beside thewheel. Inside, as expected, is a thermal blanket. I wrap it around Sofia, tucking it tightly around her shaking form. “Better?”
She nods weakly, water still trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her fingers clutch the thermal blanket, knuckles white against the silver material.
“We need to go.” I return to the controls, shoving the throttle forward.
The boat surges through the water toward the island where, if my team followed protocol and is alive, medical supplies, shelter, and safety await.
