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The tentacle sliced sideways, and I hung on with everything I had. My body slipped a little and I gritted my teeth.

I looked down. Greer was in the water and swimming away, trying to get to the bank. But as I watched, one of the tentacles wrapped around her middle. Every muscle in my body locked.

Fucking hell. No.

I let go and plummeted into the water.

The water closed over my head, then I kicked up. I broke the surface and powered toward her.

“Greer!”

When I reached the tentacle holding her, I grabbed on.

Just then, the monster started to move, swimming through the lake and away from the Talon.

Greer

Fighting back my panic,I tried to keep my head above the water. Water splashed in my eyes and filled my mouth. I spat it out.

The black tentacle tightened around me, squeezing hard.

Oh God. Oh God. There was a second monster. I couldn’t believe it.

Water splashed in my face again, and I shook my head.

The monster was moving fast, swimming through the lake in the opposite direction of the dam. I was in trouble.

“Greer!”

Jameson?I heard him shout my name and wondered if I was imagining things. I turned my head.

My heart surged. He was clinging to the tentacle, just a few meters away.

He’d dove in after me. Emotion flooded me. He’d come for me.

More water splashed over us. Jameson slipped and my pulse spiked. He lunged forward, gripping on hard.

“Jameson!” I reached out, and his fingers touched mine.

Then the monster picked up speed, driving through the water.

I heard Jameson curse. I glanced up and saw the Talon above, but as the monster followed a curve in the lake, the quadcopter disappeared from view.

“I’ll get you free. Hold on.”

But I could tell he was struggling to hold onto the tentacle.

If he couldn’t do it…

I’d be alone with the monster.

No, I wasn’t going to lose it. I was going to survive this. My own mother had survived Gizzida captivity. I could survive this.

Besides all of that, I very much wanted to get naked with Jameson Steele again.

I wasverymotivated to survive.

A large wave of water hit my face. I coughed and blinked.