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“Mallary? The jewels?” Trinity grabbed Keaton’s wrist. “Did you find them? My boat? What happened to my boat?” Panic clutched her chest like an elephant had taken a seat on it.
“Babe, slow down. You literally just woke up after being lost at sea for close to nine hours. You’ve had surgery on your shoulder. You need to rest. Your dad went to eat, and if he comes back and I’m sitting here talking about all this crap, he won’t be happy.”
“Please, Keaton. What I need are answers.” She stared into his brown eyes, pleading. Begging. Everything that had happened replayed like a bad dream over and over again. She couldn’t stop it. It didn’t matter thatshe was awake because all she could see was a gun… pointing at her. Her pushing Mallary into the water… Bullets racing through the darkness…
He sat on the side of the bed, holding her hand and staring at her fingers. He lifted his gaze. “I guess I would, too, if I were you.” He nodded. “The search for Mallary at sea was called off.”
Trinity yanked her hand away, covered her mouth, and gasped. “No,” she managed in a mangled cry.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t say that well. The Coast Guard found your boat stripped of anything of value. It appears it was the work of pirates. Dawson called that FBI agent, Chloe, and reported Mallary as missing. She’s going to work that angle.”
“What about the je?—”
Keaton pressed his lips against her mouth. He kissed her cheek. Then he whispered, “Don’t bring that up. Not in front of anyone. Certainly not here. We decided not to tell anyone that we have them. Not until after Dawson has had the chance to speak with you. Someone tried to kill you, and until we know more, no one needs to know what you found.” He kissed her softly one more time.
She stared at him for a long moment.
“I need you to trust me on this. Okay?” he said. “You can’t talk to anyone but us about it. At least for now.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
The machine's beeping grew louder and faster, as did her pulse. The nightmare snapped into view, but it wasn’t a nightmare. It had been her reality. It had been what she had survived.
“I floated and swam for hours in the dark,” she managed. “A few boats hummed right on by. They didn’t see or hear me.” Tears trickled down her cheeks. No one ever liked crying, and she was no different.
The sweet man snagged a tissue and swiped under her eyes, all while gazing into them with a mixture of sadness, kindness, caring, and a hint of rage. It was that last emotion that Trinity knew she’d have to tether. At least this time, she believed she hadn’t caused it. Or she hoped she hadn’t been the one to put it there.
“I thought I was going to die out there. I tried not to close my eyes because I knew what would happen, but I managed to grab hold of something, and now I’m here. How did that happen?”
“When I didn’t hear from you, and Baily said you never radioed before she closed, we all came looking. We spent the night and morning out there. Fletcher and I were coming down the channel from the north and spotted you on a channel marker.” Gingerly, he ran his hand over her arm, which was in a sling. “I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if even another half hour had passed. You were completely unconscious, barely hanging on, and you’d lost a lot of blood.”
She pushed out a hard breath through her nose and closed her eyes. “Two men boarded my boat. They were masked. One shot me when I tried to disarm him with my empty tank. I managed to grab another tank with a little bit of oxygen before I dove back in.”
“You did what?” Keaton ran his thumb across her cheek.
She blinked. “It wasn’t my brightest moment, but Ihad to do something. He was going to kill us both. Instead, I saved myself, and Mallary is probably dead.” She turned her head. “It’s all my fault.” Tears flowed down her face. Hot. Hard. And fast.
He gently wiped them away. “Sweetheart, I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“Maybe she wouldn’t have been taken. Or lost at sea if I hadn’t tried that stupid stunt.”
“Oh, babe.” He cupped her chin. “I wasn’t there, so I can’t assess whether it was the right thing to do or not. But based on what you just told me, it appears it was the only logical course of action. And truth be told, I would’ve done the same thing in hopes of saving my friend.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better.”
“I think you know me better than that.” He cocked a brow. “If I believed you were in the wrong, I’d say so.” He smoothed down her hair. “I’m just so grateful you’re alive.”
She scrunched her face. “But Mallary isn’t.”
“We don’t know that, and we’re going to pull out all the stops to look for her.” Keaton yanked his cell from his back pocket and tapped at the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“Letting your dad know you’re awake. I’m also texting Dawson. He needs to take your statement.” Keaton glanced up. “I should go get the doctor.”
“You have my father’s cell number?”
Keaton chuckled. “I spent the last few hours in the waiting room with him. It’s been… interesting.”