Page 51 of Boomer

But because now he could see her.

The woman beneath the armor. The fire beneath the steel.

“Ready?” she asked without looking up.

“Always,” he said, voice low.

She nodded and stood, then her eyes went to his rig. She stepped close to him, and he could feel her touch through the neoprene, light, adjusting a strap, but her hands lingered, and his heart squeezed. He turned his head. Their eyes met. Just for a second. But something passed between them, something wordless and carved in blood and breath and memory.

“I’ll go in first,” her words came out husky. She cleared her throat. “Tag's on me. You cover the rear.”

“Copy that, Red.”

She didn’t roll her eyes at the nickname this time. Didn’t smirk. Just touched his arm in passing, quick, op-focused. A simple signal of movement.

But his skin lit up where she touched him.He knewthat wasn’t about dive protocols.

That was something else.

Something that had started eight hours ago in a quiet room full of tears and breath and trembling hands. Something that hadn't ended.

They slipped into the black water together. Silent. Synchronized. But even as they descended into the deep, Boomer felt it. She was with him. Not just in formation, but in spirit, andthatwas the most dangerous thing of all.

The sea swallowed them. Cold. Dark. Absolute.

Boomer adjusted his buoyancy as the surface light fractured above him, breaking into a thousand distorted shards. The only sound was the hush of his rebreather and the distant hum of the port, a low mechanical throb echoing through the hulls around them. He kept his body streamlined, trailing slightly behind and to the right, just as planned.

Taylor was a shadow ten feet ahead, fins slicing through the black like a whisper. Efficient. Controlled. Her body cut the water with the same sharp purpose she used to cut through bullshit in the field. He’d always admired that about her.

Now heachedfor it.

He watched the way she moved, calm but alert. She was operating at a high level, but he knew what it cost her. The storm from earlier still swirled beneath the surface. He could feel it in the slight hitch of her shoulders. The residual grief like a current around them.

Still, she led.

She always fucking led, and he followed with trust for her instincts as much as his own.

They reached the underbelly of the freighter in silence, the steel hull looming above them like the middle of a sleeping beast. Barnacles crusted the midsection. Rust spiraled across riveted plates. Boomer swept the area with a low-watt beam, keeping the angle tight. No motion. No patrol boats. No unexpected movement along the pier.

He gave the signal.Clear left.

Taylor responded.Moving in.

She approached the target zone, hovering steady as she drew the RFID tracker from the pouch at her thigh. Boomer watched her hands, steady, precise. His chest constricted. She was wearing a full-face mask, but he could still feel the concentration radiating off her, like she was sculpting something fragile into permanence.

Suddenly the water moved, and Boomer turned. The shadow was swimming slowly, silver glinting as it passed under the moon. Boomer cataloged the beast the moment he saw it. Shortfin Mako, juvenile, three and a half feet and sixty pounds. It swam too close to Taylor, and he simply body blocked it. It glanced off his shoulder and swam away.

Taylor turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling, and he returned the look. Not many sharks ventured into harbors; they were deep-sea creatures. He never worried much about them when diving. Contrary to the hype of Shark Week, most of themwere interested in their normal prey. This juvenile must have wandered away from the coast.

She resumed the op, pressing the unit flat against the steel, holding it for a beat. It magnetized with a softclick, a sound he couldn’t hear, but could feel all the same.

Tag secured.She gave the confirmation hand signal. Boomer returned it.

Then she drifted slightly. Just a foot. Maybe two. The current pulled her off-axis as she reached for her flashlight to confirm the sync code. Instinct flared. He moved.

His hand wrapped around her wrist. His grip saidI’ve got you.

Her eyes flicked to his, and for a moment, time stilled.