Page 69 of Kai (Alpha Heroes #13)

I turned around and watched as the first person appeared atop the tower, dressed in a neon yellow wetsuit that was impossible to miss.

As he climbed down, another similarly dressed figure followed, and then another.

By the time we approached the visible surface of the submarine, several men stood on the outer deck, atop the tower, and at the edge of the hull.

“Grab the leash,” Kai called out, unfastening the cuff from his ankle and tossing it to one of the men in yellow.

“Got it.” The man pulled hand over hand until the surfboard bumped softly against the sub. Kai stretched out his arm, and another man caught it. Together, they brought the surfboard parallel to the sub.

“I’ll balance the board.” Kai crouched down to do just that. “You go.”

I stood on shaky legs, accepted a hand from the second man, and with a grimace, stepped onto the sub.

“Welcome aboard, Sorceress.” Javier Guzman steadied me and immediately led me away from the water. “A truce. Okay?”

“A truce? No.” I captured him in a hug that could’ve strangled a grizzly. “Peace, Javier. Sorry about the shit I gave you.”

“Wait. Do you like me now?” he asked as he drew back.

“Yes.” I smiled up at him. “I’m thrilled to see you again.”

“You’re fierce, Sorceress.” He bumped his fist against his chest. “Respect.”

“Kai needs help.” I braced my feet on the bobbing surface. “He’s wounded.”

“I got him,” Micah’s deep baritone announced as he offered Kai his hand.

“Tough day at the office?” Javier also moved toward Kai.

“Meh.” Kai shrugged as he clasped Micah’s hand and leaped over. “I’ve had worse.”

His legs buckled, and it took both Micah and Javier to catch him.

“Worse?” I rolled my eyes. “Bullshit. Is there a doctor on board?”

“Our corpsman is waiting inside.” Javier fitted his shoulder under Kai’s good arm.

“We’ll take him to Ferranti directly,” Micah added, grabbing the surfboard and tucking it under his arm as if it was nothing.

Kai started. “Cece was in the water for a while. She needs help more than I do.”

“She’ll have it.” A familiar voice came from behind me. “Go, King. I’ve got this.”

I spun to face Dashiell Dagger, tall, fit, and elegant, even in neon yellow. He lowered the hood of his wetsuit and stared at me with his deep-set chocolate eyes.

“Dash.” I swallowed a gulp of emotion. “You look like a yellow chick.”

He granted me one of his rare grins. “And you look like you’ve just been through hell.”

“That’s true, but I’m back.” I threw myself into his arms.

He caught me. His arms squeezed around me. He’d always been a guarded one, but as he embraced me, the same emotions that bubbled through me vibrated in his body.

He pulled back and looked me up and down. “I’m so glad to see your face. Are you okay?”

“A little bruised, and a lot tired, but thanks to Kai, I’m alive.”

“You guys gave us a fright there at the end.”

“Believe me, the feeling is mutual.”

His smile lit his gaze. “Thena’s gonna be ecstatic to see you again.”

A few more lines etched the sunburst patterns at the corners of his eyes.

A little more gray glinted in his salt and pepper hair than I remembered, but this didn’t surprise me.

Dash’s first grays had shown up at the ripe age of twenty.

I knew because we grew up together. The heavy stubble that covered his jaw spoke of long days and too many worries, but there was a lightness to him that had never been there before.

“Thena and Missy?” I asked, not letting go of his hands.

“Safe.”

“Affie?”

“Still looking, but we’ll find her, I swear.”

“Kai said you guys would,” I said. “I have information that will help.”

“That’s great news, Cece.” He looked down at his watch. “Food, drink, and then debrief. But…” Dash tilted his head and studied my face. “You and Kai?”

I poked a finger on his rock-hard chest. “Don’t you dare give me shit about it.”

“Cece-never-love.” He smirked. “Did you change your mind?”

“I changed my mind,” I admitted, even though it was more like a change of heart. “But I’ll have you know I had good reasons. Kai’s a prince of a man.”

“That he is.” Dash nodded in agreement. “You’ve chosen well.”

“Dagger!” A voice called out from atop the tower. “This ain’t a pleasure cruise. We’ve got air in the banks, shit in the tanks, and water all around. We ain’t got all day.”

“That’s the captain of this undersea predator,” Dash informed me, waving at the man. “He’d rather be three thousand feet under the sea, and I don’t blame him. Now that he’s surfaced and shot his missiles, he’s gonna have to work hard to disappear.” He took my elbow. “Time to go inside.”

“Before we go, we brought you a present.”

A frown deepened the lines on Dash’s forehead. “A present?”

“I know it’s not your birthday, but it might as well be.” Holding on to him, I cocked a thumb to where Serenity floated undisturbed. “Look in the spare anchor hatch and you’ll see.”

“You mean…?”

“Jack Levine. In the flesh.”

Dash’s eyes widened. I had always believed no one could surprise him. I was wrong. He looked shocked. “You and Kai…?” He couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“We did,” I said proudly. “Levine’s sedated at the moment, but he’s a bitch to control and hard to fight, so this is your warning.”

“Cece.” Dash opened his mouth and closed it. “ You fought Levine ?”

“It’s a long story,” I said. “I can feel the captain’s eyes burning a hole in my back.”

“We need to get underway. Bozeman, Guzman!” Dash called out.

The two men hurried back from the hatch where Kai—and his surfboard—had disappeared.

“She got the fucker,” Dash informed the other two.

“Kai and I got the fucker,” I amended.

Javier stared at me, his eyes sparkling with shock. “You got Levine?”

“ She fought Levine ,” Dash repeated, still in disbelief.

“You’re a double-backboned badass.” Javier’s grin split his face.

“She’d charge hell with an ice bucket, that’s true,” Dash grumbled. “Micah, notify the cleanup crew that Serenity has a gift for us.”

“Right away, sir.” The giant spun on his heel and headed to the hatch.

“Oh, and tell them to retrieve my photo box,” I called after him. “It’s in my berth. And my laptop!”

“Understood,” Micah called back in his low bass before he disappeared down the hatch.

“Jesus, Cece.” Dash shook his head, and betraying a slight limp, led me to the hatch. “Do you know how many times we tried to get that son of a bitch?”

“Too fucking many,” Javier put in. “Between you and Kai, you’ve got more guts than anybody could hang on the longest fence in Texas,” he added, before he grabbed the ladder’s handle and slid down, also disappearing into the hatch.

“Where’s Kai?” I asked.

“I’ll take you to him.” Dash motioned to the rungs. I had millions of questions for him, and his eyes, too, sparkled with questions for me, but he only asked one. “Are you ready to return to Astor House?”

“Yes.” I surprised him and myself with my next words. “I want to go home.”