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Standing on the deck of a small recreational cruiser he’d secured when he flashed a big wad of cash to the hesitant owner, Cole Mercer couldn’t believe his eyes. A silver Lexus sedan had rolled off the Washington State ferry with someone still inside.

Someone do something! But people on the second level of the ferry simply watched the tragedy unfold. Nobody jumped in.

“Get me up there. Take us closer!” He shouted to the pilot steering the boat.

“But—”

“Now!”

Looked like Cole would have to be the one. He’d had enough traumatic experience when it came to the deep blue that he recoiled at the thought of jumping in. But he would do what he had to do.

The boat sped forward, closing in on the ferry, which kept moving. “Stop here!”

Bubbles erupted on the surface of the rough waters. The vehicle had floated for about thirty seconds before sinking completely.

God , save whoever’s inside. Keep them alive.

Help me get them out! Cole shrugged out of his coat and took off his boots.

Drawing in a big breath, he dove into the frigid, murky water.

The shock of cold almost robbed him of breath.

He caught the grille of the sinking sedan in his peripheral vision and, kicking hard, corrected course.

His mind raced through the steps required to free whoever remained trapped inside.

He feared he would be too late as he made it to the slowly sinking vehicle.

At the driver’s side, he found the window halfway down—not enough for someone to slip out.

He tried the door, but it refused to open.

He’d need to break the window. The front of the cab was completely submerged. Was there even a pocket of air left?

He tried to signal to the clearly panicked woman inside.

Big brown eyes stared back. His heart lurched.

Jo? And he might have released too much air. Even so, his pounding heart was using up too much oxygen. He removed his gun from the holster at his waist and waved her away. He hoped the water wouldn’t slow the bullet enough to make it ineffective in breaking the glass.

She shook her head, eyes wide with fear. Was she stuck? Couldn’t move?

Cole angled away from her and fired at the window. It shattered. The bits of glass floating away posed a danger of their own. But her path was free.

Except, she remained in the vehicle. She pointed to the floorboard. He suspected her foot had somehow gotten stuck, so he maneuvered until he could find the problem. And there it was. Her foot was zip-tied to the pedal. Fury rolled through him as he tugged out his pocketknife.

Cole dove into the space that grew darker by the second as the vehicle continued sinking.

He couldn’t see a thing, but he felt the tie, secured it away from her ankle as best he could, and cut, then he pulled the plastic away.

Her body instantly floated free and upward in the space.

Heart pounding, running out of air, he grabbed her hand.

Noting someone else was in the back seat that he hadn’t seen before, he shoved her forward and up toward the surface, but she tugged him toward her.

Shook her head. The other passenger was gone.

And he and Jo would be too if they didn’t get to the surface. The cold worked against his body, making his limbs numb as he kicked and swam toward the light. Breaching the surface, hauling Jo up alongside him, he drew in a long breath.

Jo sucked in air too. Treading water, she glanced around them, then zeroed in on him, giving him a brief questioning look that he could read only too well. Why his sudden appearance?

After all, he hadn’t seen her in months. But he would answer her questions later. Right now, they were in survival mode.

Together they bobbed on the surface, the rough chop during this spring storm that tried to drown them. He’d get them through this. He fought the aggressive waves that pummeled him, draining his strength. Jo’s too. Puget Sound waters were rough today, and the temperature was always too cold.

Now for the second rescue.

Kicking to stay afloat, he turned in every direction, searching for the ferry. There. Finally stopping, the vessel floated nearby. An orange life ring had been tossed out, and Cole and Jo swam for it. They finally made it and held on while they waited for the rescue boat.

Finally, rescuers pulled Cole and Jo from the water and transported them back to the ferry.

Aboard the MV Chimacum , they sat inside the upper deck, blankets wrapped around them both. Cole held Jo in his arms. He tried to ignore the fear-spiked adrenaline still pumping through his veins and instead simply be grateful for this moment.

She was here.

He was here.

I almost lost you...

He wanted to kiss her blue lips and put some color back into them as well as her pale face.

But that would be totally selfish. He might have kissed her before, back when they spent time together, but he doubted she’d want that from him now.

Even if she wanted him to show her just how much he missed her, they had an audience.

A public display of affection wasn’t happening.

Standing around, far and wide, ferry patrons watched them, zooming in with their cell phone cameras, no doubt.

Mumbling and questioning what had just happened.

A car had rolled off the ferry and into the water. That’s what. While that wasn’t ever supposed to happen, this wouldn’t be the first time, though maybe not on this particular ferry. Cole didn’t know.

He did know that this had been no accident.

Jo told the Chimacum captain that she’d witnessed a murder, and the killer was responsible for stashing her in the vehicle, along with the body of the murder victim, and sending the vehicle into the water—as if no one would notice?

Dropping her overboard along with the body, attached to some kind of anchor, might have been a better way to hide his crimes, but he’d chosen to . .. what? Make a statement?

Two crew members had been found bound and gagged. At least they hadn’t been murdered. But they hadn’t seen the man’s face. Neither had Jo. How was that possible?

Cole was just glad he’d made the decision to come after Jo and that he’d been there at the right moment to pull her from the cold depths of Puget Sound.

The ferry master had contacted the Seattle PD Harbor Patrol, who requested the Chimacum return to the ferry terminal in Seattle, to the utter displeasure of all the patrons who needed to get to Bremerton.

But the authorities would need to question and investigate.

Regardless of who had jurisdiction, law enforcement would get the man who’d done this.

Except Cole had a feeling the killer would slip through the noose before it could close around his throat.

Either he was a complete idiot, or he had planned it all out and wouldn’t have murdered someone on a ferry with no plan for escape.

Next to him, Jo shifted, drawing his focus back to her.

Questions, accusation, rose in her big golden-brown eyes. He suspected she wouldn’t soon overcome the shock of witnessing a murder and then almost being killed herself in a dramatic and horrific way. After nearly drowning, she must have questions about why he was the one to rescue her.

He had questions too. Answers wouldn’t come until the dive team recovered the murder victim’s body. Still, he suspected the question burning through her right now had nothing to do with that.

Explaining his reasons for being here would be ... complicated. As he looked at her, he had so much he wanted to say, to explain. His chest ached with the need to get back what he’d left behind in Hidden Bay.

Jo Cattrel.

But he hadn’t walked away by choice. The threat of criminal charges and the manipulation of the truth had been held over him to coerce him into participating in a classified, covert mission.

So what was he supposed to tell her when he called her from DC?

It’s me , not you?

The other, equally painful truth of it was that Jo had already been through so much, and he was a mess.

He had no business falling for her. Making promises he feared he couldn’t keep.

But how did he tell her that? It sounded lame, even to his own thoughts.

The two of them together were headed for massive heartbreak.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Why were you on the same ferry I was on?”

I wasn’t. “I’ll explain all that later. I’m just glad you’re alive. Let’s focus on that right now.” And keeping her that way.

On the bench, Jo scooted away a few inches.

Understandable. She’d struggled with trust issues, and he hadn’t made it easy for her to trust him, even after saving her life today.

The color returned to her cheeks and lips.

Good, at least her outrage at his sudden unexplained appearance was causing the blood to flow.

“Were you following me?” Fire erupted in her eyes. Fire and fear. “Because I had the feeling I was being followed. I mean, I know I get that a lot. But you know why.”

Seeing the pure confusion in her eyes cut through him. He wanted to reassure her, but he couldn’t have this conversation in front of witnesses, some with their camera phones out. “Some privacy, please?” He glared at the onlookers.

“No, Jo.” He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “It’s not like that. I wasn’t following you as in stalking you.”

Then he turned her away from the cameras, and they both faced the windows looking out over the water. Her eyes grew even wider as though she finally got it. “Cameras. Oh no...”

Exactly. What if the videos went viral? What if the wrong person saw them? She’d been hiding at Cedar Trails Lodge in Hidden Bay for years now.

Shivering, she hung her head. “I shouldn’t have come here.”