Page 36 of Secrets Beneath the Waves (Beach Read Thrillers #2)

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

Ellie clung to the side of the boat, struggling to regain her breath. The salty spray of the Caribbean bit at her lips as she exchanged a wary glance with Luke.

He looked bad. Blood seeped from the wound on his side, but his jaw was set, his expression determined but fading.

Her mind raced to process the events of the last few minutes. Two of the threats were gone, their lifeless bodies lying on the ocean floor. But the third man—where was he? She saw him earlier in the week, exiting the cruise ship and getting into a sedan driven by one of the two dead men.

She assumed he was on the boat acting as a lookout. Not seeing him yet, sent a cold ripple through her chest. Her mother’s advice echoed in her mind: If you assume, assume on the side of caution. If he wasn’t there, fine, but she couldn’t take any chances.

“Stay here,” she whispered to Luke.

He nodded faintly, pressing himself flat against the hull, his hands clamped against the boat. Whatever she did, she had to do it quickly. She was afraid he might pass out.

Ellie edged along the side of the boat, her movements deliberate, her breath shallow. The silence grew louder with every stroke, each creak of the hull set her nerves on edge. She dared to pull herself up and peer over the edge.

Nothing.

Once on board, she crouched low and scanned the deck, looking in every cranny for a possible threat. But the boat was empty. Relief washed over her, but it was short-lived.

Where is he?

What if he was in the water?

She slid her mask back on and slipped into the water to find out. She moved slowly, floating on the surface, scanning the expanse beneath the boat. The ocean stretched in endless turquoise silence. No movement. No sign of him. Only the bodies of the two men she killed.

When she returned to Luke, he stared at her. “Anything?”

She shook her head, pulling off her mask. “He’s not here. We need to move, now.”

They worked quickly to board their own boat. Ellie helped Luke onto the bench and assessed his wound.

“You’re lucky,” she said, as she applied gauze she had retrieved from the first aid kit. “It’s shallow.”

Luke gave a bitter laugh, but his face pale. “Lucky is not a word I’d use. But okay. Just call me Lucky Luke.”

How could he crack jokes at a moment like this? Her mom had said that’s a good quality to have. It made the tension bearable.

“Thank you for helping me,” she said, sincerely. “You may have saved my life.”

She wanted to trust him, wanted it so badly. But trust wasn’t a luxury she could afford. Not now. Not yet.

“What’s going on, Ellie?” he asked suddenly, his tone filled with skepticism. “Who are these men? Why are they after you?”

“I can’t tell you,” she said, keeping her gaze focused on his wound.

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Both.”

The tension between them stretched taut as Ellie stood abruptly. “I’m going back in the water.”

“For what?”

“I can’t leave their bodies. Sharks won’t eat everything. What’s left could wash up and raise questions.”

He frowned. “There’s a lot of blood in the water. Sharks could already be down there.”

“I know. But I don’t have a choice.”

“Alright. But be careful.”

Would someone that concerned about her safety really work with terrorists to kill her?

Ellie switched her oxygen tank and dove back into the water. The bodies hovered in the depths. Blood floated like ribbons around them.

The water at the ocean floor was colder now, or maybe it was just the chill creeping through her veins.She swam closer and could hear her heartbeat in her ears. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the rhythmic hiss of her regulator.

Then she saw it—a flash of silver slicing through the blue.

Her stomach dropped as her fears were realized.

A reef shark.

She froze. She tracked its smooth, deliberate movements. The shark veered off, uninterested for now, but she knew better than to relax. The ocean had a way of calling its predators.

Ellie worked quickly. fingers fumbled with the weight belt strapped to the dead body. Another shadow glided into her periphery. Then another.

A sudden, sharp movement below made her gasp into the regulator. One of the sharks darted closer, its black eyes cold and calculating. It turned sharply, and the tip of its tail brushed against her leg, sending chills through her body.

Ellie flinched and instinctively kicked out in several directions in case one of them was close. She glanced down, and sheer terror threatened to force her back to the surface.

Three of them now. The largest shark circled tighter, the flick of its tail propelling it closer with every pass.

It wasn’t curiosity anymore. It was intent. The sharks had caught the scent, and now, they were hunting. One broke away from the others, dipping lower into the depths before rocketing upward.

Ellie twisted her body at the last second, barely avoiding its gaping mouth as it shot past her, its rough skin grazing her arm like sandpaper. She clenched her teeth, suppressing a scream that would have been lost in the water anyway.

Her breath quickened, fogging her mask as she freed the first body. Gripping it by the arm, she kicked hard toward the surface. Her legs burned with the effort, and the extra weight dragged her down.

A dark shape flickered at the edge of her vision—a shark tail slicing through the water as it turned for another approach. She had seconds.

With a final burst of effort, she broke the surface with a gasp, waves sloshing into her mask. It took all of her might to throw the body onto the boat. Behind her, the water churned, shadows circling below.

When she started to go down again, her blood ran cold. The largest shark was charging.

It came fast, slicing through the water like a torpedo. Ellie kicked hard, slamming her foot into its snout as it reached her. The impact jarred her leg and sent pain shooting through her calf.

The shark veered off. She knew he’d be back.

She dove back down for the second body. She knew it was a terrible idea—staying in the water this long—but she didn’t think she had a choice. Her mother had drilled in her the importance of leaving a scene clean if physically possible.

The second body was heavier, and her fingers shook as she unclipped the weights. The circling sharks were closer now, their movements more erratic. One swam just beneath her, and its dorsal fin grazed her side for a second time.

A shiver of fear shot through her, but she forced herself to focus. She was almost there.

A sudden shift in the water pressure made her look up. The largest shark was above her now, blocking the filtered sunlight. It hovered for a fraction of a second before diving straight down.

Ellie’s pulse skyrocketed. She ripped the last weight free and shoved off the ocean floor, launching herself upward with every ounce of strength she had left. The shark closed in fast. She could see the rows of teeth glinting in the dim light.

Something yanked at her ankle—one of the loose weight straps catching around her boot. Panic flared through her body. She twisted, kicking wildly as the shark came within feet of her. Finally, the strap gave way. She shot toward the surface, her lungs burning, heart hammering in her throat.

She broke through, gasping, and barely had time to grab the second body before a massive shadow passed directly beneath her.

They were done circling. The next attack would be real.

With a final, desperate heave, she threw the second body onto the boat, gripping the edge with raw fingers. No time to think, no time to hesitate. She hauled herself over the side just as the water beneath her exploded.

The sharks circled the boat now, their dorsal fins cut menacing paths through the water. One of them bumped the hull, and the thud reverberated beneath her.

Ellie lay there for a moment, catching her breath. She’d never forget the cold, black eyes of those sharks, so void of fear, so full of hunger.

Her hands trembled as she secured the men’s bodies in the life preserver cabinet and locked it tightly.

Ellie rifled through their belongings. She found phones, IDs, and other items of interest, all of which she secured in a waterproof bag. Once she’d gathered everything she could, she tied their boat to hers and towed it to the edge of the Cayman Trench.

She got back on their boat and opened the drain plug and watched as water flooded the hull. Then she climbed back onto her boat and stared as the vessel slowly sank out of sight.

The weight in her chest eased slightly, though the unease lingered. She looked back at Luke, who sat where she had left him, his face ashen but alert.

His voice broke the silence. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why are they after you?”

She shot him a sharp look. “I don’t know.”

“Did you know they’d be here?”

“Of course not.”

Luke leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Then how? How did they know where to find you?”

Her jaw clenched. “You tell me. Did you tell anyone we were going diving?”

His eyes darkened in anger. “No. Did you tell your boyfriend, Mark?”

She stiffened. “Why would I?”

“Somebody told them, Ellie. Someone betrayed you. I told you I don’t trust him.”

The words hung between them like a dark cloud. She wasn’t about to tell Luke that she had intended to go scuba diving with Mark the next morning.

That wasn’t possible now. She’d have to cancel. Too risky.

“My date with you is none of Mark’s business.”

“Well, somebody knew you’d be here. At this time of day. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

Luke exhaled sharply, raking a hand through his damp hair. “Then what do you believe? That some random hit squad just happened to show up in the middle of the ocean?”

“I’m the one who needs answers. And I don’t like the direction they’re pointing.”

She glared at him.

He studied her, voice dropping lower. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She hesitated. The truth tasted bitter. “That someone close to me is selling me out.”

“I agree. And I can’t help you if I don’t know what you’re doing in the Caymans. You're obviously not a low-level man on the totem pole like me. I saw the way you handled yourself down there. You’ve had training. So tell me the truth. You owe me.”

Ellie exhaled. “Fine. I’ll give you this much: I’m on a mission.”

“I already figured that one out.”

“Those men? They’re after me. I had a confrontation with them the other day. I killed one of them. There are three of them. Maybe more.”

Luke’s brows lifted, but he didn’t speak. She could see the questions swirling in his eyes, but she didn’t give him a chance to voice them.

“That’s all I can say,” she added firmly. “So don’t ask me for details. You know how missions work in the CIA. Need-to-know basis.”

“They must’ve followed you.”

She shook her head. “I took all the necessary precautions. I would know if someone was following me.”

“How would you know?”

She twisted her lips to the side for effect. “I’m trained to know. You’re right. This isn’t my first rodeo. And I’m good at what I do.”

In a way, this was her first rodeo. Her first real mission, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

He leaned back against the bench, wincing slightly. “Fine. But if you’re going to put my life in danger, I think I deserve to know more than that.”

Ellie didn’t respond. She didn’t know she was putting his life in danger. Was he the one who knew what was coming? She hated that she still doubted him, but how could she not?

If he were working with the terrorist group, he deserved an acting award. She was highly trained to detect deception, and he seemed genuinely perplexed by the day’s events.

“I would ask why you sank the boat,” he said, “but I know you won’t tell me.”

“No. I won’t. Although it should be obvious. I need them to disappear. And I need you to forget that you saw anything. Like you told me to forget about the envelope you gave to the cruise ship crew member.”

He moaned in disapproval, then clasped his wound in pain. She regretted having brought it up again. Without another word, they started the journey back to the marina.

As they approached, Ellie scanned the dock. Her heart stuttered when she saw a familiar figure lingering near the edge.

The third man.

He watched the water, his posture tense. Even from a distance, she could see his face twist in surprise when he spotted their boat approaching.

For a split second, he froze, his hand hovering near his pocket as if debating whether to stay and fight or flee.

His gaze darted from the boat to the parking lot, calculating.

Then like a rubber band snapping, he bolted, his feet pounding against the wooden dock like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

She saw him get into the sedan and drive away, confirming he was one of them.

Ellie pointed him out to Luke. “That’s one of the men. He was waiting for us.”

Luke followed her gaze, squinting in the sun. “And now he knows we made it. I guess he will assume that his friends are dead.”

“This is a good thing. He can tell his boss. They’ve sent four men to kill me. Three of them are dead, and I’m still very much alive.”

“If they’re that intent on killing you, they’ll send more.”

“I have no doubt about it.”