Semper Fidelis (32 page)

The helos had been sent back to the Coast Guard Air Station at the Astoria Regional Airport. The winds were too strong. The anemometer had broken, no longer able to measure the air speed. It was too dangerous for the men flying the rescue ’copters. That meant that Shane would have to go in. He was the only crew member qualified enough for the type of rescue they would be attempting.

The inflatable was also ready. It would be tethered to the cutter, but in some ways, Shane wasn’t sure it was even viable under the circumstances with how massive the waves were. Lionel tapped him on the shoulder, moving close to speak next to his ear. Even though they were inside the bridge, the constant roar of the storm was still overpowering.

“We’re close to where we were last able to get a signal from them.”

Since he’d arrive on board, Shane had discovered that while Joel had been the one to call for help, he had two of his friends with him. He’d also been able to confirm that it was indeed Kirk’s boat they were on.

If it hasn’t already been smashed to bits.

Almost an hour had passed since their last communication with the boys. It was impossible to know why they were no longer reachable. Shane swallowed back bile rising in his throat at the thought that Joel might have already been lost to the sea. Lionel clasped his shoulder as if he knew what was passing through his mind.

Shane had promised Kirk that he would bring his boy back safe, had assured him that he wouldn’t take any chances with his own life either. It was all so much bullshit. Even if he didn’t know Joel personally, he’d been trained to put the victim first. It was the reason he’d sought the training he had when he’d first enlisted—to have the opportunity to save people, to make a real, quantifiable difference. But there were no guarantees.

“I’m gonna see if they’ve picked up anything else on sonar.” Lionel squeezed his shoulder before letting go. “Why don’t you go check and see if Kirk’s texted you while you’re waiting?”

Shane watched as Lionel walked away. He couldn’t go—he’d be too tempted to try and contact him. And what could he say? That they’d lost contact with Joel an hour before? Kirk had always been incredibly respectful of him while he was on-duty, but this was a different scenario. He would be frantic with worry, would want to know what was happening every step of the way, despite what he’d said before they’d parted at the dock with another public kiss.

‘I won’t bother you. But text me as soon as you know anything.’

Joel was Kirk’s son. If the positions had been reversed, Shane probably would have stolen aboard. His heart also ached at Kirk’s other words, the ones whispered to him right before Kirk let him go.

‘Bring back my son. But make sure you bring back the man I love too.’

He forced his thoughts back to the present. He tracked the lights that were trained on the rolling waters, searching in the darkness for any sign of either the small craft or anyone being tossed about in the sea. According to Kirk, there were four orange life vests aboard his boat, so if the boys had at least been smart enough to put them on, they might still have a chance if the vessel had already been compromised. Shane winced at his use of military speak.

Compromised.

What he meant was if the boat had sunk, been destroyed. It was too fucking hard when it was someone you knew. There was a yell from outside and one of the recruits charged in.

“We’ve spotted something!”

“Got it.”

Shane grabbed his flippers and other gear, and scurried outside. Several lights shone in one concentrated area and Shane knew the engineers were doing their best to keep control of the cutter, but there wouldn’t be much time. Everything would have to be done quickly. He squinted against the driving wind and rain, then pulled the mask down over his eyes. That was the other thing—it was so fucking cold. If the boys had been in the water for any length of time, they might have already succumbed to hypothermia.

He spotted them. The boat had a huge gouge taken out of it and was listing precariously to one side as it was tossed about on the waves. The three young men were huddled together on the portion that was mostly sticking out of the water. He recognized Joel immediately. He was too far away and it was too dark for Shane to make out his expression, but he imagined it would be one of abject terror.

Fuck.

He did a last minute check to insure that his harness was safely clasped then put his flippers on. Right before he secured his helmet and gloves then put the snorkel bit in his mouth, he radioed his team, alerting them to be ready to lower him in. He gave them the thumbs up. The second rescue swimmer on his team attached the line to his harness. He would stay behind, monitoring the situation, available to pull Shane and the victims from the sea. Shane braced himself then jumped in, the impact of the water robbing him of air momentarily.

He went through the motions, using the strength in his legs to push himself to the surface. As he gathered his bearings, he was once again reminded how fragile every human being was. How the power of the elements could crush him in an instant, that there would be nothing he could do to stop it.

The floatable was in the water, but Shane could see that it would be next to useless—it was already swamped. He doubted it would last much longer.

None of us will if I don’t move fast enough.

From where Shane struggled to stay afloat in the jarring waves, he’d lost the visual on the boat that he’d had when he was aboard the cutter. His only guide was the lights that stayed trained on the frightened boy’s location. They were less than fifty feet away. If the vessel moved in any closer, they risked smashing into what remained of Kirk’s fishing boat, likely killing the kids instantly.

Using the considerable strength he’d worked so hard to obtain, he swam with all he had, slicing through the turbulent waters, kicking furiously. They were almost in reach. As he moved in close, it became clear that one of Joel’s friends was badly hurt. Joel had the young man wrapped in an embrace, but even so, Shane could see the awkward angle of Joel’s friend’s arm. At first, Shane didn’t notice anything else unusual other than the fact that the victim appeared sluggish, but then Shane realized what it was. The boy also had a head wound that was bleeding continuously, but the waves crashing over him kept washing the blood away.

It was obvious that the injured man would be the first one Shane would take back. Time was not their friend and the storm gave no indication that it was in the mood to calm down. His gut clenched and twisted at the thought of leaving Joel on the open sea until he could come back for him. If the rescue ’copters had remained airborne, they could’ve taken the boy who was hurt and Shane would’ve made sure he grabbed Joel.

At last he was able to grab onto the side of the boat right above the gaping hole that had been torn through it. Up close, it was much more terrifying—he couldn’t imagine how scared the boys must be. As he assessed their situation, he was relieved to discover that they all had put their life vests on. Shane glanced over his shoulder in case he thought the floatable could still be put in service—maybe he could still get all the boys at once.

It was hopeless. He had looked just in time to witness the misshapen mass of deflated rubber being plucked from the raging sea. He would have to hope that both his strength and all three boys could hold out. Shane couldn’t take his mask off, but he was able to gesture to Joel and his other friend to stay put. He made another gesture indicating for them to remain holding onto the wreckage of the boat. Reaching into one of the pouches on his suit, he pulled out a tracking device and attached one to Joel, repeating the action for his other friend. If they were to be swept away before Shane returned, they would have a better chance of locating them in the vast, dark ocean.

It was easy to see how petrified Joel was, but he was like his father in the way that he was attempting to be brave for both his friends. The one not hurt was weeping openly. Joel relinquished his hold on the young man he’d been clutching to him, and the boy cried out in obvious pain from his broken arm. Sadly, it made Shane’s job easier that the kid was injured. He wouldn’t panic, wouldn’t fight the rescue attempt.

One of the bright beacons from the ship shone down on him, guiding him back to the cutter. He made it without incident, but he was tired. There were still two more victims to rescue and no one else qualified enough for this type of rescue. It reminded him how important having the airmen was.

Once the first boy had been handed over, Shane swam with every ounce of energy he had to get back to Joel. It was going to be a tough call. His every instinct wanted to simply grab Joel first, guarantee his safety. But that wasn’t how it was done. Shane would have to quickly assess their situation and determine who would be rescued next based on that. Never, ever had he imagined he would be in such a position where he had to objectively choose between someone he had an attachment to versus a complete stranger.

It’d probably been less than ten minutes since he’d left, but they appeared even more terrified. The tease of having rescue so close but not available was something many victims found to be worse than not knowing whether they were going to be found or not. Shane pulled himself up next to them to get a closer look at their condition. He knew that hypothermia was an immediate concern for them both, but he searched for other signs that might indicate who was in more dire need.

After concluding that both young men were in a similar state, Shane reached for Joel. His friend launched himself at Shane, startling him and knocking Shane into the water. His snorkel was torn from his mouth and for a moment the world seemed to turn on end as he thrashed in the water, desperate to right himself and make sure that the boy was okay.

Shane coughed up some seawater that he’d inadvertently taken in and grabbed for the wreckage again to steady himself. Joel still clung to his father’s boat, but he was screaming and pointing. The friend that had knocked him over was being tossed about as if he were nothing more than a feather in the frigid waters. Shane had no choice but to go after him and leave his lover’s son once more, leave him completely alone this time.

He swam like the devil, aware that his muscles had already begun the process of fighting him, the lactic acid building in his body. He might not have enough reserves to make it back to Joel. Willing himself to do the near impossible, he slowed his movements down, forcing himself not to burn out too soon. Shane reached Joel’s friend who struggled against him. Without his snorkel, Shane was able to speak.

“Don’t fight me!” he yelled. “You’ll take us both down, hold still!”

The resistance ebbed and Shane thought that the kid’s lack of energy had probably contributed to him giving up the fight more than anything else.

Help waited for them as a wire basket was lowered and the second Shane had the boy hooked in, he pushed away. The team member operating the basket had been trying to communicate something to him, but he couldn’t wait—he had to get back to Joel. The lights that had been a glaring spotlight on the wreckage were split apart, dancing crazily across the water. A large piece of Kirk’s boat banged into the side of his head, the debris hitting his helmet hard enough to make his teeth clatter.

That was when he realized what they’d been trying to tell him. The remains of the boat had broken apart and Joel was floating around, lost somewhere in the ocean.

Chapter Four

Fuck!

Shane had never been in a situation before where he’d panicked during a rescue operation, but he was on the verge of a first time. He’d never be able to face Kirk again if he lost his son, wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Taking calming breaths, he visually followed the paths of the various lights.

There!

He saw Joel, one of the spots catching the orange of his vest. Shane swam frantically in the kid’s direction, no longer tempering his movements. He used the fins to propel himself so that he surged through the water. He ignored the relentless pounding of the waves, his entire being focused on one thing only—Kirk’s son.

Right as he was within reach, Shane thrust his hand forward. The ocean swirled, stealing Joel away, yanking him out of Shane’s grasp. He’d had enough of this shit. The cruelty of being so close but not able to get to the kid was seriously pissing him off. From somewhere deep inside that he’d had no idea existed, he drew upon every bit of will he’d ever possessed and flung himself in the direction of Joel. The vest taunted him, the orange a tease egging him on.

Gotcha!

He had the barest bit of nylon fabric clutched between his fingers but he wouldn’t let go, couldn’t let go—even as the raging sea fought him. Screaming in agony as his wrist snapped, he threw his other arm around Joel’s chest before his broken hand went completely numb and let his precious cargo free. There was an amazing calm to Joel. As soon as Shane had pulled the kid to his chest, he’d not only relaxed, but was using what Shane was certain were his last reserves to help them swim to safety.

The jolt of endorphins from his break had reenergized him, but he was on severely borrowed time. He was not only almost depleted from the entire experience, but the shock of his injury could hit at any time.

Where is that fucking cutter?

He’d been so intent upon getting to Joel, he’d lost track of his haven—a genuine boneheaded rookie mistake. Light blinded him and he closed his eyes against the intrusion. That had been a mistake because things suddenly got a little fuzzy around the edges and he was deeply aware of the pain that radiated out from his wrist as if he’d laid his arm in burning coals. He was floating, and he had the bizarre impression that his hand had grown to the size of a basketball. A giant, throbbing basketball.

Joel disappeared from his arms and he freaked, thrashing wildly, pain spiking through his body from his injury.

“Officer Harper, stop! We’re hooking you back up, gonna pull you in.”