Sleep With Me (Be With Me) (3 page)

“Toward the island,” she said finally, pointing to what appeared to be a large rock with a few trees growing out of it sticking up just to the west. “I went just to the other side of the reef and came right back. If she’d been behind me, I would have seen her one way or the other. Especially since she’d have to stay near the surface.”

He shook his head, and checked the tracker screen again. “We need to get closer to the reef. She would have been drawn in by the colors and fish. Or that’s what we have to hope. Pull up the anchor and get as close as you can. Then we’ll see if her signal comes up. Did you call it in to the coast guard?”

“Not yet,” Amy said, flipping a few switches on the control panel. “I was hoping we’d have a signal from her by now. I’ll radio now.”

Gears rumbled as they drew the anchor up and the boat’s main engine came to life. Voices rose outside as Amy got on the radio, and David went to check on their guests and let them know about the delayed return to shore.

When he stepped out of the cabin, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of a body twitching on the deck, the view obscured by the other customers standing and kneeling around it. A quick scan made him realize that one of the teen boys was missing.

“Move aside, please. Let me through.” He pushed people back so he could confirm it was the other teen. His dad was holding his head and David spread out his arms, motioning for everyone to move away from the flailing limbs.

“He’s epileptic.” The father looked up, a worried expression on his face. “His new medication’s been working so well, the doctor said this trip should be okay. I never thought--”

“It’s okay. Let’s just focus on keeping him safe until it’s over.” David knelt beside the boy as the jerking started to subside, helping his father turn him to his side when he vomited.

Once the boy was calm, they made sure he was breathing okay and David helped move him to a makeshift bed of cushions on the deck.

“He needs to get to a hospital,” the father said. David nodded, glancing out at the blue horizon.

“I know. Let me check with Amy and see how close the coast guard is. If they’re still a ways out, I’ll have her take you back in.”

The man frowned. “Aren’t we leaving anyway? I thought the trip was over.”

“The woman who stayed behind is missing, and we need to find her.” David held up a hand at the man’s angry look. “Your son takes precedence right now, so please don’t panic. I promise that we’ll get him to shore as fast as possible, whether that’s on this boat or with the coast guard. Just let me check with Amy and I’ll know more, okay?”

The man shook his head. “Fine. But one way or the other, my son needs medical attention. If that woman was stupid enough to wander off on her own in the ocean...”

Strong hands grasped David’s arms from behind, pulling him back before he could act on the urge to punch the guy’s face.

“We’ll be leaving within the next two minutes to get your son help, Sir,” Amy said, moving between them. “Is there anything we can get for him in the meantime?”

The man looked down at his son, moving groggily on the cushions. He shook his head.

“Not until he’s more aware.”

Amy nodded. “Let me know if there’s anything you need.” She turned back to David. “I need to talk to you. Now.” Pointing him toward the cabin, she gave him a shove and followed him inside, closing the door.

“There’s no one out here today,” she said without preamble. “There was a shark spotted off the main island, so they’re clearing the beach over there, and apparently a yacht is sinking somewhere south so there’s a rescue operation going on for that too. The closest boat is still docked, but they’re heading out now. It will take half an hour for them to get here, and that kid--”

“I know, I know.” David shook his head, thumping the equipment panel. He thought for a moment, and then turned to the door.

“Help me lower the dinghy,” he said, grabbing an extra flashlight and a red plastic wrapped emergency tote from under the leeward counter. “I’ll get my gear and head for the lagoon. If she stayed with the tide, it will have carried her over the reef. With any luck, she’ll have headed for shore when she figured out she was lost.”

“What if she didn’t? What if she’s already--”

David shook his head. “Don’t. Just don’t.” He went out the door to the back of the boat and started unhooking the cables holding the dinghy in place, all too aware of the stares from their customers. He put the extra supplies and his scuba gear in and then lowered it down to the water with Amy’s help.

“Where are you going?” a woman called out. “What about us?”

“Amy’s going to take you back to the dock,” he called, stepping down into the smaller boat. “I’m going to stay and wait for the coast guard. We can’t leave Kat out here alone.”

Looking at Amy, he lowered his voice. “If I don’t come back with the coast guard, it’s because I ended up on the island. Pick me up tomorrow night on the south end around sunset, okay?”

She nodded, then shoved the dinghy away from the ship as he started up the outboard motor. Keeping the throttle low, he turned the boat and headed slowly toward the reef, scanning the water and hoping for a miracle.

***

Katherine reminded herself for the tenth time not to panic. Or was it the twentieth? She’d followed Amy’s bubbles out over the center of the coral where it was much shallower than where the boat was, but there had been a few small sharks and a couple long, mean-looking fish to watch out for and when she’d finally looked forward again, the bubbles and the dim diver’s outline were gone.

Knowing she should go back to the boat, she’d lifted her head out of the water to locate it, turning circles until she finally saw it bobbing what seemed like a much longer distance away than she’d realized. When she’d finally put her head back down to swim for it, there were more sharks circling. Reef sharks, she thought David had said, and supposedly harmless, but they were still big enough to make her nervous. Too late she realized that her frantic kicking when she was looking for the boat must have made them curious.

With considerable effort, she forced herself to slow her movements and drift over the reef with lazier kicks. No way was she leaving the relative shallow water on top of the reef with a bunch of sharks following though, so she swam along the top of the reef until they appeared to get bored and dissipated.

Careful to keep her movements rhythmic, she peeked above the water line again, shivering as she looked for the boat to reorient herself.

But it appeared to be gone. She couldn’t see it no matter which way she turned, and her heart raced at the thought of being stranded alone in the vast ocean.

She never should have left the boat.

There was an island in the other direction, and after one more survey of the open sea with no sign of a boat or any human life at all, she decided her only chance was to swim for shore. It looked like an impossible distance, but if she got far enough, hopefully the tide would pull her in. And the island shouldn’t move, which was a bonus.

She wished she could rest, maybe take a few good deep breaths, but having seen all the activity below the surface, she wasn’t comfortable keeping her head up for any longer than necessary. She needed to see, to make sure nothing was coming after her. Forewarned is forearmed, or whatever that saying was.

Breathing as slowly as she could through the snorkel, she went horizontal again and started back across the coral fields with strong but steady strokes of her fins. No longer concerned with scaring the wildlife, she focused on moving as fast as possible without attracting undue attention. By the time she reached the inner edge of the reef, her legs were burning from the effort and she barely noticed the cold. But the drop-off ahead gave her pause even though she could still see the bottom, and it wasn’t nearly as dark as the side she’d just left.

Lifting her head, she was relieved to see the island still sticking up out of the water. For a moment she’d feared having turned around and gone the opposite direction. Trembling as the cold worked its way back under her skin, she knew she needed to keep moving. The deeper water was disconcerting though, and she had to force herself to float out away from the apparent safety of the reef top.

She couldn’t seem to warm up again as she swam over the sandy bottom. The wildlife didn’t seem to mind her presence - in fact, she wished they would mind a little more. Several rays joined her for awhile, flying gracefully under her with gentle flaps and all she could think of was that animal guy on TV who had died swimming with rays. Long, skinny eels slithered partially out of rocky homes and watched her go by with sharp, gleaming white teeth. Fish of all shapes and colors darted around and below her, and her pulse raced as she tried to remember which of them were potentially dangerous.

Her lungs felt like they were going to burst, and so did her thighs. Shivers racked her body as her pace faltered. Her kicks grew more erratic, and that just made her pulse beat faster, knowing all sorts of dangerous creatures could sense her struggle.

The water grew choppy as the sand rose higher, and she finally gave in and flipped to her back, floating motionless in the tide.

Chapter 3

Skimming over the wide reef top, David fought the urge to go faster. He guided the boat in a zigzag pattern parallel to the shore before heading in toward the natural lagoon between the coast and the inland side of the reef. Kat was smart. She wouldn’t have gone further out into open water if she had any choice in the matter - she would have tried for the island. It was a long swim even for a strong swimmer, so her chances weren’t good, but if she could manage to stay afloat she might be able to ride in with the tide.

Taking note of the direction the currents were moving, he moved with them as he criss-crossed the lagoon toward the shore. He checked his watch - it had been a little over an hour since she’d gone missing. It wasn’t a long time to be in the water, but considering how far she might have gone and what her mental state might be, it was still too long.

As he approached the beach, he scanned the sandy coast but it was empty. He started a new search grid moving farther down, assuming he’d underestimated the current. He went out to the reef and back again, but there was still no sign of her, and the dinghy only had enough gas for one more trip out if they needed to get to the coast guard ship.

He ignored the niggling voice in his head telling him the search was futile, and pulled the boat up onto the beach, intending to walk and watch the coastline. If she’d made it far enough in, the tide should wash her up on shore eventually. He just hoped she’d be alive when it did.

A flash of hot pink caught his eye in the water fifty yards down from where he stood. The island was deserted as far as he knew, so unless it was a tropical flower of some sort, there was a good chance it could be Kat. He grabbed the emergency bag from the boat and sprinted down the beach. Definitely human now that he was closer, the body rolled up and down with the gentle waves as it descended toward the beach.

Kat. It had to be, considering it wasn’t a popular tourist destination, which made it the perfect spot, usually.

Wading out with a feeling of dread in his stomach, he finally grasped her under the arms and pulled her the rest of the way to shore. She didn’t move or struggle at his touch, and he feared the worst as he dragged her high up on the warm sand.

Prying the snorkel out of her mouth, he removed the mask as gently as he could, relieved at the slow rise and fall of her chest. Feeling the side of her neck with two fingers, he pressed in until he felt a strong, steady pulse.

She stirred restlessly, her brow wrinkling and her head moving side to side. Quickly checking her over for injuries, he pried off her fins and checked the heel compartment for the GPS tracker chip.

It was missing.

“Am I dead?”

Her voice was groggy and weak, her eyes blinking rapidly against the bright afternoon sun. David moved to kneel at her head, shading her face with his body.

“Nope. But you are incredibly lucky. And stupid too, but we’ll talk about that later. How are you feeling?”

Her body trembled visibly, and she brought her arms up over her chest, hugging herself. Her flesh prickled as the shivering grew more violent.

“D-d-dead,” she mumbled through her chattering teeth. “F-f-freezing.”

David got the emergency bag and opened it, taking out a chamois and a rolled up blanket.

“You’re in shock. We need to get you dried off and out of this breeze so you can warm up. Your suit should dry pretty fast in the heat - I’m just going to try to soak up the extra water, okay?”

She nodded and he pressed the chamois over her suit, wringing it out over the sand and then repeating the action over her torso. Then he wiped down the rest of her body and got as much water out of her hair as possible before wrapping her in the blanket. He pulled her up to sit between his legs, her back leaning against his chest so she could soak up his body heat as the sun warmed her front.

The fact that she didn’t argue was concerning, given what he’d experienced of her personality. Instead she seemed to sink into him, pressing for as much contact as possible with her face nestled against his neck. He held her close as the shivering began to subside, scanning the ocean for signs of the Coast guard ship that should be arriving any time.

He checked his watch twenty minutes later when there was still no sign of rescuers. Kat stirred, looking up at him from where she’d slid down to rest her head on his chest.

“Welcome back,” he said as she reached up to rub her eyes. “That was a bit longer than the swim I’d planned today. How are you feeling?”

She started to push up on one elbow and he cringed until she apparently realized just where it was in relation to his anatomy. Her cheeks blushed red as she moved to a less damaging position before sitting up.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it.” She looked out at the sea, her expression tired and frustrated when she turned back to him.