When Rivals Fall (Bayshore Rivals 1)

Awareness comes back to me slowly and the coldness that was threatening to eat at my limbs has vanished. My body still aches all over, but the freezing cold water has been replaced with something warm, something that smells delicious, and something that makes me melt into a puddle of mush. I try and stretch, but my muscles are stiff and tingling like I’ve been laying on them wrong. A pained moan escapes my lips as I try and move.

“Shit,” I hear Sullivan’s voice right by my ear. It’s strained, and thick with restraint. “She’s grinding her ass over my dick.”

“I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose,” Banks snickers.

“Tell that to my dick, asshole.”

“Just think about something else,” Oliver chimes in. “Or we can trade places, if this is too hard for you.”

“Funny. I’m good right here. I’ll deal with the blue balls later. You already did your part by jumping in to save her. When are we getting back to land and where the hell did Shelby go?” Sullivan growls.

Save me? Oliver saved me?

“Calm down. I sent her to get Harlow something warm to drink and to try and find her some dry clothes.”

My eyes still feel impossibly heavy like there are boulders weighing them down, and now that the coldness has dissipated, I feel every single ache but intensified by twenty.

What happened to me?

“Why would she do that to herself? Have we really been that horrible to her? Is death easier than us?”

For a moment I’m confused. What are they talking about? I didn’t hurt myself. I would never do that. Much like the waves cresting against a beach, pushing and pulling the sand my memories start to resurface in my mind.

Slapping Sullivan.

Walking out.

Crying.

Someone shoving me off the boat and into the water.

Oh my god. I almost died.

“I don’t know, Sullivan, maybe we’ve been miscalculating this whole thing. She looked really bad when she was running out of there,” Banks tells him.

“If you ask me, we’ve been kinder to her than her family’s ever been to us.” Sullivan says, this time. “But I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Maybe we’ve taken things too far.”

“Stop. We don’t know anything yet, not until she wakes up.” Oliver says, in a low voice, a voice that says his word is final.

Digging deep I find the strength to pry my eyes open. It takes what seems like hours to do but can’t be more than a minute. I blink a few times, my surroundings come into view. We’re still on the boat that much I can tell from the slight bobbing motion, but we’re in what looks like one of the cabins below deck.

The room is small and with all three brothers inside it, it seems even smaller. Banks is sitting on a chair to the left of me, and Oliver is sitting on the edge of the bed. A throat clears and I lift my head just the slightest, finding that I’m lying on a bed with Sullivan spooning me, both his arms wrapped tightly around me. Wiggling a tiny bit I feel soft fabric against my bare skin.

Naked? I’m naked.

As if he can read the horror on my face Banks says, “We had to undress you. We didn’t touch, and we didn’t look expect for when we had to, I promise.” The wink he gives me is one that I’m sure is to ease the tension, but it doesn’t.

“Yeah, you were freezing, your lips blue, and your skin ashen.” Oliver says, and my gaze swings to him. I can see the pain in his deep brown eyes, but I don’t understand it. I don’t know why they care if I live or die? They certainly didn’t care earlier with those chicks on their arms. My eyes fall closed for a moment as I try and gather my thoughts. I can’t think about any of that right now. I almost died, someone pushed me off the boat.

“I… I didn’t jump.” I croak, my throat feeling raw, my voice sounding like someone else’s and not my own.

“We’re just glad you’re okay.” Banks whispers, his voice thick like honey. Weakly I turn my head and glance at him, the blue of his eyes blaze with anger, and sadness, the two emotions swirling together, bleeding into each other.

“Someone pushed me… I don’t know…” My voice cracks again, and pain fills my chest. Who would push me? Who hates me enough to want me dead?

Before all of this, I would have thought they did? But then why would they save me? It makes zero sense.

“Shhh, we can talk about this later.” Sullivan soothes. I want to tell him I’ll talk about it now but I’m too exhausted to care, or to fight back. I let the warmth of his body heat encompass me. It wraps around me like a blanket holding all my broken pieces together. Slowly I breathe him in, he smells like rain, and citrus, it soothes the ache forming in my chest.