She’d forgotten to give him air again. She shot up to the surface and stayed there as long as she could manage, knowin
g she must have gotten close to killing her boyfriend that last time. He’d managed to hold his breath way longer than she would have ever guessed he could.
I’m so sorry.
“You are the worst,” Evelyn said, tormenting Kalina with her thoughts. “You might kill that poor boy before we even get the chance. Don’t worry though. If you do, we’ll clean up the mess.”
“Fuck you!” Kalina replied.
Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw two hammerheads gaining on her, one to her left and one to her right. She knew what they were planning to do. They were going to side swipe her, and if they did, they might crush Rafe in the process. Even if they didn’t, he’d never be able to hold on after such a blow. If she dropped him, he’d be dead. The other sharks behind her would scoop him up in a heartbeat.
Fuck…fuck…fuck…Thane…Kino…Faith! Where are you all? Help me!
If they weren’t in the water, they’d never hear her, and even if they were, they’d probably be too far away to make a connection. Evelyn, however, wasn’t.
Kalina was aware that Evelyn could read her thoughts and if she even dwelled too long on a plan, she would give herself away. That was the hardest part. She could control her mental voice usually, but right now she couldn’t concentrate on that. She was too busy, and her mind was a mess. Focusing on keeping her thoughts to herself would require too much attention, attention she needed to apply to getting Rafe the hell out of this situation.
Kalina suddenly realized how she could use that to her advantage. Clearing her mind, she tried to relax and only swim, so Evelyn wouldn’t pick up on what she had in mind. After heading a little higher once more to give Rafe some oxygen, she dropped lower and watched as the sharks got closer and closer to her. They were within attacking distance and the easiest way to hit her would be when she went up for air. So, she thought about that really hard.
Shit. Rafe’s going to die if I don’t get him a breath right now!
“Now!” she heard Evelyn command.
Kalina faked heading upward only long enough for the two sharks to use it to their advantage. They both shot inward intending on slamming into her and crushing Rafe, but instead of going higher, she dipped low so fast the sharks couldn’t adjust. The thud of the two angry sharks colliding into each other was a wonderful thing.
Fucking idiots.
The crash was enough to slow them down and that was all the time Kalina needed to get well ahead of them. In her head, she could hear the curses, grunts, and howls of pissed off hammerheads finally understanding they weren’t fast enough to catch her. Then, from up ahead she saw something that made her heart melt. Thane and the crew were headed her way.
Thank God.
“God isn’t with you today, bitch,” Evelyn cursed, sounding quite sure of her sharks’ ability to catch her.
“You sure about that?” Kalina asked, and then added. “Thane…Evelyn’s behind me with a school of hammerheads.”
“This oughtta be fun,” Kino hollered.
“Let me at ‘em!” Faith added.
“I haven’t tasted a hammerhead in forever,” Jagger yelled.
“Retreat!” Evelyn ordered.
Kalina rose to the top to give Rafe some much needed air at this point. She relaxed as she listened to the sound of her friends chasing away her tormentors. Everything would be okay, but she would not be taking him back to his boat. He’d be spending the night with her after all.
Chapter 16 – Sylvia
Sylvia had never been so exhausted. She’d never felt so alive either. Coby, for being such a drifter and a bad boy with no intention of being tied down, gave her little room to breathe. Not that she needed any more of that. Earlier that evening, he’d come back to the island to see her. They’d gone for a walk and when they returned to the cabins, Jagger came running toward them shouting that Kalina needed help.
Most of the group ran off to help Kalina, but Sylvia and Coby remained behind with the pregnant women and the kids. Finally, Penny recommended the two of them share one of the empty cabins. It seemed two were currently uninhabited. The first belonged to one of Thane’s friends who’d passed away, a guy named Bobber. It had been vacant since his death. The second, had been Poet’s.
“I don’t know,” Sylvia said. “I don’t want to disrespect anyone’s memory.”
“We can stay in Poet’s cabin,” Coby said.
“Are you sure?” Sylvia asked.
“He would want that,” Coby said. “He was like that.”