Bite Me Harder (Guardians of the Deep 2)

“Stop!” Sylvia screamed.

“You attack from behind?” Cobalt yelled. “You spineless piece of shit.”

He turned and ran at Kane, picking him up in a football tackle, and raced toward the lifeguard stand. Cobalt hit the wooden pillar at the base and shattered it, shoving Kane’s body through it and onto the sand on the other side. The lifeguard stand leaned and threatened to topple. Cobalt gave it some help by kicking one of the other legs until it smashed inward. The stand fell on top of Kane. Wood and metal rained down on the man so quickly he didn’t have time to defend himself. Cobalt walked away.

“He’ll die a coward’s death,” Cobalt said as he spit on the ground next to the pile of broken wood.

“No!” Kalina heard herself yell.

She ran at the pile of rubble and began pulling the heavy pieces of wood up and throwing them to the side, searching for the man buried beneath them. Rafe was at her side helping him.

“Kane!” he yelled.

The fight had begun and ended so quickly. If Kane had predicted Cobalt’s reaction, he might have been able to dodge the tackle. The fight might have lasted longer. Or if the lifeguard stand had never been there, both men would have landed on the moist sand. Kalina felt suddenly protective of Keelan Kane. She wasn’t sure he was her brother, but if he was, she owed him so much. He’d spent his entire life trying to get revenge on all sharks…everywhere. And she hadn’t lifted a finger to stop him from this fate. He could be dead for all she knew.

“Keelan!” she yelled, using the man’s first name for what was probably the first time.

She’d grown used to calling him Kane. The name fit so well with the mean bastard. Like the old biblical tale of the man who’d murdered his own brother over jealous rage, she’d always thought the name symbolized evil, and Keelan Kane had practically been the embodiment of the word for her and her people. Only Evelyn was worse.

Finally, Kalina tossed aside the metal casing of a spotlight and threw off the last piece of wood, the heavy square base that would have been the inside floor or maybe the ceiling. There he lay, his flimsy, lifeless body covered in dust.

“Keelan!” she shouted again.

“Kane!” Rafe yelled.

Keelan Kane coughed up dirt and blood. His face was a mess. A large gash crossed his scar at his cheek and his forehead was scratched and bruised.

“Where is he?” he asked, wiping a hand at his face and trying to sit up.

Kalina looked back over her shoulder and saw that Cobalt was gone. So was Sylvia. The bigger man had won the blood match and had claimed his prize, taking her out into the ocean with him. Kalina couldn’t help thinking that Cobalt was a bully. But he wasn’t really. Right? Whose side was she on? Kane had always been the one picking on everyone. Now, he was nothing more than a broken man lying on the beach in his own blood.

“He’s gone,” Kalina answered.

“I guess I lost that round,” Kane said.

“You lost that fight,” Rafe replied. “There won’t be any more rounds. Just leave it alone.”

“He killed my sister,” Kane said. “You heard him. He didn’t deny it.”

He lay his head back on the beach and stared up at the night sky. Kalina watched a tear fall from each of his eyes. Only one tear each, but she saw them clear as day.

“All this time,” he said. “My God…all this time. And I’ve found him. Cali…I’m finally going to do it. I’m going to kill the shark that got you.”

Cali. Calista. That was my name!

Of course, Kalina thought. It made total sense. At eight years old, she’d been Calista Kane. Her father was Calvin and her mother was Cassandra. Her brother was ten-year-old Keelan and he always called her by her nickname, Cali. She’d seen something glowing in the water that day on the boat. Something under the water had caught her eye and she’d leaned over to see it better. And she fell. On the island, she’d told everyone that her name was Cali. Thane had been the first to call her Kalina, his guess at what her name might mean since she’d never told them it was Calista. The rest was history. She’d had a crush on Thane since day one, so if he called her Kalina, that would be her name.

“The shark got her,” Kalina said. “But he didn’t kill her.”

“What do you mean?” Kane asked, lifting his head the best he could.

“I’m your sister,” she said.

As the words escaped her lips, a heavy weight she’d never known she’d carried lifted from her and swept up into the breezy night sky. Her next breath was fresh and seemed to seep further into her body than any had before. She was finally free. A thousand pounds of sorrow had floated off on the wind.

“I’m Cali,” Kalina said. “I’m your sister.”

Then she wept tears that must have been held down inside since she was eight years old.