Dark Water: Lantern Beach Blackout, Book 1

by Barritt, Christy

  “Be careful.” Cassidy touched his forearm a moment too long. Elise knew the woman didn’t want to let her husband go.

  Elise had lived that feeling more times than she could count.

  “I will.” Without saying anything else, Ty dove into the water and began swimming toward Colton.

  Elise pressed her eyes closed.

  No more losses, Elise told herself. Her heart couldn’t take many more. She’d already lost Daniel. She couldn’t handle the thought of losing Colton also. Now Ty had also been thrown into the mix.

  When she opened her eyes, her gaze went to Cassidy. Though the woman remained professional, the tension on her face was obvious. She was worried as well. Cassidy’s eyes remained fixed on the scene in the distance.

  Elise pulled her arms over her chest, fighting off the cold. The water lapped at their shoes as they stood on the shore. The ocean—a thing of such beauty—could also be so dangerous.

  A Bible verse from Isaiah that Daniel had kept on his desk slammed into Elise’s mind. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

  Be with them, she prayed. Please. Don’t let these waters sweep them away.

  Just then, an eerie feeling washed over Elise. She froze and turned. Was someone watching her? Was that why her senses were on alert?

  The hair on her neck rose. Suddenly she felt more exposed than ever. From here, anyone on the pier would have sight of her. There was also a row of houses behind her, and several people had gathered on the beach in the distance—plenty of places for the bad guy to lurk, to wait for the right opportunity to enact his plan.

  Someone still wanted her dead . . . right after they got the information from her. She couldn’t forget that.

  As if reading her thoughts, Braden squeezed in closer. She appreciated the fact that people were watching out for her. But mostly she just wanted Colton, Ty, and Henry to be okay.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Colton knew he didn’t have much time. If he couldn’t find Henry soon, he was going to have to make a hard choice.

  Just as the thought entered his head, he saw a hand flailing through the water.

  Henry.

  That had to be him.

  Colton swam against the current, determined to rescue the man. Just as he reached the spot, the hand disappeared under the water again.

  Using his last bit of strength, Colton dove beneath the waves. He reached for the figure tossing back and forth and wrapped an arm across the man’s chest.

  It was Henry.

  The man was barely conscious, but he was alive. Colton felt a faint heartbeat.

  Surfacing, Colton began the swim back to shore. He paced himself, his muscles straining as he fought the ocean. He had no choice but to push forward. It was just a matter of time before hypothermia kicked in. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Every time he closed his eyes, all he could think about was Elise. Colton needed to be there for her. If something happened to him, who would keep an eye on her? Who would clear Daniel’s name?

  He glanced at the pier again. Though his gaze was blurry with saltwater, he saw the people staring at him from above. Blinking, he spotted the homeless man still standing there, still watching. The other man who’d been with him was now gone. At least, Colton couldn’t see him.

  He needed to find out what his story was. Right now, everyone was a suspect.

  He looked forward. Had Colton even made any progress? Was he closer to the shore or was that just an illusion?

  Colton had been in far worse situations as a SEAL. But he’d always had his team to back him up. If there was one thing the military had taught him, it was the importance of not thinking you could do things alone.

  A flashback hit him of the night Daniel died.

  They’d been on that boat. In the middle of the night. With no light around, it was nearly impossible to see anything.

  He’d looked up in time to see Daniel running toward one of the Savages. That’s when someone else had appeared on the top deck, his gun aimed.

  Before Colton could stop the guy, the man had fired.

  The bullet hit Daniel.

  His friend fell into the water.

  Colton had dived in after him . . . but Daniel was gone. His body was nowhere to be found.

  To this day, it still hadn’t been recovered.

  His team had gone back several times after the mission to look for him again.

  They’d had no success.

  Colton squelched those memories—for now. He had to focus. Regret would only slow him down.

  Colton felt his breathing becoming shallower. Too shallow. The cold water was taking a toll on him, zapping his energy and freezing his muscles.

  He fought to remain in control. Keeping himself in the right mental space was half the battle. You can do this, Colton. Just keep moving.

  As he glanced up again, he saw the homeless man still peering at him from above. Colton knew what that meant.

  He was barely moving here in this water, making no real progress.

  The waves and rip current kept pushing him out, and Colton had spent too much energy searching for Henry.

  He needed a backup plan, and he needed it now. Colton wasn’t going to get out on his own.

  Just as the thought entered his head, he heard a faint voice in the distance.

  “Colton!”

  He turned just in time to see Ty cut through the water, a bright orange floatation device with him.

  Relief flashed through Colton. He should’ve known his friend would be there for him. Between the two of them, maybe they could all get back to land.

  * * *

  Elise couldn’t pull her gaze away from the water where the rescue took place. She held her breath, waiting, praying.

  “Ty reached them,” Cassidy said.

  Some of Elise’s anxiety faded as she realized Cassidy was right. Ty and Colton were the most experienced guys a person could have out there. They were going to be okay.

  A shout sounded behind her, and she turned. Dez and Griff rushed from the parking lot toward the scene.

  “We just heard what happened.” Dez paused in front of them, his gaze searching the water. “What’s the update?”

  “They found the man who jumped, and now Ty and Colton are trying to get him to shore,” Cassidy said. “But the rip currents are bad today, and the water is frigid.”

  “Is there a boat on the way?” Dez asked.

  “I called for one, but it’s still five minutes out.”

  “They don’t have five minutes.” Griff frowned. “The best thing to do in a situation like this is to float. But he’ll never get to shore doing that.”

  As he said the words, a siren sounded in the distance. Good news. Paramedics were almost here. All three of the men would need to be treated as soon as they got to the shore.

  Dez glanced around, his eyes steely hard with determination. “Are there any more flotation devices?”

  “In the lifeguard shack behind us,” Cassidy said. “It’s where all the rescue equipment is kept. Ty unlocked it.”

  Dez took off toward the building, Griff right behind him. They appeared a few minutes later with flotation devices in hand. Before anyone could talk them out of it, both men dove into the water.

  Ty and Colton were now closer to the shoreline. But they were still far enough away to be in danger.

  Elise held her breath and waited to see what would happen.

  “They’ve got this,” Braden said beside her.

  She knew that they did. But until they were all on dry land, she wouldn’t be able to relax.

  Finally, the men were close enough that she could see their heads bobbing. She could make out the features of their faces.

  They were almost here.

  Please, Lord.

  A few minutes later, they rose from the water. They stood beside each other. Their arms linked together as they fought the current and t
ried to walk the rest of the way.

  The breath left Elise’s lungs.

  They were really okay.

  Elise took a step toward Colton. But, before she could reach him, paramedics surrounded the men.

  Elise froze, letting them do their jobs.

  She’d have time to talk to Colton later, to tell him how worried she’d been.

  She wished she could say the danger was over, but she knew the truth was far from it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Colton tried not to be impatient as the paramedic took his vitals in the back of the ambulance in the pier parking lot. Two other ambulances were also on scene treating his friends and Henry.

  He knew his friends were okay—he wasn’t sure about Henry, though. At least the man still had a heartbeat when they’d come ashore. That was one thing to be thankful about.

  Braden had brought them dry clothes, and Colton had been able to change in the back of the ambulance. He already felt warmer being out of the soaking wet clothing.

  As the paramedic checked his heart rate again, Colton glanced over the man’s shoulder. He spotted Elise standing with Cassidy. Her arms were crossed, and a pensive expression captured her features.

  She’d been worried about him, he realized.

  Colton was thankful the situation had turned out as it did. But there were too many people around for his comfort right now. Any one of these people in the crowd could be the person who had tried to kill Elise.

  The paramedic cleared him, and Colton stood. “How’s Henry?”

  “We’re taking him to the clinic for further observation, but he should be fine.”

  Colton glanced over at the man as he lay on a stretcher inside the ambulance. An oxygen mask covered his face, an IV had been hooked up, and multiple blankets covered him.

  Henry was alive. That was a good thing.

  With a final nod, Colton stepped toward Elise. That seemed to be all the invitation she needed. She crossed to him in five strides and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she murmured.

  Just the feel of Elise against him made Colton feel things he shouldn’t. Yet he couldn’t push her away. The selfish part of him loved every minute of attention this woman gave him.

  “Everything worked out,” he said.

  She stepped back, her wide eyes still on him. “You had me pretty worried. That was awfully brave of you to go in after that man.”

  “Well, you convinced me that he had a brighter future than he even realized. It would be a shame if you didn’t have a chance to prove that true.”

  A small smile fluttered across her lips. “You’re a good man, Colton Locke.”

  Hearing her say those words caused something warm to spread inside him. Having her admiration was a great gift. But what would she think if she learned the truth? The fleeing warmth was replaced by a cold more painful than the ocean water in winter.

  “We need to get you back to the cottage now.” Colton scanned the crowd around him again. “I don’t like you being out here.”

  “I’m ready to get back myself.” She shivered.

  With one final glance behind him, he led Elise back to his car.

  He was so thankful that everything had turned out well. But the images that battered him from that last mission with Daniel had left their bruises again. Or was it that the bruises had never healed in the first place?

  Colton didn’t know. But he felt beat up—both physically and emotionally.

  Those wounds were ones he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover from.

  * * *

  Back at the house, Colton went to his cabana and took a long, hot shower. While he did that, Elise warmed up their lunch. Someone had packaged the food from the restaurant and dropped it by the house. The gesture had been kind.

  Griff and Dez were at their cabanas working on a few things, and Ty and Cassidy had gone to dinner with some friends.

  Elise felt grateful she’d have a moment alone with Colton. The thought was crazy and unexpected. But seeing him almost die today—at least, in her mind, that’s what could have happened—had caused something to shift inside her.

  She wasn’t sure what that was or what it meant. She only knew that Colton was entirely more important to her than she’d ever realized.

  Though it seemed like it had only been an hour since they’d had lunch, in actuality, the whole ordeal at the pier had taken several hours. The sun was beginning to set, and the day to wind down.

  Her breath caught when she saw Colton step back into the house. His hair still glistened with water. He wore jeans and a long-sleeved blue shirt that fit just right.

  But it was his eyes that captured her attention. How had Elise never noticed how beautiful they were?

  She cleared her throat. “I heated up our lunch.”

  “Perfect.” He cast her a quick smile. “How about if we grab the food and sit on the couch to eat? Too informal?”

  “No, that sounds perfect.” She picked up her plate and some seltzer water and sat cross-legged on the couch.

  But her thoughts were heavy. She’d wondered for a moment that she was going to lose Colton . . . just like she’d lost Daniel. That possibility caused something to shatter inside her.

  “Are you okay, Elise?”

  Colton’s soft voice pulled her from her trancelike state. She wanted to nod, to say yes. But she couldn’t. She set her plate beside his on the coffee table.

  “I was afraid . . . you were going to die.” She pressed her eyes closed as she heard the vulnerability in her voice. “I can’t lose Daniel and you too.”

  “Oh, Elise . . .” Colton reached for her and pulled her close.

  She didn’t argue when he tucked an arm around her and her head pressed against his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat brought her a strong comfort.

  She almost wished he never had to let her go.

  But that thought was crazy.

  Colton was like a big brother.

  Reluctantly, she pulled back and tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize.”

  The look in Colton’s eyes . . . the sound of his voice . . . nearly melted her with its tenderness.

  She had to get herself together before she caved in to all her emotions and did something she regretted. Instead, she scooted back and took a bite of her warm roast beef. The meal definitely hit the spot, as did the savory scent of beef that floated up to her.

  “Do you remember the first time we ever met?” Elise took a long sip of her water and watched Colton’s expression. Based on the look in his eyes, he clearly did remember that day.

  “How could I forget?”

  Colton had stopped by to pick something up for Daniel. Elise had answered. She’d been surprised by the beefy, giant man who stood there. She’d assumed Colton was the plumber she’d called, and she ushered him inside to show him the leak in her bathroom.

  She’d thought it was weird he had no tools to do the job, but she’d been desperate and hadn’t asked any questions. Daniel had been working overseas for the past four months, and it seemed like everything in the house was falling apart.

  “You thought I was the plumber.” Colton shook his head.

  “In my defense, I didn’t get your message before you came.”

  He chuckled.

  It had become a running joke between them after that. Every time he’d come over, he’d ask how the pipes in the house were working.

  It hadn’t always been happy times, though. That SEAL team had gone through a lot together. Too much, it seemed sometimes.

  At the thought, Elise reached forward. At the edge of his sleeve, Elise could see the scars that had turned Colton’s life upside down. She ran a finger beneath them, her thoughts turning heavy.

  “Does that day still give you grief?”

  “I still feel the scars. The skin is tighter.”

  She dropped her hand and frowned. Memories pummeled her—memori
es of the phone call from Daniel about what had happened.

  “I still remember the day I got the news that you had been injured by an IED,” she said, her throat tight. “I remember fearing the worst.”

  Colton rubbed his arm. “It seemed like it could go either way for a while there. I’m thankful that I just came out with a few scars. I would have been dead if it weren’t for Daniel.”

  “He never said it that way.”

  Colton shook his head. “Of course he didn’t. But he seemed to sense there were IEDs in the area where I was. He called to me just as I heard the pressure plate click. I was able to throw myself out of the way. I’m lucky to be alive.”

  Something dark crossed his gaze. Elise assumed it was because of the memories of that day. But why did there seem to be a touch of grief there also?

  “I am sorry about what happened with Vicki afterward,” she said quietly. She rested her hand on his forearm, desperate to offer comfort. “She was a fool to break up with you.”

  Colton shrugged. As quickly as his dark mood appeared, it disappeared. “At the time, I felt like it was a horrible thing to happen. But I realized that I didn’t really love her. We enjoyed spending time together when I was here, but, looking back, there really wasn’t much substance, you know?”

  “I guess it’s better that you discovered that before you took the relationship any further.”

  A soft smile feathered his lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  As Elise looked up at him, she realized that, in her mind, Daniel’s face had somehow morphed into Colton’s. It made no sense. How had this man edged his way into her heart so quickly?

  Guilt squeezed at her. That hadn’t been what she had intended. She wasn’t supposed to like Colton or to get close. That would only end in trouble. Being attracted to Colton felt like a betrayal to Daniel.

  And Elise already felt like she’d failed her husband, especially considering their last conversation before he died.

  Chapter Twenty

  Colton was keenly aware of how warm and cozy Elise looked as she sat beside him. He was aware of Elise’s hand on his arm. Of how their legs brushed.