“That’s okay.” Gritting her teeth against the pain, she shifted over to raise her hip higher.
With painstaking care, Sterling cut a rectangular section away from her jumpsuit, and each time the ship vibrated he stopped and asked her if she was okay. His fingers trembled as he opened a packet of medical gauze, folded it over, and wet it with a fresh water bottle.
He paused with the wet gauze in his hand. “Sorry, but this will hurt.” The distress in Sterling’s voice matched the concern in his eyes.
“It’s okay. Just do it.”
He placed his hand on her bare hip and inhaled a deep breath. “Okay, ready?”
“Yes. Stop mucking around, Doctor.” She tried to make light of the situation, but Sterling either didn’t hear or didn’t find it funny.
His fabulous blue eyes grew darker and after huffing out a sigh, he dabbed the medical gauze across her bloody flesh, gradually getting closer to the wound. When he touched the jagged scar, tears stung her eyes. She fought the agony by watching Sterling. Everything rattled around them. The ship shuddered and swayed. Yet his concentration remained unyielding.
He huffed out a long breath as he patted a fresh gauze to the clean wound. “This isn’t good. You need stitches.”
She nodded. She’d already assumed as much. “You’ll have to do it.”
“What?” His brows shot up, and he backed away. “No way.”
“Ummm.” She glanced at the bodies around them. “Shall we ask the doctor to do it?” Her attempt at a joke didn’t simmer Sterling’s distress.
His beautiful eyes grew wider. “But . . . but—”
“If I could do it myself, I would.”
“Far out. You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” She reached for his hand. “It’s okay. I’ve had worse.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “One day, I’m going to ask you why you keep saying these things.”
“Careful. I may hold you to that promise.” She chuckled and was surprised at how comfortable she was with the notion of sharing her childhood nightmare with this man.
A vibration ripped through the ship. She clung to the bed, as did Sterling. A pile of items pitched off a row of shelving. A glass-framed certificate catapulted from the wall and shattered to pieces.
When the vibration stopped, Sterling clutched her hand. “I’m not going to do it while all this is going on.”
“But—”
He placed his finger on her lips, hushing her. “Come morning, when we have better light, and if these crazy movements have settled, I promise to sew up your sexy butt. Okay?” A smirk crawled across his lips.
Madeline burst out laughing. “Okay.”
“Good, but before you move, let me cover that for you.”
Sterling dabbed Savlon onto the wound, covered it with fresh gauze and secured it in place with adhesive strapping.
He helped her down and they each grabbed three bottles of water. Crunching over glass, they returned back to where they’d left the young girl sleeping on the mattress.
The teenager hadn’t moved since the first day they’d rescued her. Every time they’d checked on her, Madeline prayed that she’d give some indication she’d be okay. Madeline knelt at her side, tilted her head, and tipped water onto her tongue again. Her eyes shot open, and she spluttered the liquid. “She’s awake!”
Sterling knelt at her side. “That’s it. Have a drink.”
“You’re safe now,” Madeline said. But when the ship emitted an almighty groan and shuddered so hard an avalanche of rubble tumbled down the mountain pile, her comment seemed ludicrous. They were far from safe.
They took turns speaking to her, but after she’d swallowed some water, she closed her eyes again and went right back to sleeping.
“I think she’s going to be okay,” Sterling said, once they’d shifted away.
Madeline nodded. “Yeah, I hope so.” But even as she said it, she didn’t believe it. The girl needed urgent medical attention. Not just a sip of water.
The sunlight vanished with surprising swiftness, and together they sat with their backs against a cabin door and gazed out the giant hole in the ship. The moon rose up out of the ocean. The ship’s movements became seismic shifts. Hideous noises raked shivers up her back. Yet it wasn’t long before sleep well and truly beckoned.
After they’d shared a few crackers with peanut butter and washed it down with a bottle of beer, she reached for Sterling’s hand. With their fingers woven together, a sense of contentment washed over her. She shuffled closer and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
“What for?” He squeezed her warm palm within his.
She paused. What for? There were so many things. “For being here.”
He curled his arm around her shoulder, and she lifted her head onto his chest. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world.”
Her heart swelled.
The extent of the boat’s rise and fall meant their horizon line kept changing. One minute they were looking at the magnificent night sky, complete with a giant moon and millions of stars. Next minute they were looking at the black ocean reflecting the beautiful astronomical display above.
Madeline closed her eyes, and as she listened to Sterling’s steady heartbeat, she realized that if this was to be her last night on earth, then she’d be happy with how her life had ended.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Gabby snapped her eyes open and blinked through the grittiness. It was completely dark outside. She wiped her hand across her dry lips and as she pushed up from the mattress, every single muscle groaned. Yesterday, other than when they’d stopped to watch the commotion over the baby formula, her and Max had continued their never-ending search for Sally. They’d crawled over and through mountains of wreckage, climbed up and down hundreds of stairs and traversed from one end of the ship to the other dozens of times. On top of all that, the scabs were beginning to set on her legs and just about every movement split them open again.
Her body was living through its very own battleground.
But it was her heart that was taking the biggest battering. And it would stay that way until she wrapped her arms around her beautiful daughter again.
She didn’t want to stop searching. Not until Sally was in her arms.
It had been six days since they’d seen her, yet Gabby knew her baby girl was alive. She would never believe otherwise until she saw it for herself. Gabby had to trust she was somewhere with food and water. And hopefully other people. Just the thought of her being all alone took a brutal chunk out of Gabby’s heart.
In the end, once the sun had disappeared, they’d had no choice but to return to the lounge area where everyone else had been resting. Adam had run to them when they’d arrived. He’d clutched his arms around Max and squeezed so hard Max’s breath had caught. Her poor boy had been to hell and back and she’d tried to hug him, to take away his pain, but he’d shoved her away.
That, too, had taken another chunk from her heart.
A dozen or so candles, secured in glass jars, were dotted about the place, and slumbering, grubby bodies were lined up on mattresses like a scene from a bad medical drama. Many were snoring.
Including Max. He was on his back, his mouth open, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths. His damaged hand was in a sling across his belly, but despite the bandage that Gladys had applied, the ghastly blue tinge made his swollen fingers look utterly hideous. His black beard had gone beyond the three-day growth that he sometimes courted and the dimple in his chin was now hidden beneath the scraggly mess. His hair was just as bad. The rest of his face was smeared black with grime. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him look so unkempt.
With no shower for days and dirt, filth and soot covering every inch of her flesh, she imagined she looked just as ghastly. Her hair was as dry as a bird’s nest and she’d been crying so much the skin around her eyes was puffy and dry.
She wriggled sideways. Her breath caught.
Her heart stopped still, but a beat later she realized the tiny body sleeping beside Max was Jennifer, the little girl who’d lost her entire family in that rogue wave. She was wearing one of Sally’s favorite dresses. The yellow frock was way too big, but the only outfit Jennifer had was the polka-dotted bathers she’d been wearing when the plane engine had wiped out her family.
That already seemed like weeks ago.
Preparing to get up, Gabby shuffled over on the mattress, and Max touched her arm. “Hey, where’re you going?”
Max’s soothing tone was one of the things about him that she truly loved. It was his voice that had kept her sane when she’d had that car accident all those years ago. Max had squeezed her palm to his and talked in that delightful soothing melody until her car had been dragged back onto the safety of the bridge and her body had been cut from the wreckage.
She’d fallen in love with him that day.
Gabby lay back down and rolled on her side to face him. Despite the dim light, his bloodshot eyes were still visible. They looked as bad as hers felt. He’d also been crying. She tried to swallow past the huge lump in her throat. “Sally . . . is . . . is she—” Her chin quivered and the lump in her throat burned and burned.
Max tugged her to his chest and as he glided his hand down her back, and spoke in his soothing tone that had diffused many situations, tears spilled from her eyes.
But his words failed to register. Her mind swirled. A pungent smell invaded her nostrils, and she clamped her teeth so hard, pain shot to her temples. Yet she couldn’t release them. Sounds drifted in from miles away, impossible to comprehend. Her world wobbled; nothing made sense. A blanket of dread enveloped her and when she slumped forward, all the pretty candlelights vanished.
“Hey, there you are.” A voice, deep and soothing, reached out to her. “Come back, babe. It’s safe here.”
Her eyes opened in painful flutters, and she squeezed them shut again.
A warm hand touched her cheek. “Hey, Gabby. Adam and I are here.”
She smacked her lips together, rolled her tongue around her mouth, and, opening her eyes, she squinted against the glare of the flickering candles. “Sally.” She cleared her throat. “What about Sally?”
There was no reply.
Gabby wanted to go back to sleep. To be taken away from the pain crushing her heart. She squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her knees to her chest, and when her throat thickened, breathing became unbearable.
“Mom, it’s Adam. I love you, Mom. Please be okay.”
The pleading in her son’s voice cut through her pain. In the back of her mind, she registered that he’d never seen her like this before. He didn’t even know about her condition. But her secret was out now.
He’d never look at her the same again.
“Mom?” Adam crawled in beside her and she nuzzled against the warmth of his body. Smelt the sweat in his hair. His knees eased into her belly and he curled his arm over hers. “I love you, Mom.”
Tears spilled from her eyes, and when one trickled down her cheek someone flicked it away.
She forced her eyes open and both Adam and Max were looking at her. Tears teetered in their eyelashes and her already broken heart tore open even further. “I’m sorry.” A sob burst from her throat.
“Hey, don’t be silly. Come on.” Max inched in closer.
She shook her head. “I am truly sorry. I’ve been a terrible mother. A terrible wife.”
“Come on.” Max placed his hand beneath her elbow. “Let’s get you up.”
Adam wriggled backward and then both he and Max helped her to sit.
She wiped her nose and smeared it onto her blood-stained skirt. She felt disgusting. Dirty. Smelly. Rotten. Her gaze shifted from her crumpled clothing to her son.
He offered a lopsided grin, shuffled forward, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. The lump in her throat swelled again, and she squeezed him to her chest and breathed through the painful knot. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d hugged, let alone experienced one that meant so much. Gathering strength from her son’s embrace, she looked at Max. He nodded, and his tear-laden eyes were filled with a sense of knowing that had her hurting even more.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” She jumped at the voice booming across the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please, I need your attention,” Captain McCrae hollered.
Brandi sat up. As did one of her bothers. Bronwyn rubbed her eyes. Jessie yawned.
“I have a critical announcement.”
The crowd wrestled themselves awake, and as if some kind of switch had been flicked, the ship’s movements became more violent. Gabby shot her gaze to the Captain. Distress riddled his face. Their situation was dire.
As if in confirmation, the ship released a brutal, penetrating groan.
“Ladies and gentlemen.” The Captain twisted his fingers. “I have not made this decision lightly.”
A distressing murmur emanated through the crowd. They’d already been through so much, but the horror on their leader’s face proved the worst was yet to come.
“Please do not panic.” The Captain paused but despite his pleading, panic raged through her blood. “It is time to prepare to abandon ship.”
Pandemonium broke out. People burst into spontaneous sobbing. People jumped to their feet. People shouted questions across the room. Some remained still, stunned beyond thinking, or too exhausted to care.
Max reached for her hand and squeezed. “We’ll be okay.”
“Please. Please,” Captain McCrae yelled.
Albert made an ear-splitting whistle that had the crowd hushing.
“There are seventy-seven of us remaining on the ship. We will all fit into two life rafts. We’ll also take two additional rafts for supplies and equipment. We’ll make all the preparations now so as soon as sunrise provides enough light, we can load you into the rafts safely.”
“Why now?” somebody yelled from the crowd.
“Yeah. I thought we were free from the cargo ship.”
“I thought all those mattresses were going to help.”
McCrae held up his hands, attempting to hush the questions. “We did break free. However, the wind is moving us back onto the reef. It’s only a matter of time before we hit it and we don’t want to be around when the hull starts tearing apart.”
As if on cue, the ship emitted a tremendous groan, louder than any of the previous ones. Max stood. The boat bucked violently beneath them. A few people screamed.
“Please. Please remain calm. We have plenty of time.”
Gabby stood too and reached for Max’s hand. “Max, I’m not getting off this ship.”
He spun to her, shaking his head, his eyes bulging. “Gabby—”
“Not without Sally.”
His shoulders softened but his chin quivered. “Gabby.” He shook his head, glanced quickly at Adam and back at her again. The sadness in his eyes was fierce. “Gabrielle. Sally has gone.”
“No!” She snatched her hand free.
“We’ve looked everywhere.”
“We haven’t, and you know it. There’s still that section of the fourth deck. We can get in there; we just have to—”
“Gabby!”
She flinched. Max never yelled at her. Ever. The sadness in his eyes was gone, replaced instead with anger.
But seconds later, his fury vanished. “Gabby . . .” He pleaded her name. “Think about Adam.”
She looked down at their son. Her poor boy was trembling. His wide eyes darted about the room. When she followed his gaze, she saw what he was seeing. Every corner of the room had another distressing scene, each one as shocking as the next. People crying. People yelling at the Captain. People praying.
Gladys, the elderly ex-nurse in the wheelchair, dabbed tears from her eyes.
Lindsay, the man whose wife had gone overboard yesterday, fell to his knees and let out a gut-wrenching howl.
Jennifer clutched her arms around Max’s leg
. She wasn’t crying, but her bloodshot eyes were wide. Her cracked lips were drawn into a thin line. But the little orphan morphed into the most heartbreaking image Gabby had ever seen. She was no longer seeing Jennifer. She was seeing Sally. Covered in blood. With blue lips. Her stunning almond eyes wide open, unmoving.
Sally was gone. She was never going to see her baby girl again.
A strangled cry burst from her throat. Tears pooled in her eyes.
Adam clutched his body to hers. Deep, wracking sobs burst from her chest as she squeezed him to her. Through her wobbling vision, she met Max’s pooling eyes.
He was right. Adam needed her.
It didn’t make the decision any easier.
Albert whistled again, and her attention shot to his Hawaiian shirt.
“Please, everyone.” The Captain’s tone was more assertive, yet there was no missing the fear in his voice. “Rose of the Sea will not stand a chance. Once she runs aground on the coral, she’ll break apart. It may take months, but it may only take hours. She’s already suffered a battering, so we don’t know how stable her frame is. I don’t want to wait until it’s too late to get everyone safely onto the life rafts.”
“Have you had any contact with back home?” Brandi yelled across the room.
“No.” McCrae didn’t elaborate.
“But how long will we be in the life rafts?” the boy with the enormous afro asked.
The Captain shook his head. “It’s impossible to answer that question.”
“Fucking hell. We could be floating out there forever,” Zon bellowed over the crowd.
McCrae scowled at him, but didn’t respond.
Gabby’s over-imaginative mind skipped to them drifting at sea for days on end in a tiny life raft, without any hope of survival. At least on the ship they could move around, sleep on mattresses, have some privacy. She turned to Max. “Do you think this is a good idea?”
He nodded. “Yes. This is the only idea. The Captain is adamant that the ship will not remain stable once it hits the reef.”
“But we could be in the life raft for weeks. Months.”
Waves of Fate | Book 1 | First Fate Page 29
