Rolling, dark clouds swelled overhead and panic caused her heart to thump wildly.
“Inflate your BC.” His voice was controlled, providing a small measure of comfort while Lauren was freaking out.
“Right.” Good idea. Her buoyancy control device would make her float, keeping her on top of the water without her wasting valuable energy. Lauren located the knob and squeezed the inflator button a couple of bursts. She pushed her legs forward, flattened her back, and allowed herself a moment to get her bearings.
“I probably shouldn’t even care. I mean, I know what he is.” She didn’t respect her brother. How could she? But he hadn’t always been like this.
“He was my hero when we were kids. He saved me from a lot of bad things.” He’d done so much for her. Why couldn’t she save him back?
Jaden’s expression changed as he studied her. He seemed to pick up on the implication she made. His pupils dilated as though angry and his lips thinned. “He saved you from things or people?”
“People. It’s the real reason I came here.” Compared to young Max, Superman was just a silly-looking guy in a cape.
A moment of silence sat between them.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get to him. I promise.” Jaden’s hand went up, his expression set with more determination than ever. “The direction of the wind should help blow us ashore—”
“Which way is that?”
Jaden pointed, seemed sure of himself, but how he could tell was anybody’s guess.
A sinking feeling swelled inside Lauren’s stomach.
At least her wetsuit provided some measure of insulation against the elements. But without the sun, even seventy-degree water caused a chill to goose bump both of her arms in her short-sleeved wetsuit.
Jaden set his jaw. “We can swim at right angles to the wind to bring us closer to shore.”
“How far is that?” Lauren wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that question. The chilly wind was already causing a reaction in her body. Her nerves were shot. Adrenaline wore thin.
“Hard to tell.”
Maybe he didn’t want to say.
“I need you to trust me. We’ll be okay.”
Trust?
Lauren couldn’t remember the last time she’d believed in someone else.
Random thoughts came into Jaden’s head as he swam. Not of dying though, despite the circumstances. The water wasn’t too cold. The real struggle was to keep morale up. Keep Lauren moving forward. Once they got to safety, they’d retrieve her brother and Jaden would send them both home. Case closed.
When she’d told him her brother had saved her from bad people—and by people he instantly knew she meant men—rage flared inside him at the thought that someone might have hurt her. His protective instincts jumped to high alert and he wanted her to know he would never hurt her.
It was a promise he knew he couldn’t keep. Similar to the beers he and Bryce had committed to having back there on the beach.
Jaden’s line of work didn’t allow for keeping promises. Ask Smith’s wife. Or Helena.
Guilt knifed his chest.
This was an assignment. It was his job to watch over Lauren and find out if she was involved with her brother. She was an asset. He shouldn’t let her get inside his head.
Checking his watch, he realized they’d been swimming well over an hour.
Her spirits were sagging, and keeping them up until they reached safety would be the bigger challenge. Not to mention the fact that the longer they stayed in the ocean, the closer that hurricane would get. They needed to get out before conditions worsened. Jaden could see Lauren was trying to put up a brave front. It stirred a place deep inside him.
Not that it nattered now, she was getting weak. He needed to maintain focus.
As Jaden pulled a torch and scanned the surface, he located ridges jutting out of the water. “Over there. Rocks.” He pointed. A break would give Lauren time to regroup. They couldn’t stay long.
Up close, the island looked more like headstones flagging a watery grave.
But then, there were worse things to be afraid of than death.
Lauren’s voice broke through as she pointed directly at him. She must’ve found a rock, or the base of the incline. Panic etched lines in her face, the whites of her eyes the only things glowing in the ever-darkening sky.
“A wave!” she shouted.
Jaden forced himself to face forward as water tugged at him from behind, meaning one thing—a huge swell pulled him backward.
Jaden scrambled on top of the surf, looked up in time to see he was being pulled away from Lauren. The rain was coming down hard, and he struggled to focus his eyes. If anything happened to him, Lauren would be alone. Defenseless. On a freaking rock. Anger balled up and lodged in his chest.
Rain pounded on the water, causing salt to splash up and burn his eyes. He was getting close as he strained to get a good look. There she stood. Dripping with water in the haze of rain between them, he could see her silhouette.
Her gasp echoed through driving rain. Jaden glanced up as a huge swell sucked him back.
Completely consumed by the swell, an explosion of energy burst through Jaden’s chest, vibrating to the ends of his body.
Then darkness.
Pain rifled through Jaden’s legs and up his spine until his entire body ached to the point of constant, dull throbbing. He shifted on the rock. Rain pelted his cheeks as the wind howled. He squinted. A fog thicker than the storm clouds overhead clouded his mind. He couldn’t focus.
What had happened?
A memory cut through his mind’s haze in the way a fin slices waves. A stab of pain. His knee. Pain aside, all his body parts seemed to be in order. He remembered slamming into a rock.
He squinted an eye open through the burn.
Lifting his head brought blinding pain to his neck as both hands went to his face, and he used the butts of them to hammer his forehead. A salty, dry coating covered his tongue.
He recalled the wave. It probably had slammed his
