Page 43 of Take Me Back
I can tell the moment she spots the shark fin. Her eyes go huge behind her mask. Her gaze cuts to me, fear etched in her features behind the rubber and tempered glass.
Fuck.
Chapter 18
Kat
Holy shit.
Oh my fucking God.
Shark.
Shark.
Shark.
Every curse word in the English language reverberates through my head as my eyes lock onto the fin heading for us. Ice freezes solid in my chest, and I start to shake.
Dane’s dark eyes meet mine, and I know in that instant he didn’t want a freaking drink of water. He saw the fucking shark and was trying to get me to safety.
“Go!” he yells, pointing at the catamaran as Captain Tisdale waves me forward and shouts at Fedor and Vander.
Shaking off the paralysis, I paddle as hard as I can. Like when you’re a kid and you jump off a raft in the middle of the lake but swim back to the ladder as fast as humanly possible because you’re afraid of what might get you before you climb out. Or maybe that was just me.
But there was never a shark in the water before.
Sharks can sense fear, right? If that’s true, it’s guaranteed he can sense mine right now because I’m about to lose my shit.
My splashes become more violent, and I hope I don’t look like a wounded seal.Jesus. I’m going to die.
I’m not ready to die.
Oh my God, what if it gets Dane?
I will murder it and make shark steaks and a shark purse and shark slippers.
I’ve officially lost my mind, but when my hands hit the metal of the ladder, I reach down and rip my fins off and throw them at Captain Tisdale, not caring if they actually make it aboard.
“Come on! Come on!”
“I’m coming!” I scream through my snorkel, so it sounds like gibberish.
I scramble up the rungs like the fires of hell are after me. But nope, just amotherfucking shark.
I yank my mask off and scream at Dane. “Hurry! Oh my God. Oh my God.”
I drop onto my knees over the ladder and reach for him, trying to haul him out of the water faster.
His gaze meets mine as he tosses his flippers over the side and climbs up. “It’s okay, baby. I’m fine.”
I throw myself into his arms, shaking uncontrollably. “Oh my fucking God, there’s a fucking shark out there.”
Dane squeezes me tight. “It’s okay. It’s fine. They’re not usually aggressive. Just curious.”
I pull back and stab a finger into his chest. “You knew! You saw it. That’s why you wanted to get me in. How could you not tell me?” My tone shifts a tad toward accusatory from terrified.
Dane grabs a towel and wraps it around me. “Shhh.”
