Page 74 of Night Watch
“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
“We all set?” Drake called from the tent entrance.
“Ready.” She jumped down from the tailgate.
Erik pressed on the hearing device lodged in his ear, which connected him with all of his brothers. “We good to go, Brendan?”
She couldn’t hear Brendan’s response, but Erik’s firm nod told her all she needed to know. She took a step, but Erik grabbed her up in an awkward hug, his arms and hands trying to find purchase anywhere but on her oxygen tank. She circled her arms around his neck and took a deep breath of his masculine scent then quickly pushed away before the hug turned to a kiss.
She started down the tunnel, the sense of danger pressing in on her like the darkness of the fabric surrounding her. She didn’t think this creep knew she was there. Not since they’d eliminated the tracker from her backpack and Erik had given it to Nick at the Veritas Center. He’d put it in a Faraday room with specially lined walls to stop electronic devices from sending or receiving outside signals.
She put on her headgear and stepped onto a rock ledge in the water with her fins in her hand. The easiest way to put her fins on was to drop into the river with her buoyancy vest fully inflated so she would float and could easily strap them on by herself, but then she’d be exposed. She turned to look at Erik for the help they’d provided for each other on their many dives in the past.
Without a word he stepped onto the rock and braced his legs wide.
“Thanks,” she said. It might not be a good idea to keep touching him, but since she really didn’t have use of her dominant hand, being able to hold onto his shoulder with the injured one while she slid on her fins worked well.
When she was finished, he gave her one last lingering look. “Be careful.”
She dropped into the water and dove. Sunbeams filtered into the liquid and spread out with circles of white, undulating light. The water was green and cloudy, but she could clearly see the silty bottom today. Charlie was waiting for her, and he gave her a thumbs-up. She grabbed onto the rope with her uninjured hand and pulled forward, keeping her focus trained down at the bottom.
She filtered through several beer cans, a fishing lure, even an old disintegrating wooden oar as she moved the full length of the first rope. Her hand hurt from dragging it along the bottom, feeling for anything, but she’d worked in more pain than this, and this dive was for her mother. She came up empty-handed and started down the other rope, passing by Charlie, who traveled behind her. Up and down she went until they’d covered their entire search area and her hand screamed for her to call it quits. But she wouldn’t give in. She’d do another search downstream.
Together, she and Charlie relocated the rope downriver and continued swimming until her tank ran out of oxygen. She replaced it with Erik’s help and went back to work, loving the silky smooth feel of the water as it glided over her body. She might have been enjoying the water, but hope faded with each fresh oxygen tank. But finally…finally…after four tanks and nearly as many hours, her hand slid over a solid metal object. Her injured hand throbbed too hard to grab the item, so she looped her arm around the rope and released the item from the silt with her good hand.
Ah-ha.A handgun. A Glock to be specific.
She anchored a marker next to it and signaled for Charlie to take photos with the underwater camera. When he’d finished, she bagged the gun and tucked the bag in her vest then swam one-handed for shore.
“Got the weapon, and I’m coming in,” she announced over their communication device.
“Excellent.” Erik’s excited voice played through her ear. “Stay submerged at the rocks until I check with Brendan and give the all-clear.”
“Roger that,” she said, feeling like an agent, not a crime scene investigator.
She had to admit the adrenaline rush from the added danger pumped through her body and made her feel nearly invincible. But she wasn’t invincible—not by half—and she had to remember that and listen to Erik’s directives if she wanted to stay alive.
Erik let out a long breath through his teeth as Drake cranked the SUV’s powerful engine. Erik sounded like a leaky tire as he released his adrenaline from watching Kennedy dive in an unprotected river. But now she was safely back in the vehicle, where no one could harm her.
“You okay, bro?” Drake asked. “No signs of the anthrax, right?”
Another thing to sigh over. The brotherly check-in.
“I’m fine.” Erik tried not to snap.
“Then why the sigh?”
“It’s nothing,” Erik said, though it was everything to have Kennedy sitting safely behind him.
He swiveled to look at her, not surprised to see her biting her lip. She’d been wincing in pain since she’d surfaced with the gun.
Drake glanced up at the mirror as he shifted into gear. “No anthrax symptoms for you either? I hate to ask, but you know my mom.” He grinned.
“She just wants to be sure we’re okay, so feel free to ask me. I’m fine.”
Erik appreciated her kind reply, especially when she was so stressed. Drake started to back out, but Sierra rushed their way, waving her arms.
Drake shifted into park, and Erik motioned for his sister to climb in the backseat so they didn’t compromise the vehicle security by leaving a window open while they talked.
