Page 38 of Rogue
Chapter Fifteen
Noah
Without hesitating, I dive into the water. I can get to her faster swimming than in the kayak. I am not going to let anything happen to her. I repeat it like a mantra as I swim into the cave. The entrance is narrow, but the cave itself seems to be quite big, as there’s a black gaping hole beyond the dimly lit area I’ve swum into. There’s no sign of McKenzie or Paige.
“McKenzie!”
Nothing. There’s not a sound except for the waves hitting the jagged walls of the cavern.
The girls are clearly not here, and there’s only one direction they could have gone. I dive underwater and start swimming deeper into the cave. The current catches me off guard, drawing me into the cave with a force that’s impossible to fight. It’s unbelievably strong. Fucking hell; now I can see exactly what happened. McKenzie’s and Paige’s kayaks must have gotten caught in this weird current, and they were sucked into the cave. I send up a quick plea to God-knows-who, praying that they didn’t capsize. If they can stay afloat, the tide will eventually circle them back around again. But where the hell are they? I have no idea how deep the cave is, or how far in they got carried. I wish to hell I had a flashlight.
The current is too strong to swim against, so I tread water, conserving my strength as I let it carry me deeper into the cave, constantly yelling McKenzie’s name. If I can find them, we can try to make our way back to the entrance. Or if that’s impossible, we could just stay afloat and wait for help. Jake and the girl’s father shouldn’t be too far behind us.
It’s getting darker the farther the current carries me, but I can barely make out something floating ahead in the dim light coming from the entrance, which is now far back in the distance. It’s McKenzie’s bright yellow kayak, bobbing, empty, on the water. My heart feels like there’s a vise around it. I yell McKenzie’s name again. Where the hell is she? She’s a pretty decent swimmer, but this current is strong, and most swimmers panic when they’re caught in one, which makes it even more dangerous. Or deadly.
Without her kayak, McKenzie could have been sucked under, or hit her head when she capsized, or been slammed against the rocks. God. She could have drowned by now. And then there’s the girl.
Shit. Not again. I am not going to lose her.
“No!” It’s a war cry, a fuck-you to the gods for trying to take what’s mine again. “Not again, dammit!”
“Noah.”
Her voice is faint, but it’s McKenzie.
“McKenzie! Where are you?”
She shouts again, and using the strength and sheer tenacity gained from years of SEAL training, I break out of the current and find my way to her in the dark, guided by her voice. The cave is pitch-black now, and I can’t see her, but I can feel her, and her sweet familiar curves assure me she’s alive. She’s clinging to the craggy rocks, and I hold on next to her, dragging her to me.
“Are you hurt?” My hands roam over her body, feeling for lacerations or broken bones, touching her face as I desperately try to reassure myself she’s alive. She turns her head into my hand, and my heart aches.
“I’m just banged up. The current slammed my kayak into the wall and capsized it. I held on to it for a while, but Paige got carried past me and she was crying, so I let go of the kayak and tried to swim after her.”
Of all the stupid-ass ideas.
“Where is she?” I ask gruffly. I want to throttle McKenzie for being stupid enough to let go of the kayak and put her own life in danger, violating every rule of water safety, but there’s time for that later. Hopefully. Right now, I have to figure out if the girl is still alive, and how to keep us all afloat until help comes.
“Paige.” McKenzie’s voice echoes in the cave.
“I’m here.” The voice is small and scared, but it’s there. “I…I can’t hold on much longer.”
“She hurt her arm,” McKenzie says quietly to me. “It sounds like it’s broken.”
Old memories that I thought I’d buried surface to mock me. Once again, it’s up to me to save the woman I care about with the odds stacked against me, and once again, if I fail, it may cost her her life. Three and a half years ago, I was forced to choose between working for a drug lord or watching my family die. I tried to save them, but they died anyway. This time, I have an even more impossible choice—to choose between a defenseless little girl I don’t know or the woman who has given me everything. But images of Maggie, with her innocent trusting eyes, leave me no choice. At least McKenzie stands a chance on her own.
“I’ve got to go get her,” I say quietly to McKenzie. I’m glad it’s too dark to see her eyes begging me not to leave her, pleading with me to do the impossible.
“I’m coming with you.”
I didn’t expect that. “Like hell you are. The current is too strong. Stay here.” I’d tell her that I’ll get Paige and swim back to her, but we both know that will be impossible with Paige hurt and the force of the current. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to make it to Paige, although if I don’t, I’m sure as hell going to die trying. But there’s no point in all of us drowning.
“I’m coming with you,” she repeats stubbornly.
“No!” It comes out harsher than I’d intended. “You’ll at least have a chance if you stay here and wait for help,” I add more gently. “I can’t let you put yourself in danger.”
“I’m already in danger. I’ve been in danger since I found Liam’s bucket list. I’m starting to learn that being in danger isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you; failing to live is. You know, you don’t have to singlehandedly save the world. Maybe I can help. I was a lifeguard in high school, and I’m a pretty strong swimmer. We can use this to keep us all together.” She presses a length of rope into my hand.
“Where did you get this?” I ask incredulously.
