She’d thought to send it to the bottom of the ocean, but a much better plan occurred to her.
The cake pried off in her hand. She turned to the pirate boat. It was a simple thing to toss the explosive up and over the side. There was a little thunk as it hit the deck. She prayed no one was watching, that everyone was on board the yacht.
Suddenly, the pirate ship shifted as a wave hit them. Charlie was caught between the two and sent headfirst into the yacht’s hull.
Pain bloomed in her skull and then she could see the water all around her. It was quiet again and she was floating. The pain seemed to be gone. She knew her lungs were trying to work, but it seemed far off and darkness was just on the outer edge of her consciousness.
The first time she’d died, all she could think about was what she would miss, all the things she hadn’t done. Regret had blanketed her. Death had been a cold, dark place.
It was different now. As the world started to go dark, all she could see was him. Her Master. All she could feel was the way he’d cared for her, how vibrant and beautiful the world had been in the end.
This time when she died, she realized another truth. At the end, there was love. Love for him. Love for her.
Death was so much easier the second time around.
* * * *
Ian cursed as Charlie went over the side of the yacht, but there was very little he could do about it because he was pinned down on the main deck. He’d managed to jump down from the bridge and take up a tactical position, but Nelson still had him caught and he’d called for reinforcements.
And he had the fucking laptop. Ian had lied about the security. There hadn’t been time to do anything beyond getting the king and his cousin to the garage. Jiang Kun was fitting them with scuba gear to get them the fuck off this coffin.
Luckily all the furniture on the boat was nailed down. Ian was behind a large chaise where the king probably did his little harem on a regular basis. It was sturdy enough for two and provided decent cover.
Anxiety knotted his gut as he popped up and laid out another round of fire. It was immediately met, and he took a slug across his shoulder. It burned but the bullet hadn’t done more than broken the skin. The bullet in his thigh was another matter. It was buried deep and bleeding like a motherfucker.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to swim very far.
“Cease fire.” The command came over the loud speaker. “Get to the boat. Follow the plan. We have what we need and you will be paid.”
Fuck. What had happened?
He touched his earpiece. He’d been silent for a long time and had to hope Knight was still in position. “What’s going on?”
“The Coast Guard,” Knight said. “I just caught sight of them. They’re probably ten minutes away.”
“Do you see my wife?”
“That’s a negative, Tag. I don’t have a visual on her, but your brother and Simon are making their way along the port side, heading for you.”
His brother’s voice came over the device. “I’ll be there in 60, brother.”
One minute. He wasn’t sure Charlie had a minute. If Nelson got on his boat and saw her in the water, he would shoot her out of sheer spite.
He stood up, firing toward the stairs that led to the main deck.
Unfortunately, there was no one left to kill.
“I left you a present, Tag.” This time the sound was coming from the starboard side of the ship. Ian moved his ass, trying to get to the fucker before he got away. “Sorry to leave so very quickly, but I think our little game is over now. It would have been nice to have the tech, but in the end as long as I’ve destroyed it, it doesn’t matter. I’ve rigged the ship to explode so you won’t be able to play anymore. It’s okay since your little whore is floating. You’ll join her as soon as I get enough distance between us.”
“Tag!”
He heard his brother shout as the boat Nelson was on began to pull away.
He pulled the trigger in frustration, trying to spray the boat. He’d already lost sight of Nelson.
And then he saw something that made his heart stop.
A body floating in the water, face down, her hair around her like a halo.
“Ian, we have to go,” his brother said as he ran up to him. He looked out and then pulled at Ian’s shirt. “Ian, no.”
But he wasn’t listening. He tossed the gun aside and dove in, bad leg, aching shoulder and all.
Suck it up, Taggart. She’s alive. She’s fucking alive because she can’t be dead.
Pain flared through his system but he swam to her, forcing her body over, her face up to the sun.
“Come on, baby.” He started to swim back, trying not to think about the fact that she wasn’t breathing. Her chest wasn’t moving up and down. Her body was dead weight in his arms.
Not fucking dead. Not dead.
It became his mantra as he swam back, the rhythm that kept his limbs moving, his heart pumping.
Not fucking dead.
Charlie wasn’t dead. Charlie couldn’t be dead. He’d just found her again and he’d wasted time being mad at her. He should have just laid down in front of her and thanked the fucking universe for a second chance. Because the anger he’d felt was nothing compared to the love. He loved her. She was his in that stupid Hollywood way that made a man think dumbass things about the future.
“Give her to me.” Sean leaned over, reaching for her and hauling her up.
Simon pulled Ian on to the deck.
Sean held her, but there was no strength in her body, just useless limbs hanging down. Everything that was Charlie seemed gone. “We need to go. It won’t be long before he detonates that bomb. They left the second boat. Not enough men left to crew it. Let’s go.”
Charlie wouldn’t last long enough to get to the boat.
“Lay her down,” he commanded.
Sean laid her on the deck. “I’m so sorry, brother.”
“Go. Both of you.” Dropping to his knees, he ignored the pain that was screaming along his nerves. It was easy since the panic in his head was shouting down everything else. He was sure his face was passive, a trick from years of training, but he was fighting for control. Fighting the need to scream.
He moved to her mouth, tilting her head back. A kiss. It was like a kiss. He could trick his brain into believing it was just another kiss with his wife. He should have kissed her more. All the time.
One breath in and then another.
Methodically, he found her xiphoid process. It was there at the base of her breastbone. He moved the flat of his palm to her chest and pumped. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
His brother was still here. If his brother died, Grace would feel this ache. She would feel the blinding pain of having half her fucking soul ripped away from her. She would understand what it meant to sit up at night and wonder where the hell her husband had gone. She’d already been through it once. She couldn’t again. Not while Ian could stop it. “Get him out, Simon. That’s an order. If you have any loyalty to me at all, do it.”
He bent over and breathed into Charlie’s sweet mouth again as Sean started to argue. There was a thud and when he moved back to chest compressions, Simon was picking up Sean’s unconscious body and hauling it over his shoulder.
His deep blue eyes found Ian’s. “Good luck, boss. And thank you.”
“Take care of my crew.” One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
His body was on autopilot. He couldn’t seem to stop. Part of him said to just give up, hold her in his arms and wait for the world to explode because wherever she was, that was where he wanted to be. He’d meant it. He didn’t want to live in a world where he lost her twice.