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“I loved it,” she said, following their cues and pitching her voice louder as they tugged her deeper into the lake. “If only we had time to jump again.”
How could she relay her message and convince them to relocate? The quick thrill of jumping was over and now urgency and danger pressed on her chest as heavily as the water.
“We do,” Quaid answered. “But first, let’s swim a bit.”
“I love to swim,” she answered. She did like to swim, but it was eerie in the dark. What was in the icy depths of this lake? Her dress weighed her down more than a swimsuit ever would, and her limbs were sluggish from the chilly water. She tried to beat her chilled arms and legs faster.
“Keep swimming,” Quaid whispered close to her ear. “We want to kill any electronics on you.”
She was cold and getting disoriented in the dark water. The lights on shore from the trucks were a beacon. How long would they need to stay in the water to kill electronics? Quaid believed there were tracking and recording devices on her besides her phone, just as she’d worried.
Would she freeze to death while the electronics became waterlogged? Hypothermia felt certain. Quaid was a former Navy SEAL. Hays was still a SEAL. They would save her.
She would love to have Hays come save her.
“J-Jacey,” she mumbled. “Aren’t you frozen?”
“This lake is my second home,” Jacey responded, vibrant as ever. “Cade and I jump in every day. Cold therapy. Have you researched the benefits?”
“N-no.” Elizabeth wanted to get out, but this needed to happen. Peter and the guards were restrained. Even the ones they hadn’t hogtied had their hands secured and guns trained on them. Were her siblings giving her the opportunity to relay her message? Would they believe her?
“Drop your phone, watch, earrings, anything you can think of into the water,” Quaid quietly instructed. His hand came under her elbow, and he held her aloft as she pulled her cell phone out with some difficulty from the wet fabric pocket and released it under the water. Her earrings, necklace, and watch followed suit. It wasn’t easy, but it was incredibly freeing. Had she been tracked or had a listening device implanted into her jewelry? It would make sense and be simpler than planting something into her clothing that changed every day.
A splash sounded and Elizabeth jolted. Oh, no! One of her guards had fought free, jumped in, and was going to rip her from her siblings. He would swim her to shore and not allow her to stay one more minute.
A shape surfaced not a foot away. She almost screamed, but her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to recognize him.
“Hays,” she whimpered.
Strong arms wrapped around her lower back and tugged her against Hays’s solid and inviting chest. He was warm and safe and strong. His legs churned the water beneath them as he held them both aloft. She snaked her arms around him and curled in. Earlier she had fun and now she was protected and safe. She had rarely experienced either. Only with him.
Hays. Had he truly come for her?
“Hays,” she whispered. “What are you doing?”
“Rescuing you from the cold water,” he murmured, his breath warm on her cheek. “Keep cuddling into me and when I carry you out, shiver, breathe quickly, and act low on energy and weak.”
“Easy,” she admitted. All those things felt true, except for the low on energy part. With Hays close, she had a surge of energy and endorphins. She would never leave this freezing lake if it was the only way to stay in his arms.
“Knock knock,” he said for only her to hear.
“Who’s there?” she murmured back.
“Needle.”
“Needle who?”
“You needle help right now.”
She laughed softly. Only Hays.
Then she remembered what she hadn’t wanted in this lake. “Hays. The note!”
“Anna has it.”
“Ah.” She relaxed into him. Anna had the note. All would be well. If she could talk to Quaid and Jacey sans listening devices, she might not even need the note.
Right now, Hays was taking care of her. Nobody had ever taken care of her. Staff had taken care of her physical needs, but Hays’s strength and protection was physical and emotional.
