Page 44 of Kyle

So freaking stupid.

Two very loud bangs sounded above my head and I froze, straining to hear what was going on. There was a third crash but I still couldn’t hear voices. Were the men fighting? The captain didn’t look happy when I woke up as I was being carried onto the boat. An argument had ensued but the Italian had won and we pulled away from the dock.

The door swung open and suddenly a black rifle was pointed at me. My eyes drifted closed, not wanting to witness the moment the guy pulled the trigger. Knowing I was going to die, I quickly pulled up a mental image of Kyle, wanting his smile to be the last thing I saw.

“Goddammit.” My lids flew open. As if by magic he was in front of me. I blinked a few times trying to clear the mirage, but each time I reopened my eyes, Kyle was there. “Hold on, sweetheart, I’ll have you down in a minute.”

His hands went above my head and a moment later I was falling. Kyle’s arms wrapped around me before I hit the floor and I cried out in pain.

“Where are you hurt?”

“Everywhere,” I choked.

If I hadn’t been looking at him, I would’ve missed it—anger so extreme I flinched away.

“I’d never hurt you, Anaya. I swear it.”

“I know.”

“You’re gonna have to trust me. I need to pick you up.” He waited until I nodded, then he swung me up in his arms. Pain sliced through me and I held back a sob.

Kyle rushed up a narrow set of stairs and I closed my eyes against the blinding sunshine and the overwhelming urge to throw up. My head throbbed, my ribs were on fire, I couldn’t feel my arms, but I was alive.

Kyle found me.

“Get the fuck off the boat!” Declan shouted.

“This is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch,” Kyle warned as he started to run. “Hold on, sweetheart.”

We were suddenly airborne, then my stomach dropped right before we hit the water. My mouth and nose filled with water and I struggled to get away from Kyle. The salt from the ocean burned every abrasion I had. The torture so intense I thought I was going to pass out.

We emerged from what I feared would be our watery tomb and I sucked in a painful mouthful of air.

“Can you swim?”

“I don’t think so. I still can’t feel my arms.”

“Just stay on your back and don’t fight me.” Kyle turned onto his side and started towing me next to him as he sliced through the water.

“The boat’s rigged. Move your ass!” Declan yelled.

We hadn’t moved another five yards when the boat exploded. A sound like I’d never heard before rocked me, the ocean around us rippled, and debris and smoke filled the air.

“Hold your breath.”

I quickly took in as much oxygen as I could and closed my eyes right before Kyle yanked me underwater and started kicking his feet. I tried my hardest to follow what he was doing and help propel us faster, but the more energy I expelled the sooner I was needing to resurface for air.

I couldn’t be the reason Kyle got hurt, I had to push through. Had to. My lungs burned, my thighs were giving out, my face was on fire. But I kicked as hard as I could. I didn’t want to die.

I wanted a third chance to make things right, make my life count.

I wanted to live.

Finally, Kyle took me up to the surface and treaded water as he kept my head above water.

“I got you, Anaya. Turn on your back and float.”

“You found me,” I muttered. “You saved me.”