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Then she was gone.
Gone.
Lila had grown up in California, in a rich family, chances were even if she hadn’t frequented the beaches much her family had had a pool so she should know how to swim. The biggest problem was that it was almost winter, and the water would be freezing. Being thrown in like that would shock her system and could render her paralyzed for a few moments while her muscles adjusted.
A few moments was all it would take for her to drown.
Surf had been a SEAL, and long before that, the ocean had been his safe place. Peaceful, quiet, and free from anyone who wanted to harm him. The water was as much his home as the land, and he dived into the river.
It had a reasonably fast-moving current, and already he’d lost sight of Lila.
With strong, confident strokes he glided through the water. It was as cold as he’d thought, but this wasn’t his first time throwing himself into freezing water. Memories of Hell Week filled his mind as he went beneath the water, searching for any glimpse of Lila.
Nothing.
Rising above the surface, he scanned the river, but again couldn’t see any signs of her.
No.
Wait.
Up ahead was a flash of purple.
Lila had been wearing a purple sweater, and the color wasn’t one you’d find naturally in the forest, so there was zero doubt in his mind that it was her.
His shoulder protested slightly, but the pain was nothing compared to the absolute terror constricting his heart.
He couldn’t lose her.
There was no way his heart could cope with that.
Yesterday he had bared his soul to her, told her everything he’d endured as a child, his darkest, deepest shame, and she hadn’t rejected him. She’d held him, cried for him, and soothed him with nothing more than her presence and her love. There was nothing left between them, no secrets. She knew about his childhood and how his mom had pimped him out for drug money, and he knew that she had been sold by her parents to a man old enough to be her grandfather.
They were both free now.
Free from the chains of their pasts.
Just ahead of him, Lila disappeared again under the water. Her arms were thrashing, splashing water about, and he glued his eyes to the disturbances her panicking created and increased the speed of his strokes.
He had to get to her.
Neither of them was dressed for a dip in the icy water. Hypothermia wasn’t just a major concern. There was no way either of them was walking away from this unscathed.
Especially Lila.
At least his fatigues protected him slightly, but Lila was dressed only in jeans, a t-shirt, a blouse, and a sweater.
There was no way her body could survive this temperature much longer.
Hold on, baby. I’m coming.
The spot he’d been aiming for suddenly went still.
His heart lurched.
If Lila was no longer struggling to get to the surface it was because she couldn’t. There was no way his girl would just give up. She didn’t have it in her. Everything else life had thrown at her she had dealt with, she didn’t back down, not even when she was scared.
You got this, sweetheart. Don’t give up on me.
