Page 85 of Under Pressure

They saw one another at the same time. Blue was close to the rocks, blood pooling from her leg. Her dress and hair floated out around her. The sound of the water drowned out the chaos on the surface. Down here, there wasn’t any shouting, engine noise, or crack of a gun. It was just the two of them. Bullets sliced through the water. Okay, the two of them and bullets. They swam toward one another and he pulled her to him blocking her from danger.

She tried to pull out of his grasp, to swim to the surface, wriggling and twisting as people do when they’re running out of air. But they couldn’t yet, not until the bullets stopped. All Navy SEALs were required to hold their breath for two to three minutes. All the guys in their unit of twenty-three could hold their breath for over five minutes. But Sean? He could hold his for nine.

He shook her a little to get her attention, and the moment she caught his eye, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Her indigo eyes shot wide open. He tugged her chin with his thumb just enough to get her to open her lips. She relaxed in his hold as she took the life-saving oxygen he gently blew into her mouth. She grabbed onto his face, slowly closed her eyes, andmelted into him—like this was actually a kiss. There was nothing romantic about this situation, but the moment their mouths touched, Sean couldn’t help but feel he’d finally come home.

The bullets stopped, and reluctantly, he pulled away. He pointed up, and the two of them swam to the surface. Sean never released her arm, worried about her leg which was still losing blood.

The second they broke the surface, Knox and Gray pulled up alongside them in a flash. Knox pulled Blue out of Sean’s arms and onto the boat. The moment Sean lifted himself on board, Gray steered the boat out and away from the cliffs like a shot. They weren’t being fired at now, probably because the idiots above ran out of bullets. That didn’t mean they couldn’t reload and start up again soon.

Wind whipped the boat around like a buoy on choppy waters. Sean went straight for the cabinet under the steering wheel where he kept the emergency kit as Knox wrapped Blue up in a towel. Not that it would do her much good. The sky’s opened up, and it began to rain.

Sean dropped the emergency kit on the seat next to her and tore it open.

“It’s just a scratch,” Blue said, teeth already chattering.

Gingerly, Sean turned her leg until he got a good look. Just a scratch? Not even close. He took a deep breath and wrapped it up.

“I hit the rocks when I went in the water,” she said. “I don’t think it’ll need stitches.”

A lump rose in Sean’s throat at the thought of what might have happened. He grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. She came willingly, burying into his chest as she shivered against him. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I had to,” she whispered into his neck, her breath warm in the chilled air. Even though she was soaked in salty ocean water, he could still smell her familiar rosemary and tea tree soap.

“I hate to break up the love fest,” Knox said. “But are we going to get shot going into port?”

Blue pulled away from Sean’s grasp and blinked up at his two teammates. “I don’t think so. He has nothing to hold over me anymore.”

“Your dad?” Sean asked, glancing in the direction of the lighthouse.

Blue lowered her head. “He . . . he didn’t come.”

Gray steered the boat in, keeping an eye on the cliffs as they made their way to the docks.

“What exactly is happening?” Knox asked.

“They want your treasure,” she said, a pink tinge coloring the apples of her cheeks.

“How’d he know about it?” Gray glanced from Knox to Sean.

Sean stood. “The birthday party?”

Blue nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he’d—” She cleared her throat. “They put a tracking device on your boat.”

“Don’t worry about it, Gorgeous,” Knox said. “Nothing we can do about it now.”

“We just need to figure out where to go from here.” Gray pulled a phone out of his pocket, dialed the guys, and waited. “They’re not answering.”

“They must still be in the dead zone,” Knox said.

Blue pulled a phone out of the front of her dress. “Jonah’s phone,” she said, to answer their questioning gazes.

“That won’t work now,” Knox said. “It just got a cool dip inthebig drink.”

“It’s waterproof,” Sean told them, surprised he was able to focus on anything as Blue made a call.

The phone rang a couple times, then someone answered. “Stroup, you got away?” She waited for an answer. “They know who I am. They threatened me and my dad . . . Yes! Do you know where Dad is?”

Gray stepped forward. “What’s going on, Sean?”

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