Page 54 of Shielding Instinct

Before Petra went any further, this man had to prove he could—at least at this moment—process rationally.

“Ninety-eight. Ninety-six. Ninety-four.”

“Terry,” Petra called, “a wave is coming. Brace.”

“Please, please,pleasehelp me.”

Chapter Eighteen

Hawkeye

Hawkeye had never felt so powerless in his life.

Panic was a gladiator in the colosseum fighting for dominance.

There was no air, no up or down—nothing for his brain to grab onto to make sense of reality.

The single thought that had substance was that he would not, could not under any circumstances, allow his ankle to come unlocked. If he did, he’d lose Roy to the wave.

His surfboard had ripped from Hawkeye’s hands.

But from the drag trying to pry his ankles apart, Hawkeye knew that the tether held the board to him. They plunged together.

On this last tumble, Hawkeye scraped his knuckles through the abrasion of a sandy bottom.

They’d reached shallower waters.

As he spread his fingers to anchor himself in that position, Hawkeye reasoned that he must be face down.

And that meant maybe, possibly, Roy was getting some air.

Hawkeye dug into the sand and pulled himself along. Then he felt a hand under his armpits.

“We’ve got you, brother.”

Hawkeye relaxed into the grip, making it easier on his teammates as they dragged him from the surf.

“Release your ankles, Hawkeye. We have the guy.”

Easier said than done. Hawkeye had put so much effort into ensuring he didn’t release Roy that neither his brain nor his cramped and stiffened muscles complied.

Halo must have understood because he reached out and forced Hawkeye’s legs apart.

“In coming! Go! Go! Go!” Ash yelled.

As Hawkeye blinked, he saw feet and legs swarming him. His team grabbed Hawkeye’s arms, hauling him, gasping and sputtering, up the beach to the rocks. Halo and Ash threw their bodies over Hawkeye’s as a wave slapped over them, then retreated with enormous drag.

They had to be a good twenty yards from the shoreline.

His teammates clapped him on the shoulder and were once again up and running.

Hawkeye swung his head. Roy was nearby on a flat rock where two people were performing CPR.

Farther down toward the shoreline, people were grabbing humans and racing with them back to the rocks.

Hawkeye was in motion, running to help even before he could process why people were flopping on the shoreline like a school of fish beached by a sudden low tide.

Heaving a man’s arm over his shoulder, Hawkeye half-dragged the guy as they jogged toward safety, while a third wave drew ever closer.

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