Page 10 of Crash Over Us

“Margot, come on. Let’s get you up. I think your knee is bleeding,” Josie instructed as she tried to tug me to my feet.

“My knee is always bleeding,” I muttered, dragging myself to standing. That was something about the marina I had gotten used to. I tended to cut myself whenever I wasn’t paying attention. There were too many hazards. Broken boards. Slippery steps. Rusted doors. Uneven gravel. For someone as uncoordinated and as clumsy as me, it was a constant effort not to hurt myself every day.

The screened door closed with a heavy thwack, and Josie followed me to the kitchen. I was dazed and unsure of how I moved my feet. It felt like more of a shuffle.

“We don’t know anything,” she reported with a quiet voice. “I wish I could have said that before you even opened the door. Maybe I should have texted you first, so you wouldn’t panic.”

I looked at her. “What do you know?” I hadn’t pieced together how or why she was here, only that her presence meant something terrible had happened to Caleb. I felt it, and that was all I needed to know.

She moved the envelope aside, Dean had left on the counter, and sat at the bar. “I was at my parents’ house. They live next to the O’Connors,” she explained. “I saw one of the Coast Guard trucks pull into their driveway. Lights flashing. The whole thing. Mom and Dad did, too. We headed outside to see what was going on.”

My stomach lurched to my throat. I had to grab the counter to keep myself from throwing up.

“And?” I barely whispered.

“Listen to me, Margot. We don’t know anything. Okay? But this is what he said.” She kept an unwavering lock on my eyes as if she worried I’d pitch over at any second.

I wasn’t going to pretend like any of this was okay or that I was in good shape. I wanted information.

Josie continued, “Caleb and Gabe were on patrol together. Someone called in a distress signal on a boat a few miles out. Neither one came back. The Cutter appears to be abandoned.”

If I weren’t holding on with such force, I would have slid to the floor in another puddle.

“What do I do?” I glanced at her. Something inside me shifted. There were no tears. Everything felt empty and cold. “What do I do?” I repeated.

“Do about what?” the deep voice came from over my shoulder.

Shit. I had forgotten Ethan was here.

He strolled into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Margot, who is this?” Josie pointed at Ethan. She stared at him.

I sighed. “Josie, Ethan. Ethan, Josie. He’s my… ex,” I admitted. There was no reason to lie to her. “He was just headed back to New York. He’s been here on a vacation, I guess.”

“What happened to your knee?” Ethan bent down to scan the blood dripping to my ankle.

“It looks worse than it is.” I was irritated that we were off track. I needed Josie to tell me what was being done to find Caleb.

Ethan grabbed a paper towel and wet it under the faucet, pressed it to my knee, and held it steady.

“Josie, tell me what else did the officer say?” I begged.

She leaned over the counter and glanced at Ethan, tending to my knee. She shook her head as her eyes traveled back up to meet mine. “I thought you should know there is a search crew looking for him. Everyone is out. The whole squad.”

“Shit. He’s missing?” Ethan mumbled. “Caleb?”

I spun around, nearly knocking Ethan on his butt, and grabbed my wallet and keys from the kitchen desk. “Okay, then let’s go. I want to be there when he gets back.”

“Hey, you’re still bleeding,” Ethan announced.

“Whoa. Whoa.” Josie put her hands in the air. “I thought I’d wait here with you in case there is any news. We can’t get on base. I came over for support. So you aren’t alone.” She glared at Ethan. It felt like a warning shot in his direction.

“Someone can get us on base. And you know everyone on this damn island,” I argued. “We aren’t going to sit here.”

She blinked. “They aren’t going to let you anywhere near a rescue mission. Or me, for that matter, no matter who I know. We have no IDs and definitely no military clearance.”

I let out a ragged breath. “Then I’ll wait at the gate until someone lets me in.”

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