Page 116 of SEAL Summer Escape

Noah’s large hand rubbed her back, and she shuddered in his arms, crying.As her tears finally slowed, she inhaled his scent and warmth, finally beginning to relax in his strong arms.

She was emotionally drained and exhausted, and at the moment, she wanted a long, hot bath.And her own bed.

Neither was possible right now.They’d probably want them to go to the hospital or something to get checked over.And their flight back to Virginia wasn’t until tomorrow.Briefly, she wondered if Noah would stay in her room tonight, or if they’d go back to their separate beds.

A few minutes later, they were landing on a helipad, the helicopter rotors slowing as it came to a complete stop.She took off her headphones, letting Noah help her stand.The Coast Guard officers introduced themselves, and she shook hands with them, sticking close to Noah’s side.

She climbed down out of the helicopter and heard Taylor shouting her name.

A moment later, Taylor and Mason were both rushing toward them.Her best friend threw her arms around her and squeezed her tightly.“Oh my God—we were so worried!”Taylor said.“I can’t believe they found you!Are you guys okay?”

“Fine,” Bailey said, swiping at her tears.“Just shaken up a little.”

“We looked for you in the water after Noah dove in after you.The storm was just so bad, we couldn’t see anything.And then even when it blew over, we couldn’t find you.”

“Viper,” Mason said, shaking Noah’s hand and pulling him into a one-armed hug.“We rode out the storm and then couldn’t get back to shore.The engine up and died on us and the radio was bad.We couldn’t even radio for help.”

“How’d you get back?”Bailey asked.

“My buddy notified the Coast Guard.They sent a boat out and found us last night—towed us back in.It was too late to do much of a search for you two then.They did check the immediate surrounding area, but hell.You guys were a couple of miles away.”

“A couple of miles?”Bailey asked in surprise.“How’d we get so far?”

“The ocean current,” Noah said.“It was strong in the storm and carried us away from the boat.We were lucky as hell to end up near one of the islands.”

“And you found your gear?”Mason asked, nodding at his backpack.

“It must’ve gotten swept right along with us,” Noah said.“Bailey spotted it in the water.”

“We’ve been so worried about you,” Taylor said, her eyes watering.“The Coast Guard has been searching all day.Mason even went out there with them earlier.They wouldn’t let him join the helicopter search though.”

The Coast Guard Lieutenant walked over, greeting them.“We spotted the smoke from the bonfire from a couple of miles away.As soon as we went to investigate it, we hoped it would be you.”

“We tried lighting one yesterday, but the rain started up again.Then this morning we had to wait for everything to dry out before we could relight it,” Noah said.

“Can we go home?”Bailey asked, looking up at Noah.

“There’s an ambulance waiting over there,” the Coast Guard Lieutenant said.“They can check your vitals, and if you don’t want to be treated at the hospital, you’ll have to sign a waiver for your release.”

Noah wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulders, and they headed over to the ambulance together.Thirty minutes later, she was nestled beside him in the back of the convertible as they headed to the condo.

“Do you want me to change our flight?”Mason asked, glancing at them in the rearview mirror.“I don’t know if anything is going out tonight.We were worried we’d have to push our flight back from tomorrow if we couldn’t find you.”

“We can fly home tomorrow,” Bailey said.“I just want to sleep in a bed with a roof over my head tonight.”

Noah chuckled beside her.“It wasn’t that bad, sunshine.You had me to keep you safe.”

Taylor turned around from the front passenger seat.“I was so scared.Mason kept telling me Noah would save you, Bailey, but that storm was awful.Even if he got to you, I wasn’t sure how you’d both survive when we couldn’t find you in the water.”

“It was bad,” Noah agreed.“Bailey did everything right though.And finding my backpack was a real stroke of luck.I had some supplies, food, even an inflatable life vest.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Noah,” Bailey said.

She yawned beside him, and he ducked down, brushing his lips against her hair.“Close your eyes, sunshine.You’re safe now.”

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