Page 77 of Forged in Secrets

The side of the yacht loomed before them, growing taller as they swam toward it. The sun was high now, reflecting off the sleek white fiberglass.

“There’s no one on deck, just like Connie said,” Ben said to Asher beside him as they paused to catch their breaths.

“Are you sure?” Asher asked, rubbing saltwater from his eyes with pruny fingertips.

Ben nodded. “Let’s just check one more thing.”

He started swimming toward the back of the boat, and Asher followed.

“Boom.”

Ben pointed upward. There it was, written in a neat black font across the stern of the boat.

Lumeneer

Asher stared for a long moment. “Okay, you better enjoy this, because it won’t be happening again any time soon, but I can admit it. You were right. Now let’s get Grace back.”

His twin turned and started swimming toward the other side of the boat. He followed, lost in the depth of his thoughts as the surprisingly cool water turned his skin to gooseflesh.

What if it was too late? What if they lost her?

He couldn’t bear the thought.

For years now, he’d seen her nearly every day. She’d been there for every important moment in all of their lives, already family to him and his brothers. He had denied it for so long, but his life would never be what it was without Grace Isabella Hinton in it.

It was selfish to think of himself and how he would feel. He knew. He knew that if they got out of this, she’d have every reason to walk away and find a man who valued her like she deserved. He wouldn’t hold it against her if she did. But right now, all that mattered was that she had the chance to choose. He’d deal with whatever pain he had to, just as long as she was okay.

“There’s a way up!” Asher called out to him, yanking him back into the present moment. After a few more breaststrokes along the yacht’s far side, he saw the ladder. His brother was treading water at the base of it, looking down at his phone screen.

“It’s quarter past eleven. I hope they’re still here.”

Ben nodded. No matter how they looked at it, climbing up there would be risky.

If everyone had gone to shore to make the ransom swap with Grace’s parents, there would be nothing they could do to help without a boat. All of this would havebeen for nothing, and Gabe would have to work a miracle on his own, especially if he planned to help Katie Fairman.

On the other hand, even though no one seemed to have heard Asher shouting or noticed them in the water, the enemy could be hiding just out of sight overhead.

As usual, Asher seemed to know exactly what his fears were.

“God has brought us this far,” he reminded him. “If you still feel in your heart that she’s here, I believe you.”

Ben paused, looking up at the perfect sky for a long moment. Asher struggled with maintaining his childhood faith in God even more than he himself did, and yet, here his brother was, finding ways to trust Him more and more each day.

“I do,” Ben said at last. “I know she’s close.”

As he said the words, he felt a strange peace washing over him, warming him even as the shadow of the boat chilled his damp skin.

Maybe if he wanted to learn to open his heart and to trust others, he had to ask God to break down his walls. Maybe that was step one. Not that he had time to get too vulnerable at the moment.

“God, please be with us,” he said as he started up the ladder, Asher close at his heels.

Before he stuck his head above the edge of the deck, he reached over with one hand and unzipped his waterproof bag.

He gripped the pistol in his hand, and let out a calm, controlled breath.

He may have been out of practice in the field, but he still spent a lot of time at the range.

No matter what was coming, he’d be ready.

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