Page 76 of Tides of Change
Relief poured through me at Nate’s voice. “On my way. Hold on, Garrett.”
I turned back to Ethan, every instinct screaming at me to move faster. I pulled my multi-tool from my vest and slashed through the zip ties binding his wrists. He sagged against me, exhausted, his skin too pale, his lips tinged blue. Symptoms of hypothermia and concussion.
I held him close and rubbed his arms, trying to transfer warmth, trying to anchor him in the rising tide.
“Stay with me,” I murmured. “I need you to hold on.”
Ethan’s fingers curled into my slicker. “Trying,” he whispered, voice thready.
The wait for the bolt cutters stretched into eternity. The water was up to my chin, my grip on Ethan tightening as the tide dragged at us, its pull insidious, relentless. The cave was a tomb waiting to happen.
A flashlight cut through the dim light.
“Garrett!” Nate struggled toward us, holding the bolt cutters above his head. “Here!”
I seized the cutters and dove under. Salt water burned my eyes, stung my skin, and chilled me to the bone. I fumbled with the chain, my fingers numb, my lungs burning.
One cut. The metal groaned but didn’t give.
I adjusted my grip. Another cut.
The chain snapped.
I quickly cut the zip ties around his ankles, rose, and gasped for breath. “I’ve got you, baby. Let’s go.”
The three of us fought our way through the roaring waves, the current trying to suck us back into the cave. I held Ethan against my side, my legs burning as I forced us forward, step by step.
A wave crashed over us, knocking us under. Blackness. Cold. Salt filling my nose.
I surfaced and dragged a coughing, sputtering Ethan with me.
“Almost there!” Holt was waiting at the shore, arms outstretched. The paramedics were just behind him, blankets ready.
One last push. One last struggle.
Finally, we broke free of the ocean’s grasp.
I collapsed to my knees, Ethan still in my arms. His body shuddered violently, lips quivering, but he was breathing.Alive.
I cradled his face and pressed a kiss to his cold lips, not caring about our audience. “You’re safe. You’re okay.”
A paramedic crouched beside us. “Let’s get him warmed up. You too, Deputy. You’re half-frozen.”
I let them bundle him in a first-aid blanket, but I kept his hand in mine. I refused to let go, even when they wrapped me in my own blanket.
I’d almost lost him.Almost.
But I hadn’t. I squeezed his hand, and he weakly squeezed mine. “Let’s get you to the ambulance.”
We’d caught Finch and rescued Ethan, but Ethan wasn’t out of the woods yet.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Ethan
The late afternoon sky was a dull gray when Garrett pulled up to the medical clinic to pick me up. The storm had passed, leaving the world damp and cold, the kind of chill that settled deep into my bones and refused to leave. I shifted in the chair in the waiting area, the fluorescent lights overhead too bright, and my head pounded with every movement. The soft sweatshirt and sweatpants Garrett had brought from my house were a comfort against my skin, itchy from the salt water, but nothing could fully erase the exhaustion clinging to me.
The door swung open, and Garrett strode in.
