Page 116 of Luck Be Mine
Time was too short. Especially in his profession.
He had to build the life he wanted for himself, and live it.
If he only knew what that was.
Chapter Eighteen
◊ Desperate is as Desperate Does ◊
Cait shoved her hair away from her face and waded further into the water. Dread iced across her skin in agreement with the temperature of the water. “Please, let me find him.”
She paused waist deep and did a full sweep.
Hunt popped out of the water twenty yards in front of her.
“Hunt!” Her scream carried over the sounds of the water. He twisted, searching for her, but she dove in and swam straight for him.
The waves fought her progress.
Ten feet away, she heard his shouts. “What are you doing? These waters are rough.”
She slowed and treaded water, her clothes weighing on her. “What am I doing? What areyoudoing?”
“I needed some think space.” One long stroke put him next to her.
She shivered, the chilly water sapping her warmth. “You’ve sealed yourself off from me.”
Hunt’s face twisted. “What do you think I’m doing?”
She put a hand to her chest, unable to catch her breath. Her eyes filled heavy tears. “Killing yourself?”
“No.” There was a frayed edge to his voice.
“Reckless, then?”
“No, I’m thinking.”
Disoriented, she glared at him. “Well, you can think with me floating right here. You don’t come up, I’ll find you.”
Confusion and pain flooded his eyes. “I’m hurting you.”
“We’re all hurting, Hunt. Bax made a choice. He chose to be a SEAL, knowing the risks. He acted on it. You don’t get to blameyourself for something you would have done exactly the same way.”
“Honey.” He tipped his head back and stared fiercely at the sky.
“I’m scared,” she whispered, the truth ripping free.
“I’m here.” His low voice trembled through her.
“No, you aren’t.”
His jaw clenched. “It could have been me. I was right beside him. Just an operational quirk he went first. What if you…”
“Don’t you dare play a what if card. What if IQS had snapped my neck? Two feet away. Two seconds.” Her voice broke.
He drew back. “I can’t help thinking you’d be better off without me.”
“So that’s it? You erase five years because life happened?” Shivers wracked her.
