Page 84 of The SEAL's Duchess
Jack frowned. "Pressure valve alert. I was checking it, then—" Confusion clouded her eyes.
A metallic shriek cut through the air, sharp and sudden.
Footsteps.
A voice came from the catwalk. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Ivy squinted into the gloom.
A man stood on the catwalk above them, oil-streaked coveralls, hard hat pulled low. She caught a flash of chiseled features, a burn scar on one hand. A wrench loose in the other.
She didn’t move but her breath stumbled. “Can you call for help? Jack's hurt. Call for a medic!"
He didn't move. Just watched her.Why wasn’t he moving?
"Please,” she tried again. “She needs help.”
His mouth curved, not quite a smile. Something colder. This man wasn’t here to help.
“Should’ve stayed on the boat.”
Jack stirred. "Run, Duchess.”
Ivy stood, legs trembling. "I'm not leaving you."
The man started down, boots ringing on steel.
Ivy backed away—one step, another.
She couldn't carry Jack. Couldn't fight this man. She could run, try to get help, but that meant leaving Jack alone with him.
The man reached the bottom of the stairs.
Dust danced in the air between them, caught in the beam of her flashlight.
He lunged, wrench arcing through the dim light.
She tried to dodge?—
Too slow.
Pain exploded across her temple.
The world tilted.
Gravity slipped its grip.
Sound vanished replaced by high-pitched ringing and the thud of her own heartbeat.
Metal bit into her palms as salt and iron flooded her mouth.
Above her, the wrench caught the light—dark stains that might’ve been rust.
Or blood.
"Nothing personal."
She braced—too late. Her shoulders erupted in white-hot agony, driving her to her knees.
