The Countdown (The Taking #3)(7)

When there was enough of an opening, or what I hoped was enough, I’d intended to exhale, giving Tyler a much-needed boost to his depleted oxygen supply.

But what I hadn’t counted on was that he would have to exhale first. He’d been holding his breath for so long that he had no choice but to expel it before he could take in any more.

When he did, he filled my mouth with air. But even worse . . . far, far worse, the seal had just been broken, and it was my fault because I’d dropped my head to keep from choking. And the whole time all I could think was, This is it. I’ve killed him. He can’t make it any longer. I can’t save him again. . . .

My eyes squeezed shut as my body struggled not to inhale—to swallow huge mouthfuls of water, even though I probably deserved to die down here.

When I felt Tyler’s fingers gently grip my arms, I reluctantly opened my eyes. He was there . . . alive. And not just alive, but grinning back at me.

Grinning!

I had to blink several times to make sense of it. To put the pieces together. Then he held up his hand and gave me the thumbs-up. As if I’d done this. As if I had anything at all to do with whatever was happening.

I was slow, but eventually I got it: Tyler hadn’t needed me to be his human oxygen tank. He’d never needed me because he could hold his breath too, same as me. He just hadn’t realized it until we were down here.

Beneath my palms, which were now flat against the bare skin of his chest, I could feel his heart pounding. I spread my fingers wide, letting them explore his muscles as the look on his face told me everything I needed to know: Tyler was okay. We were okay.

Then, just when I finally felt my body easing, just the slightest bit, his lips drifted toward mine and I thought maybe I’d been mistaken. Maybe I’d misread the pounding of his heart and he did need me to breathe for him after all.

But when his lips landed on mine, it wasn’t for any practical purposes—he didn’t need me to save his life or anything. It was just a kiss. An abrupt, waterlogged peck that was over as quickly as it had begun.

I wasn’t sure if I should take it as a sign of things to come—the kiss I’d been anticipating right before he’d tossed me into the pool. Or if he’d just been swept up in the moment over his newfound skill and gotten carried away.

Either way, my lips were buzzing long after the kiss ended.

When we broke the surface again, Tyler kept his hand closed protectively around my wrist. My heart was still crashing wildly as I waited for Tyler to give the all clear, although it could just as easily have been the underwater kiss that caused the banging.

“It’s okay,” he exhaled, his grip loosening. “They’re gone.”

“They? How many of them were there?” I asked, opening my eyes at last. Before we’d emerged from the water, Tyler had signaled for me to shut them, and as I saw the shards of light flaring back at us from the ripples, I knew why—the glow from my eyes.

At that moment, they’d become a liability, so I’d put my sight in Tyler’s hands, letting him guide me to the edge of the pool. I wouldn’t admit it, but I’d preferred it that way. My skin tightened everywhere his fingers skimmed my body as he’d eased me onto the rocks. It had been hard to breathe, almost impossible, when I’d slid across him wearing almost nothing.

I watched now as he pulled himself out of the water and crouched on the bank. I’d seen Tyler without his shirt before. A few times. But with his bare chest glistening beneath the moonlight . . . well that was a whole ’nother story. One I wanted to burn into my memory.

He glanced back at me, confusion clear in his eyes. “Two, maybe? You didn’t hear them?”

I tried to remember if there’d been anything, but I shook my head.

“You’re kidding? It was so clear. They were so . . .” He reached down to help me out. “We have to get back and warn your dad.”

I let him haul me up and shivered as the cold night air blasted me. Water dripped in rivulets down my bare skin, puddling at my feet. “Why? Who were they?”

His green eyes were feverish as he shot nervous glances past me, in the direction of the woods beyond the steaming water of the hot spring. He yanked his jeans from the tangle of our clothes pile and then passed me my shirt. “I don’t know. But there was something . . . strange about them.”

“Strange, how?”

“Strange, like—” He frowned. “I’m not sure how to explain—this is gonna sound crazy—but they were talking in static. Like they were talking over some sort of radio frequency.”

I’d just started toweling off with my shirt when his words hit me. “How do you know you weren’t hearing a radio?” I thought of the way Tyler’s voice had sounded that night in the desert. Would I have called it static-y?

“I told you it was crazy. I just knew.” He threw my jeans at me and then wriggled into his, not an easy task when you were still dripping wet. “We need to get out of here in case they come back.”

“Wait,” I prodded, wanting him to explain. “Like how exactly? Obviously it freaked you out enough that you thought you needed to risk drowning us. Tell me what you heard.” I crossed my arms defiantly, refusing to get dressed until he answered my question.

He glared back at me, but I could tell from the set of his jaw he’d already given in. “God, you’re stubborn. Has anyone ever told you that?” I bit back a grin because I desperately wished he could remember the first time he’d told me that—that I was stubborn—back when he’d begged me to admit I had feelings for him. My heart had been pounding for a completely different reason then. “I can’t explain exactly,” he exhaled, clearly annoyed. “But it was like I sensed them before I ever heard them. Like I . . .” He shifted, and his hand kneaded the back of his neck. “Like I felt their footsteps coming. Then I heard this strange vibrating sound, or, I don’t know, maybe I felt that too. But it was like they were speaking in code or something. Like they were communicating in sound waves.” He pursed his lips, looking at me like he was saying, I told you it was crazy.