Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2)(84)

I envisioned being under water in scuba gear, which freaked me out a little, but I’d do it.

Kaidan thought about it, nodding, then snapped his fingers and pointed to Blake like he had an idea.

Within minutes we hatched a plan and got to work. I was going under. We were all going under.

“Thou canst not touch the freedom of my mind.”

—John Milton, Comus

“The prince of darkness is a gentleman.”

—William Shakespeare, King Lear

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SUBMERGED

There was no scuba gear. The island had no place where we could safely hide underwater, out of sight, without being dragged out to sea. We needed something to hold on to. Kaidan checked the boathouse, pointing to the open area where we could climb in the water and swim under the dock, hanging on to the posts. Everyone agreed it was our best bet.

Blake sped away in the boat with Kopano following on a Jet Ski to bring him back. The rest of us waited in silence inside the boathouse. I strapped the hilt tightly around my ankle.

I’d felt severely sick with nerves only once before in my life—a year and a half ago when I thought I’d be killed at the summit. But this time was worse. I’d been acting as an individual in NYC. Here on the island we were a group. If they caught us, we were all dead. I vowed to take down as many as I could before that happened.

The five of us sat on the edge of the walkway inside the boathouse. We’d splashed the entire dock with water to hide our footprints. Blake slipped into the water first, followed by Kope, then Zania. She let out a short hiss, but caught herself and quieted. They disappeared under the wooden planks. I turned to Kai to see if he was ready and found him staring at me with the same intense look he’d given me before the summit. No words were necessary. He never took his gaze from my face as he lifted a hand. At first I thought he was reaching for me, but then he slowly signed, I love you.

Bright, glowing joy filled my heart. My eyes welled and I mouthed, “I love you, too.”

I pulled him close and breathed him in, feeling him in every pore, letting his love drown out everything else. His strong arms went all the way around me. His actions had shown his love, but being told brought it to life. It had to be hard for him to get those words out for the first time in his life—to completely open himself and be vulnerable. We held each other as long as we could, until someone tugged our feet and we knew it was time.

With one last squeeze of hands, we slid down, holding the protruding planks to keep our descent quiet. I sucked in a breath, shocked by the water temperature. Kaidan didn’t appear surprised since he’d been in it all day, but I couldn’t believe how cold it was. We were on an island off the coast of sunny California in the middle of the summer! Wasn’t the water supposed to be warmer than this?

We glided through the water, the dock just a few feet above our heads. I moved carefully to avoid splashing. Some of the boards above us had large enough gaps between them to reach up and hold. Through the cracks and gaps in some of the warped boards we could see onto the dock, but nobody would be able to see us.

The island’s gentle currents pushed and pulled at us, back and forth, as I worked my way over to one of the wooden posts anchored in the seafloor. I didn’t want to think about what kind of stuff was in the water with us. I ran my hands over the slick post, letting myself get used to the smooth, slimy texture. Several huge nails protruded, and I was able to grasp them. Zania was situated at the post a few feet from me. Kope, Kaidan, and Blake were directly across from us, facing us.

The water was seriously so cold. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. How long would we have to stay in? Panic surged inside me. Calm down, Anna. You can do this. It’ll be fine.

Kai gave me a small nod, emotion still raging in his eyes.

And so the waiting began.

Ages passed. Eons. It took forever to get used to the freezing water. Geography lessons ran through my mind, and I recalled how the East Coast has warm currents running up from the Gulf, while the West Coast has cold currents running down from Alaska. Somehow, examining the science of the situation made it a little more bearable. But only a little.

I let myself be lulled by the tide, lifting and lowering us. Now and then bigger waves would come and splash salt water over our heads, but the island waves were tiny in comparison to those near the mainland. I lost myself in thought.

Maybe the Dukes weren’t coming to the island after all. Maybe they decided to take a boat ride up the coast from L.A. to Santa Barbara instead.

I could tell the others were listening, so I did the same. I pushed my hearing out to the ocean, running it back and forth over the waters. It was unusual to stretch my senses so far and not be overrun with manmade sounds and voices. These were peaceful noises: birds calling, winds rushing, swells of water lapping. And then the deep whir of a boat engine followed by talking and laughter.

My heart shot into overdrive, and the five of us became like statues at once. Kaidan’s eyes locked on mine. The Dukes were really here.

I closed my eyes, listening as they drew nearer. Soon they were close enough that I didn’t have to use my extended hearing anymore. The post jolted under my hands as the boat hit the dock with a thump. Waves from the boat washed over us, making us close our eyes and hold our breaths. We hung on to avoid being swept away. When the water settled, I slowly reached up to wipe my eyes.

Voices rang out in excitement—I listened carefully and distinguished four female and five male voices. I recognized Mammon and Flynn with their Australian accents right away. Then Pharzuph’s rich English accent, another Englishman who must have been Astaroth, and a light Japanese accent that I assumed belonged to Melchom. I pushed myself lower in the water, tilting my head back to submerge all but my face. I thought about going all the way under, but was afraid of making noise when I had to come back up for air.