Safe in His Arms (16 page)

They were going to die and she’d never even told Mac she loved him.

Mac pushed her back down in her seat and grabbed the side of the ‘copter and leaned out so far she had to close her eyes. That only made it worse. She quickly opened them to see Mac bring his rifle up, take aim, and fire. His big shoulders barely moved with the kick. He let go of several more rounds, his face tight with such deadly concentration she shivered. After two more shots, he pushed away from the opening with one hand. This was what he’d not wanted her to see. Him killing. She knew it like she knew she’d never survive if he was taken from her.

An explosion louder than before sounded above the whirl of the Hawk’s engines and the wind whipping through the cabin. She grabbed the straps above her head as they rocked back and forth like some crazy kid’s beach toy.

Mac turned and slung the rifle strap over his shoulder, grabbed her hand, and jerked her up against him. Her legs felt like noodles. She shuddered uncontrollably and couldn’t stop a small laugh from bursting from her numb lips when he said, “They’re gone. We jump. Now.”

He was serious. “But the… Oh, God, oh, God, can’t you simply fix…? I mean, Mac, we can’t leave Tad! He’s—”

“He’s dead.”

Dead?
She shook her head, tears burning her eyes. Tad dead? But he’d been there, right there… Mac reached up and caught her face in his hands.

“Sugar, I can’t fix this. It’s going to crash and we’re not going with it,” he yelled. “I rigged it so it will fly on its own far enough away from us to not come down on our heads, but it’s going down.”

She tried hard to stop the flood of tears spilling over but she could feel them wetting her face. The wind rushed in, chilling her through her layers of gear, but her face felt flushed and too warm. Mac grimaced and brushed at her face. “Just stay close, point those feet and stay alive. If I thought you couldn’t do this, I’d not make you.”

She shook her head. She couldn’t do this. Her stomach lurched to her throat. The helicopter dipped and shuddered, but he tugged her upright and to the open doorway. What looked like deep, dark ocean spread out beneath them like some kind of creepy
Jaws
movie.

“I can’t do this! I can’t jump out of this. Oh, God this is crazy!”

Her wail was met with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look she absolutely hated. Reaction set in and her body began to shake like Jell-O. The ‘copter dipped again and he braced them both against the side, one arm tight around her, plastering her from head to toe to his bigger, stronger body. The open door bit into her back. Sweat dripped down her spine and ribs. A chill rushed her immediately followed by heat like she’d caught a fever. He was serious. So serious she knew, if she didn’t jump, he’d simply push her out the open door.

She looked down and regretted it instantly.

“We have to jump. Now, before it’s too late.”

She met his hazel eyes and tried hard to focus. “I—”

“If you open your mouth to say you can’t, I’m going to spank you.”

She smacked his chest light enough but it hurt her hand on the straps he had across his chest. “Stop! Please, Mac. This is serious! I’m not a SEAL! Why can’t—?”

“Mandy.” He finally turned serious and gripped her shoulders to hold her still. Had she been trying to get away? “Listen, we have to do this. Any lower and we won’t make the fall. Tad is gone. Now, think, sugar. We can do this.”

She glanced away from his determined stare. The wind whipped so loudly through the open door, they were yelling at each other. Her throat hurt. Breathing was getting harder and if she didn’t get a grip she was going to black out, but she looked back up at him.

He grinned and nodded tightly. One big arm hauled her hard to him and he pressed his face to hers. “I’ll get us out of this. Trust me.”

She wanted to smack him again and cry into his broad chest all at the same time. Instead, she simply held on tight to his warmth.

“I trust you.”

There was blood on his shirt and he smelt like gunpowder, she realised. The next instant he set her aside, but held her hand as he leaned out of the open door. Her stomach nosedived to her toes and she laughed.

“Oh, God, I never meant it when I said I wanted to dive out of an aircraft.”

He grinned and kissed her hard and fast. Releasing her mouth, he took her hand and pulled her tight. “I’m sorry, baby. We drop, keep your arms crossed like this, feet down. The floatation I have on you will bring you back up.”

Gathering her nerve, she let him pull her closer to the open doorway and immediately backed up into him at the sight of the water below her. “But the water is right there!”

“It has to be,” he yelled in her ear. His rough whiskers brushed against her skin, making this so real she couldn’t pretend she’d wake up from this nightmare. “We need much closer. Wait for my signal.”

Closer?
The water looked like it was rushing up to them. Whatever he’d done with the ‘copter, it wasn’t nosediving but it was going at an angle and that angle was bringing them closer and closer to the blue ocean. Eyes stinging from the wind, she tried to keep his instructions in mind.

“We jump on three. You will be right in front of me. As soon as you surface, you find me. See those islands? We make for those.”

Islands. Oh my God.
Her whole body shuddered.

“Survive, sugar. Just jump like you’re at a pool.”

“Okay,” she managed, trusting him more than anyone else in this world.

“Now, one, two, three!” He shoved her out and she screamed.

Chapter Fourteen

Mandy screamed all the way down until the ocean crashed into her all at once. He’d crossed her arms and she pointed her toes so hard her feet ached. Within a breath, cold water covered her. Her body felt like someone had hit her with a solid, concrete wall, not water. Every inch of her stung but her legs weren’t broken and, besides her heart racing like crazy, she was fine. She went deep, until she realised she wasn’t swimming, just dropping. Gasping she sucked in a mouthful of water.

Idiot! Close your mouth, Mandy.

Arms spread wide, she pulled at the water, fearing she was too shaky and weak to reach the surface. The water was salty, and stung her eyes, but she kept them open, dreading the dark. The surface grew closer until, with a rush, she made it. A second later, a wave smacked her in the face. Her clothes weighed her down. The pack Mac had forced on her restricted her movement and she couldn’t seem to get far enough above the waves to swim. Her lungs burnt. Her head pounded and her eyes stung. She went under again, but managed to kick back up almost immediately.

How long, though? How long can I keep this up? Where is Mac?

As soon as she had thought his name, she heard him.

“Mandy!”

Mac.
She kicked harder, trying to stay high enough to look over the choppy waves to see him. For several seconds she managed it but saw nothing. Panic began to make breathing harder. She blinked rapidly and wiped a hand impatiently over her face to get the water out of her eyes. Slowly, she turned in a circle but still didn’t spot him. Suddenly, right next to her, Mac was there, grabbing her tight in his arms and nearly drowning her again when they both went under. He pushed them back up and brushed her hair off her face as soon as they surfaced. His handsome face tightened in concern, but some of his scowl softened after he’d scanned her face.

“Shit, girl. You did it.”

“I did. I did it. Oh my God, Mac, are you okay? I was worried, I was so—” He didn’t let her finish. Suddenly he pulled her tight and kissed her with such urgency she clung to him. They’d almost died. He could have died and she’d never have been able to do this, kiss him, and feel the strength in his body, the hard press of his muscles against her and the heat of his passion ever again.

He loved her, didn’t he? The erection he shoved up against her hip amazed her. Half drowning, barely alive, and he was ready for sex. Did that mean he loved her? She nearly laughed into his kiss at the thought. Maybe, for Mac, it did.

She pulled away enough to cup his face. “You’re insane. We could have died and you’re, like, hard!”

He grinned, before brushing a kiss to the side of her mouth. “Yeah, we could have, but we didn’t. And anytime I’m near you I’m hard.” Getting serious, he scanned her face once more then looked over the water. “We’re near some shallows. I want you with me—we’re not safe yet.”

“Duh, like I’m going to get my nails done.”

He swung his head back to her and grinned. “Sugar, that attitude just might get us through this.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth again, tasting salty and so good she forgot about the plane, the killers after them, everything. He easily kept them above the waves with strong, steady kicks of his legs. She tried to do the same and not kick him at the same time.

“That other helicopter went down back a ways, so hopefully it dragged all the sharks with it. When ours hits, the rest will hit ours.”

Her bubble burst and she jerked herself closer to him by yanking his wet T-shirt. “Don’t say that. Don’t say that. Not in the middle of the ocean.” Beneath her, miles of shark-infested water suddenly became the unmanageable.

Mac had the nerve to laugh. “Just stay close. You remember how to swim.”

“I do, but can I take this pack off and carry it?” She tried the snaps again but her hands were frozen.

“Here.” He snapped it open, dragged it off then slung it over his shoulder with the other pack.

A sudden explosion scared her enough that she caught Mac up and climbed on his back, dunking him a little. He bobbed back up without a word. Scanning the horizon, they both saw the smoke from where the Black Hawk had hit. Smoke billowed over the waves and drifted up over the clear, light blue sky.

“Tad was on that, Mac. Tad.” Her throat tightened up. Tad had been so good to them. Now he was gone and in the middle of—oh God, she had no idea where they were! “We’re going to die, aren’t we?”

Mac turned his head and met her eyes with such a determined look that she reached out and touched his jaw. He pressed one of his hands over hers and shook his head. “Mandy, we’re not going to die. Whoever is after us thinks we are, though. We need to move. Swim.”

She swam. Her legs were weak and her shaking only made swimming harder. The water was cold, not as freezing as it could be, but the fear of the fight, the crash, and now sharks, was catching up. They swam in silence for a long while, until she was sure her muscles were made of noodles and she couldn’t lift her arms or kick her feet another minute.

“Shit, you used to out swim me,” Mac teased her, but at the same time he pulled her to him and turned on his side, using his body to cut through the waves. His muscles bunched against her and after a few minutes of simply soaking in his strength, she felt like she could continue on her own. “I never out swam you. You didn’t let anyone outdo you in anything.”

Mac spat out ocean water and rubbed the wetness from his face. “True. I think we’re nearing the shallows. When we get to where we can stand—”

“You think we will walk to the islands? In shallow water? Isn’t that where all the sharks are?”

“Probably. I’m hoping not, though.”

His firm voice did odd things to her, made her believe that they just might survive this insanity. She unglued herself and started on her sidestroke again. Her arms felt weak but she got some movement going. Mac kept pace with her, slowing to match her speed, she knew. Always scanning the area, and her, he made her uneasy, but safe at the same time. She hoped he could see more than she could above the choppy water.

“Not too much farther. Just keep close to me.”

“Mac, I don’t really have any place to go.”

He snorted again.

Her foot hit something and she broke off to scream and climbed up his back again like a monkey. Suddenly she was up above the water. Mac laughed, standing with her legs looped through his arms.

“You’re so dead.”

The sound of his laugh really shouldn’t have reassured her—they were in the middle of the ocean—but it did.
He
reassured her and frightened her all at once.

“Damn, I hope not.”

Tears burst free like he’d suddenly taken the cork out of a bottle full of misery.

Immediately he pulled her off his back and hugged her close. “Mandy, we’re nearly there, sugar. You’re doing wonderful, baby. Shhh, come on. I need to get out of these wet clothes before my dick shrivels off.”

Laughing, she shook her head, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hung on, pressing her face into the warm skin of his neck. He smelt like Mac, warm, spicy, and masculine—if not a bit salted. He’d always smelt so good, like warm sunshine on the beach. The waves tugged at them, but he easily kept them upright. It felt so good to stand, she simply cried, hugging him tight. His rough whiskers brushed her cheek and he tightened his arms around her, trying to get her to stop, she knew, but the events of the past few hours simply wouldn’t shut down. The shaking wouldn’t stop. The tears continued until slowly she felt his warmth seep into her, easing some of the panic that threatened to choke her. She was cold, uncomfortable in her clothes, and needed to wash off all the salt badly, but she knew she couldn’t do any of that until they got out of the mess they’d landed in. Danger, she corrected herself, the danger they’d landed in. The thought made her hold him tighter.