In Too Deep (15 page)

Scared as Lily was, she deeply inhaled her first real breath in what seemed like hours. Quinn had Annmarie, and they were on their way to safety. That was the important thing.

The next breaker broke against the cave wall and showered her in spray that felt as cold as the fear coiled in her stomach. All she had to do was to stay put and wait.

The next set of swells beyond the cave opening took on gargantuan proportions. She could see that despite Quinn's strength and skill, he was fighting to get beyond the surf into deeper water. Strange that they'd be safer farther away from the shore, but she knew that they were.

Finally they were out far enough that Quinn made the turn toward Lynx Point. Too soon he vanished from sight. To pass the time she counted the breakers, each one a little higher than the last. Beyond the cave, what little of the water Lily could see was marked by rank after rank of whitecaps. The sky grew darker—undoubtedly rain was on the way. Just what they didn't need today. The churning water was so noisy she couldn't hear anything else, and her world was reduced to her worry and her view of the ocean beyond the mouth of the cave. The surf pounded against the timbers beneath her, and the old wood quivered and groaned, the
sounds too human for comfort. With each creak of surf against old wood her fear grew.

A fear that made her want to scream when another boat finally appeared beyond the opening of the cave…and it wasn't Quinn. Where was he? Dear God, was her daughter okay?

T
wo men were paddling the kayak, Lily realized. This one was a sit-on-top inflatable and it resembled a canoe. As the craft drew closer, she recognized Max. The man with him was Dwight Jones—the geologist who worked for Anorak Exploration, a man she knew only casually.

They rode the incoming breaker into the cave, both of them paddling like mad and working together to avoid the huge rocks at the opening of the cave. She watched the water as it shot to the right, then tipped on itself to the left, all in a rush of foam that in the next instant would spray over her. It did, the drops of water feeling like needles. Now that she looked more closely at the water swirling within the cave, she realized it was deeper and a lot more turbulent than it had been when Quinn was here.

“Heard you called for a taxi,” Max shouted over the roar of the surf.

She appreciated the attempt to reassure her, but she had only one thought. “Where's Quinn? Is he okay?”

“He and your daughter are fine,” he said. “Dwight
showed up with another kayak, so we got a head start on getting you out of here. It looked to us like the tide was coming up fast, and there's a storm squall on the way.”

“And, if I know Morrison, he's probably on his way back.” Dwight paddled much as Quinn had, doing his best to hold the craft steady as the wave receded. She wasn't at all sure how she was going to manage to get into the boat without capsizing it.

“Since you're already wet,” Dwight said as she crept down the rotted timbers, “it will be safest if you get about level with the boat, then let us haul you onboard.” He motioned with his hand, “Catch on to the grab loop right here.”

Humiliating as being hauled anywhere sounded, she knew he was right. She climbed down, until the waves were once again around her feet. However cold she had been before was nothing compared to the water swirling around her legs. Another wave broke against the back of the cave, and at once, she was in water up to her chest. She reached for the boat, and the receding wave swept her toward it.

She made a grab for the inflated hull and missed.

“I've got you.” Max grabbed her arm. Somehow he and Dwight pulled her aboard, the boat pitching this way and that. She grazed her cheek along the rough surface of the inflated hull. Now that she was in the boat, it no longer seemed like such a good idea. But then, neither was staying in the cave. Especially with a storm on the way, which would only make the surf more turbulent, the tide even higher.

“You okay?” Dwight asked.

She nodded and he gave her a reassuring grin.

“Okay. We're outta here.”

The boat lurched against another wave, and Lily reached for something—anything—to hang on to. She caught a grab loop.

Max and Dwight fought through the unpredictable currents. Wild as their paddling looked, she instantly realized they weren't a bad team. Surprisingly, Max's finesse nearly matched Dwight's. One more thing in the man's surprising
repertoire of skills. But it wasn't easy. With each twist of the boat she was sure they were an instant away from a disaster.

As if responding to her fear, the kayak careened across the surf toward one of the huge boulders at the front of the cave. Lily had never felt more helpless, and she bit back a cry. Max and Dwight paddled hard. At the last possible instant, the boat swerved and somehow missed slamming into the boulder.

The kayak slid through the water in the opposite direction, the roar of the ocean loud around her, the water spraying across them. Each second stretched into endless minutes as the surf churned this way, then that like a roller coaster gone mad. Hard as Max and Dwight worked, they had too little control over the boat, and Lily was sure in the next second…or the next…they'd overturn and be dumped into the water where they would be pounded against the unforgiving rocks.

She looked up in time to see a huge swell rush toward them. It crested and charged, a mythic beast with wide-open jaws. The bitterly cold wave crashed over the top of them, and the boat floundered.

One instant Max was in front of her. The next he was gone. Simply gone. Lily screamed. The front of the boat went up and up and up; she was sure it would flip back on itself.

Somehow, though, they rode over the crest, and dropped with dizzying speed into the trough at the bottom of the wave. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw the oar Max had been holding pop to the surface. She leaned out of the boat, her coordination leaden, and grabbed for it. To her enormous surprise, she actually caught it.

She knew less than zero about paddling a kayak, but she scrambled into the spot where Max had sat, and then paddle she did, all the while looking for Max. Then she saw him, swimming yards away from where they were. His movements were awkward. She began mentally counting the seconds they had to get him out of the water before hypothermia set in.

Despite her efforts and Dwight's greater strength and skill, they made no headway toward Max. Incoming waves once again pushed them back toward the shoreline. Her fear for Max grew with every stroke she took.

Through the pounding surf, Quinn came into view, paddling his kayak for all he was worth. He headed for Max and threw a rescue bag. Max made a grab for it and managed to slip an arm through one of the loops. Quinn hauled in the line.

Lily could hear Quinn and Dwight shouting at each other, but over the roar of the ocean, she couldn't make out what they were saying. With each paddle her arms hurt more. Max was clearly in trouble. Eventually, Quinn pulled him close to his boat.

“He's got a broken arm,” Quinn shouted to them. Then to Lily, “Rest a minute.”

She braced the paddle across the middle of the boat and took in a huge gasp of air. Dwight and Quinn shouted back and forth to each other and decided that their best chance was to get Max back on the kayak with her and Dwight.

The process of getting Max on board was even scarier to Lily than her getting into the boat. As soon as Max rested against the hull, the boat leaned in that direction. With sheer brute strength Dwight hauled him up while Quinn held the two boats steady. Even as Max tried to help them by throwing his leg over the hull, lines of pain bracketed his mouth. Lily threw her weight to the other side of the boat, but even then it tipped over and over… At last he was in; he collapsed in the middle of the boat. Then they were on their way again.

At one point they seemed miles from the shore, and she was sure they'd never arrive. Time blurred after that, and suddenly they were riding the incoming current, which seemed far too fast to safely make the shore. Ahead, half a dozen people converged toward them. Dwight threw the tow line toward the shore, and at once willing hands pulled them in.

Lily's throat clogged and tears burned her eyes. As if by magic, Hilda was there reaching for her.

Lily nudged her friend's arm. “No, take care of Max. He's been hurt.”

Hilda gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. From the corner of her eye, Lily watched as Dwight and Hilda half carried Max out of the boat, his feet barely touching the ground as they hurried him above the high-tide line. Soon, Lily thought, very soon, she'd get out of the kayak when she had energy to stand. All she wanted, though, was to lie down and sleep. A little nap, and then she'd feel better.

“Had enough excitement for one day?” came Quinn's voice, as if in a dream. She felt herself lifted out of the kayak and held securely against his surprisingly warm body. He couldn't be carrying her—the man had paddled to hell and back. He should be taking care of Annmarie—

“Where's my daughter?”

“In my car.”

Lily twisted in Quinn's arms, looking for his vehicle. When she saw through the window that Annmarie was sitting in the back seat with Thad, her relief was so great that tears sprang to her eyes, and her breath caught on a sob.

The sob erupted into a wail, and she clung to Quinn while the fear poured out of her. What if she had lost her daughter? It had nearly killed her when John died, and she had only loved him with all her heart. But Annmarie was her very life. To lose her daughter…she couldn't bear that.

Lily relived those moments when she had run headlong down the steep hill, fear keeping pace with every single step. Her heart had nearly stopped when she'd reached the cave and saw how close the water was to Annmarie. Lily hadn't cried then, but the torrent of tears now had no end. She held on to Quinn, crying as she never had before. The storm spent itself little by little, and she realized that Quinn was cradling her close, his cheek pressed tightly against hers.

A final shuddering sigh racked through her and she ab
sorbed that his face was wet—whether from the water or her tears or…

She leaned back far enough to look at him.

He smiled down at her, but the look in his eyes was kind, fathomless, gentle…and he softly said, “So you're the kind of girl who's a rock during a crisis and turns into pudding when it's all over.”

“I guess I am.” She hadn't known that about herself until about a year ago, but then, she'd had no one to hold her.

“Annmarie is okay, darlin'.” He shifted Lily in his arms so he could open the door. “Hey, munchkin.” He set Lily on the seat.

“Mommy.” Annmarie was wrapped inside a blanket.

“Your upholstery is going to be soaked,” Lily said to Quinn.

“Screw the upholstery.”

Lily turned on the seat so she could see her daughter's precious face. Annmarie held Sweetie Pie in one arm. With her other hand she held Thad's, whose regard was even more serious than Annmarie's. She might not realize how serious all this had been, but Thad probably did.

Lily didn't even realize Quinn had stepped away until he was back, pulling at the zipper for the life vest and slipping it off, then folding a thick blanket around her.

“Mom, can we—Thad and me—”

Lily turned around to look at her daughter. Annmarie's chin quivered and tears rolled down her cheeks. She handed Thad her kitty, then scrambled over the seat and threw her arms around Lily. Once again crying, Lily held her daughter, fear and relief and thanksgiving all wrapped up together.

Lily pulled the blanket more firmly around the two of them, and Annmarie burrowed closer, her tears gradually subsiding. Lily watched Quinn outside the car as he stripped out of his waterproof gear, Gortex pants and a blousy over-shirt that had kept him mostly dry.

Her gaze strayed across the shoreline, which was still filled with activity. A couple of people were carrying Max on a
stretcher toward one of the other vehicles. Dwight and another guy were headed in their direction, carrying Quinn's kayak.

Quinn came back to the open door and briskly rubbed up and down her arms and back as though the blanket was a towel. Then she became aware that the engine was running and heat was blowing full-blast out of the vents. Oddly enough, a chill coursed through Lily's body, and she admitted she was colder—far colder—than she had been earlier. The only place she was warm was where Annmarie was cuddled next to her.

“That's my girl,” Quinn murmured as Lily began to shiver. “You're warming up.”

“That's not what it feels like,” she said, her teeth chattering. Far preferable was the sleepy lassitude than these shivers that made her feel as though she might shake out of her own skin.

Someone thrust an insulated cup into her hands, the scent of the coffee heavenly, the warm liquid feeling good as it went down.

Dwight Jones set the kayak on the ground near the car and came to peer inside at her and the kids.

“You did great out there,” he said. “If I ever need a new paddle partner, you're my first choice.”

“Pull the other leg,” she replied between shivers. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

“No thanks needed.” He slapped Quinn on the shoulder. “Want your baby lashed back to the roof?”

Quinn nodded. “I'll give you a hand.”

Lily brought the blanket more closely around herself and watched Quinn through the windshield. He handled the kayak with such ease, she was sure that he'd lifted it on top of his car many times. When he and Dwight were finished, they both leaned against the driver's side fender, facing the surf.

“Her bad luck keeps piling up,” Dwight said, the breeze carrying his voice easily inside the car.

“Yep,” Quinn replied.

“First there was the accident with the car and then that whole thing with the boat. Somebody lured those kids down here, Morrison. It's a damn lucky thing somebody didn't get killed today.”

“I've been thinking the same thing,” Quinn said after moment, his answer slicing through her.

This thing today had been deliberate? A faceless man setting an irresistible trap for her daughter? Lily sorted through the possibilities, and only one made sense. Her daughter had been bait to lure Lily into the cave. If the incoming tide had been a little higher, if Quinn hadn't arrived so quickly, if his skill with a kayak had been less, if she had lost her balance…

She began to tremble. She'd had the stupid idea that she would recognize if a villain was after her and Annmarie. Only she hadn't. If Franklin Lawrence wanted her dead, and if he wanted to make sure no fingers were pointed his direction, it had to come in the form of an accident. And what better accident that being killed by a runaway car or drowning while trying to rescue her daughter.

In that moment, she could have swept down like an avenging angel herself and taken his life. Certainty flowed through her that as long as Franklin Lawrence was after her, the people she loved would never be safe.

The only way to make them safe…was to leave them.

Lily bit back a sob, and Cal's voice echoed through her head as she remembered him telling her how it would have to be when she went into the witness security program—and from the beginning he had been so sure that sooner or later she would do it. No goodbyes. No out-of-the-ordinary phone calls or conversations. No one could suspect she was leaving. No one could know when or how she'd leave to enter her new life.