Oceans Untamed (19 page)

“Shit,” she said. “You’re invincible.”

“We’re not. Pay attention. It could save your life.” His tone was scaring her, he realized. He wished he could be like Spencer and deliver somber news in a playful manner.

Hours later, they were both exhausted, and he could tell by the increasingly “witty”
answers to his questions that she was running out of patience, so he called an end to lessons for the day.

“Tomorrow you’ll come into the water with me,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“If a shark comes after you, I don’t want your brain to be stuck in ‘eek, a shark!’ mode.”

She shivered. “If I have to.”

“You do. I’ve got a wetsuit you can wear that will protect
you from my skin.”

“I have to touch you?”

“You’ll fight me. Apply the things you’ve learned.” He didn’t tell her that he’d need to hide her away soon, someplace safe, while he resumed his search for Brady.

He went into the galley and poured two glasses of wine. Monroe came up behind him as he was finishing, and she wrapped her arms around him.

“You deserve a real wedding,” he said. “As soon
as this is over—”

“I know,” she said. “And there will be ponies and fireworks and cake as tall as a palm tree, and I’ll have a dress with a fifty-foot-long train.”

He knocked his glass against hers as he handed it to her. “Deal.”

She took a hurried sip. “I was thinking… Maybe you could tell me about Brady. I don’t remember everything from that night, just bits and pieces. Do you have photos
here?”

“Just one. The rest are in Tureygua.” He opened a cabinet and pulled off the photo taped to the inside of the door. It was from Brady’s fifth birthday party, and he was elbow-deep in a ship kit. Victoria had allowed Koenraad to take him that night because she’d known he’d be impossible to put to bed. Koenraad hadn’t minded. He’d let Brady work on the kit until he fell asleep next to it.

An ache spread through his chest. He missed his son.

“A towhead,” Monroe said. “Why am I not surprised? He’s adorable.” She looked closer at the photo. “Tell me about him.”

“Are you sure?”

Her warm brown eyes met his. “Tell me about my new son. His favorite food, his favorite color—everything. And who takes care of him when you’re gone?”

He took a deep breath. “The first thing you should know
is that he’s an amazing kid. I don’t know why he attacked you, but that’s not Brady. He’s not well.”

“He’s…” She closed her eyes. “He’s stuck in shark form. I remember now. It’s coming back.”

“The second thing you should know is that he’s missing again.”

“Oh.” Concern and understanding filled her eyes. “Oh. That’s where you were all day.”

“But I couldn’t find him. The last time he got into
the ocean, he was gone for eighteen months. Finding him is a long shot, but I have to look. If he attacks someone else, that’s on me.”

“You’ll find him,” she said with a decisive nod. “So that’s the bad stuff. Now tell me the good stuff.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they went out to the sun deck. He pulled her into his lap, and he told her, finally, everything.
 

~ ~ ~

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