face through the squirming bodies to know if she was still above water. There were too many, some falling into the black depths around him. He could splash the mesh hood or hit it with a shoe to clear it, but that would just scatter the threat and waste time.
His skin erupted with the sensation of crawling legs, and he spun, shaking himself beneath the surface. His blood pressure exploded, and paranoia set his teeth on edge.
He breathed through it, drew a deep gulp into his lungs, and dove.
His eyes opened to sheer blackness, but he found her legs quickly. Sliding his hands over her jeans, the life vest, and her neck, he reached the surface with questing fingers.
Her skin felt warm and alive, her face still above water. Still breathing.
Hang on, Vera.
There wasn’t enough room in the dome for both of them. So he tucked his head downward, kicked his legs to maintain buoyancy, and blindly unbuckled the spider gag.
A sudden, searing prick erupted on his forearm. He screamed, unable to control the reaction, and his lungs expelled precious bubbles of air.
Motherfucking fuck! That hurt!
It was just one bite. God only knew how many she’d suffered already.
His pulse pounded as his fingers located her lips and pried the metal ring from her mouth. Pulling the gag away, he tackled the rope on her hands.
He couldn’t hear anything, didn’t know if the cartel was yelling for him. He couldn’t care. His lungs burned for air, but he needed her out of this rope.
When the knot around her hands finally gave, his chest was on fire. He kicked hard, shooting upward and surfacing only long enough to take a huge breath. Then he dove for her feet.
The rope there took longer, the knot too tight to loosen with fingers. He wasted invaluable seconds trying to untie it from the cement block.
They’d done this before. Everything was too perfectly measured. From the anchor to the life vest, her body was stretched in a vertical line, allowing no wriggle room. The dome was fastened to the vest, which she should be able to unzip and slip—
Her knees bent above his hands, eliminating the taut stretch of her legs. She’d removed the vest.
Soft fingers curled around his, and together they tore at the knot around her ankles.
He wanted to sigh beneath her living, breathing touch. He ached to hold her and whisper kisses across her skin and show her how much he loved her.
The rope fell away.
They reached the surface together to the sounds of Marco shouting from the shore.
“Mr. Smith, bring her here.”
“Did you get bitten?” he whispered.
“Just a few times.” She cupped his face in the dark, her legs sliding soundlessly against his as she stayed afloat.
She was close enough that he could make out her exquisitely fierce features. And the movement in her hair.
Near her temple, a black widow clung with long legs, seemingly tangled in a curly lock.
“Oh, God, there’s one in my hair, isn’t there?” Her question rode on a hesitant breath.
“Hold still.” His chest constricted as he pinched the hard black body, cringing as he flung it away.
“Thank you.”
“I love you.”
“Luke—”
He covered her mouth with his hand. “You’re dead.”
“John Smith!” Marco called again.
“She went underwater, goddammit! If she’s dead, I’ll be extremely displeased.” He whirled, finding the shoe with the phone in it floating nearby. He pushed it toward her while pulling her close and whispering quickly. “This contains a phone and Silvia’s key card. My team is on standby in Orange County. Call them. Help them find you. I’m going to create a diversion.”
Her eyes turned colder than the Greenland ice sheet, flickering with flames of rage. “You can go to hell.”
“On my way. But I need you to do this.” He rattled off a phone number, his nerves raging with frantic energy. “Repeat it back to me.”
Her jaw set. Then she whispered the numbers. “I’m not leaving you again.”
“If we both run, we’re both dead. Go.”
Her gaze, as sharp as a blade, absorbed everything from the restless men on the shore to the dense trees on the other side. She knew he was right, and she hated him for it.
“You can’t fake my death,” she said. “They’ll search the pond for my body.”
“That’ll take time and daylight. Avoid the cameras and get to that breach in the wall before sunrise. I know you can do it.” He kissed her hard and fast. Then he pushed away and started screaming.