Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
I watch as he pours a couple of fingers of whiskey before he turns back to me. I hold his stare. “Push play.”
I knew that doing this would raise red flags, but since it was just Ruin, me, Blaire, Shiloh, and Jenny, it was only half the people who were here.
“Just so you know.” Blaire shuffled into her wet suit as Ruin powered us through the dark water. Whitecaps curved over the small waves as he broke through the bar crossing, heading out farther and farther to Hades Landing. “You both can buy me a drink. Or ten. Since I don’t want your money.”
“Correction.” I loosened the air canisters. “You don’t need my money. There’s a difference.”
She zipped herself up. “Exactly. And if it weren’t for my best friend having much too big of a heart, I wouldn’t be here right now either.”
The blue LED lights rimmed the inside of the smaller speed boat, as the same sat under the hull on the outside.
I turned over my shoulder to look into the water as Ruin slowed us right down to a slower speed. “You know, for fourteen, you sure are years ahead of your time, Little B.”
She flipped me off, helping Jenny into her wet suit. Shiloh was showing her around the equipment and giving her a five-minute rundown on oxygen and the warning signs of decompression sickness when the fish finder lit up with bright signals.
“Holy shit.” Ruin cut the speed instantly, and we all tumbled backward slightly.
I moved through to the front of the boat, reading the map. “Is that?”
“Yeah.”
Clinking sounds began as Ruin dropped the anchor, and I tapped the screen to save the coordinates. Little anchor shapes flashed every few seconds as the beeping continued to grow.
“What is it?” Shiloh came up beside me, and I stood up straight.
“That is where you are going.”
It couldn’t be this easy—right? If it was, why would they go through so many hoops to find ways to get here when all I did was use a five-thousand-dollar fish finder? It wasn’t even a fucking good one.
Shiloh looked between the tiny screen and me. “Do you not know how to do it yourself?”
I grabbed my shirt and gave the camera to Ruin. “Actually, I’m coming in too.”
“Wait! But I thought this was for money?” Jenny muttered, scooping her long red hair onto the top of her head.
“It is.” I nudged my head toward the water, not wanting to tell her I’d give her the money regardless. “Now we can bring one anchor up each.”
Ruin grabbed my arm, pulling me back slightly. “I don’t know, bro. Like, if the myth is right, I don’t think we should be touching this shit. Shouldn’t we call it in?”
Fuck. I forgot all about the fact that, one, Ruin had a big mouth, and two, I was most definitely going to have to figure out a way to get him to shut his mouth.
“It’s fine.” I shrugged him off. “It’s not even real. Chill.”
The lie fell from my mouth too easily, and I knew then that I had betrayed something I wasn’t even sure I really understood yet. I was warned. We all kind of were…but I mean…where’s the fun in obeying rules. How they had done things obviously wasn’t working.
I zipped up my body suit and shoved my mouthpiece in before sitting on the edge of the hull. I fell backward in a splash, water instantly filling my nose. Swimming up to the surface of the water, I brushed my hair out of my face, looking down to my feet. Thanks to the LED lights, I could see if anything shady was swimming around. Knowing these waters, we had about fifteen minutes to get down there and get back up before the sharks came swimming. And that was being optimistic.
Another loud splash, and then another. Until there were three. I swam around the other side of the boat, with full knowledge of Ruin following us with the camera. I saw the back of Shiloh’s head and couldn’t help myself. Reaching around her body, I pulled her into me further until her ass hit my cock.
She turned in my grip, pulling the mouthpiece out. “You’re a little too comfortable rubbing that up on me, Quinn. Have you forgotten our arrangement?”
I pulled her in closer until her lips touched mine. “I—”
Heat rushed through my body so hot I shot back from her as the remnants of electricity fizzled out on my lips. She blinked back at me, wide-eyed, touching her lips.
“What the fuck was that?”
“I don’t know.” I pushed the goggles over my eyes. “Probably from the…electricity in the water.” I sounded dumb, but it was all I could think of.
Sparrow slams the phone down onto the table, staring at me with heated eyes. “Let me guess. The finder buzzed out, and you couldn’t find the anchors?”