“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Our kicking continues to get slower the longer we go. The water gets cooler as the sun begins to set. I don’t know what I’m more afraid of—freezing to death in this water or drowning from exhaustion.
“Do you think there are sharks in this water?” I ask, trying to distract us with a different type of gloom.
“I’m sure there are.”
I shiver, and he laughs at me.
“Don’t tell me my kick-ass, warrior in a dress and heels, survived torture, huntress is afraid of sharks?”
“Everyone is afraid of sharks. Haven’t you watched any horror movies? Sharks are one of the top killers.”
He laughs, which makes me smile. I’m shocked I can still make him laugh.
“So, what’s the plan when we make it to shore?” I ask.
“Find some shelter, ideally some food and warm clothes, and pray we find someone who will let us use a phone, computer, or something to contact Kai and Enzo without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Then we hide and hope Kai and Enzo find us before Rowan does.”
I look out at how far we have left to go. I’m beginning to doubt I have the strength. “And if we’re too tired to make it to shore tonight?”
“Don’t talk like that. We’re strong enough. Trust me, I won’t let us drown.”
“Then, start talking. I’m going to need a lot of distraction if I’m going to make it to shore without whining the whole way.”
“I can provide a distraction,” he flashes me a wicked grin with a wink, and I know his mind has gone to very dirty places.
I think I’m going to enjoy the rest of our swim.
23
Langston
I made a mistake. I should have insisted that we found a boat to take us across instead of swimming this length. We’ve been swimming half the day, and we still have a long way to go.
We are both exhausted and freezing.
Liesel is a trooper. She’s barely complained, has been kicking harder than I have, and is usually further ahead of me in the ocean.
But from how my own body aches, I know she’s struggling. And I know how much she hates the ocean—this is her own special kind of torture.
The drugs in my system finally wore off an hour ago, which only left a massive headache in their place. I’m dehydrated and my legs are cramping, but that’s nothing compared to the burning fire in my shoulder as I grip the driftwood. I really need to have a doctor look at my shoulder. I suspect that I’m going to need surgery and rehab to ever use it again without pain, but that will have to wait.
It would be easier to stop and let the ocean take me, but there is no way I’m giving up—not on Liesel and not on my kids.
I try to think of something funny to distract us, but I can’t come up with anything. I want to ask her about what happened back in the castle. How did she get the suit to tell him his name? What deal did she make with him? Why did she make the deal?
But conversations like that need to wait until we are on shore and face to face.
“What are you thinking about? Because the look on your face says you’re undressing me with your eyes and thinking of dirty, filthy things you want to do to me,” Liesel says.
I grin, glad to hear her interpretation. She wants me dirty? I can be dirty.
“Just trying to decide if I’d rather fuck you in the ocean or on the sand. Which would be hotter?”
She scrunches her nose. “Neither.”
I laugh. “Because I disgust you?”