I let go of her wrist and slid my hand down the inside, grazing over the soft skin. I reached her hand and wrapped my fingers around hers, locking them together. She glanced down at our intertwined fingers and a small smile bloomed on her lips at the simple gesture that revealed a quiet strength. I gave them a gentle squeeze and she looked back up at me. “You’re not going to lose me, Melissa. I promise.”
Her lips parted, readying her next objection, but I lowered my face the few inches to hers and captured her mouth. Melissa melted into me and I gathered her to my chest. I wished I could keep her there through the rest of the storm. Against me, in my arms, she was safe. I could shield her from the danger.
A howl of wind buffeted against the walls of the bridge breaking into the kiss and another swell of fear gripped my chest. I pulled away from Melissa and held her at arm’s length. My thumbs massaged against her shoulders, kneading at the tensed muscles, and as I looked into her wide eyes I wasn’t sure if my lingering contact was for her benefit or mine. “Melissa, please. Go. Be with Jackson and tell him it’s going to be okay. He needs you.”
It was rare for me to be so on edge and tense. I was certainly not a stranger to the seas and had been through plenty of nasty storms. But as those memories flooded back to me, I couldn’t recall ever having so much fear flooding my system going into it.
I pulled Melissa against me for one last embrace and felt her nod against my chest. “Be safe,” she said, stepping back once I released her. The words were instantly whipped away by another blast of wind as we left the protection of the bridge. The clouds overhead were even darker than before and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the rain began to pour down on us.
Keeping a hold of her arm, I led her back to the stairwell, and waited until she had disappeared from my sight before I ran back across the deck to the bridge. Instinctively, I knew what to do. Really, there was only one thing to do, just as I’d told Melissa. Wait out the storm.
I pressed my eyes closed and listened to the first smattering of rain against the roof. I just hoped to God that we were still in one piece on the other side.
I fussed with the controls, flicking switches and checking gauges, but it was more of an attempt to keep my mind occupied long enough to drown out the fears and worst-case scenarios. We were hours away from shore, as I’d taken us as far away from land as possible the night before. At the time, it was the right course of action. We needed to put as much distance between us and any remaining members of Henry’s squad as possible. But now, with the storm on the way, I wished we’d stayed closer to the coast.
As expected, the rain dumped from the sky, and the sound blended with the sound of the spray kicking up from the turbulent ocean below the boat as it began to churn. Minutes passed and then a downpour fell from the sky, so hard that it reminded me of water being thrown from a child’s plastic buckets as they played in the ocean back at the resort. The wind was so loud that even if Melissa was standing beside me, I wouldn’t have been able to hear a word from her lips.
I’d gotten her out of the elements at the exact right moment. As the storm swirled and rose, my thoughts went to Jackson and how scared he must feel in the midst of the noise. It struck me as odd how fast Melissa and Jackson had gone from complete strangers to something that felt more like family. The day before, as Jackson and Melissa had played in the ocean together, I found my mind wandering on more than one occasion to what it must be like to be a parent. Melissa was so natural and easy-going with Jackson that she made it look easy.
Or at least a hell of a lot easier than it probably was.
Though to Jackson’s credit, he was more well behaved than most other children I’d met over the years. Even those older than him. He had a sweet spirit and a gentle soul. It was a mystery to me how he’d ended up with such a kind heart considering how ruthless his father was. That could only be accounted to spending most of his life with Melissa. Hearing her talk about her life with Henry had been eye-opening.
By her account, she was more of a single parent, despite the fact that she was married. Jackson and she spent more time alone together, with no one around but the staff Henry employed to keep his estate running smoothly. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was why Jackson had so seamlessly slipped from his normal life into the so-called adventure over the last few days living life on the run.