There were still lights visible aboard the Dorian Rae, but the spotlights had been doused. Did that mean they’d stopped looking for her? Where was Madrid?
Knowing the water was stealing her body heat and strength at an alarming rate, Jess maneuvered along the barnacle-covered pier until she came to a rope hanging down from an old bumper float. Now, if she could find the strength to pull herself up and out of the water.
A scream tore from her throat when something large brushed against her. Shark was the only thought her mind processed. She lunged at the rope, but before she could reach it a hand slapped over her mouth.
“Easy, Jess, it’s me.”
Several terror-filled seconds passed before the words registered. Before the familiar voice soothed the jagged ends of her nerves. When he removed his hand from her mouth, Jess choked out a sound of pure relief. “Madrid…”
“Are you hurt?”
“N-no. J-just c-cold.”
He looked around. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
She reached for the rope. “We can climb out.”
He eased her back into the icy water. The urge to fight him was strong; more than anything, she wanted out of the water. But his words stopped her. “We’re less than ten yards from the port police. You climb out here and you’ll get a bullet for your trouble.”
That convinced her.
“Hold on to me,” he said quietly.
She glanced over at him to find his eyes already on hers. Without hesitating, she hooked a finger around his belt loop.
“Like this,” he said, taking both her hands in his and wrapping them around his waist. He motioned to his right. “I’m taking you over to that old boat ramp.”
She hadn’t noticed the ramp until she followed his gesture. The concrete was crumbling and fraught with weeds as high as a man’s waist. But it was the easiest way out of the water. The weeds would provide some cover.
He shoved away from the pier, and she felt the muscles beneath her palms tighten as he began to swim. Jess kicked her feet in an effort to help, but her legs felt as if they were weighted down. Her feet were numb. The icy water felt like razors against her skin. At some point she had stopped shaking. It was as if she had floated out of her body and was looking down, watching two strangers struggle through the cold, black water.
It took only a few minutes for him to reach the boat ramp, but it felt like hours. He stepped onto the concrete. “Easy.”
Jess hadn’t realized she was still clinging to him. But when she let go, she sank back into the water. Exhaustion tugged at her and the darkness beckoned, offered a place that was warm and safe.
“Bloody hell.”
Madrid’s voice reached her as if from a great distance. “Whas wrong?” Surprise rippled through her when her words slurred.
“Cold got you. You’re hypothermic.”
“I’m ’kay.” But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her legs under her.
Strong arms wrapped around her. The next thing she knew she was being swept into his arms. She wanted to ask him what he was doing and where he was taking her, but her mouth had suddenly forgotten how to speak. Her mind felt fuzzy and confused; she couldn’t seem to pull her thoughts together.
Vaguely she was aware of him carrying her across the weed-riddled asphalt. She worried about the men from the ship spotting them as he shoved her into the car. But she figured neither of them was in any shape to do anything about it. She heard the engine start and saw Madrid looking into the rearview mirror.
And then like the water that had nearly stolen her life, she slipped into the darkness and floated away.
MADRID TOOK HER to the only place he could think of. As an agent, he had several refuges. Secret places nobody knew about except him. The RV wasn’t his favorite, but it was secluded, mobile and safe. For now it would have to do.
He was all too aware how dangerous hypothermia was. He’d lost a fellow agent to it while on assignment some five years ago. Cold and water were silent killers that could steal a life like thieves in the night. There was no way he was going to let it take Jess.
She seemed weightless as he carried her to the RV and took her up the steps. Unlocking the door, he shoved it open. The place smelled stale, but it was dry and warm. For now that would have to be enough.
He set her on the small settee. She spilled from his arms in a wet heap. “Hang on, babe,” he whispered. “I’ll be right back.”
Quickly he went outside to the generator at the rear of the RV. It started on the first try. Madrid kept all his equipment in working order. In his line of business, he never knew when he would need it, and he was intimately acquainted with Murphy’s Law.