A shark was up ahead.
For a moment, she stilled and a shiver of fear slipped through her. The shark’s eyes were so dark, and its mouth open as it swam toward her. She could see those deadly rows of teeth. I’m afraid of the shark. It’s just like before, when I was trying to get away from Luke, and the shark was there. I froze and—
The memory vanished when the shark bumped her.
But the shark didn’t attack after that bump. It just…stayed beside her. Her shaking fingers reached out and she touched its side.
The shark seemed to vibrate against her, as if enjoying her touch. In that moment, she knew there was nothing to fear. Not in the ocean. The certainty was soul deep. She didn’t have to be afraid. Not any longer. She never had to fear again.
She should tell Luke. She should—
Luke.
The name was in her mind, lingering.
But…
Who was Luke?
She spun beneath the water. The shark had disappeared. The school of fish was gone. She was all alone right then, just a few feet from the wreckage of an old plane.
Who is Luke? The question battered at her. She stared at her fluttering hands. At her beautiful tail, and another chilling thought sliced through her…
Who am I?
Because she couldn’t remember…she couldn’t even remember her own name.
She looked up, seeing a streak of lightning flash just beyond the water’s surface. Her tail snapped down, propelling her once again as she rushed upward to follow that lightning. Rushing—
Her head broke the surface. She started to suck in a desperate breath of air because she’d been down below so long but…I don’t need to hold my breath underwater.
Lightning flashed again. Thunder rolled through the air. Her head tilted back and she stared above her. Too late, she realized that the sound hadn’t been thunder.
It had been a roar. Her eyes widened as the lightning came once more and, this time, she saw just what had made that terrible roar. A big, hulking beast was flying through the air. A beast with giant, black wings. A long, serpentine tail. Sharp teeth and fire flying from its mouth.
She dove beneath the waves, fear beating at her. That creature was horrifying.
She sank deep beneath the water. The ocean soothed her. Comforted her. Joy pulsed in her veins once more.
The school of brightly colored fish swam toward her and—
Who is Luke? Her gaze darted upward once more.
***
Luke touched down at the remains of the Naval Air Station. The place appeared deserted, the buildings now black and singed. A wave of his hand had clothes on his body as he stormed for the broken front gate.
Leo appeared in his path. “They aren’t here. I’ve tracked them to a boat that departed about thirty minutes ago—”
“They left someone behind.” He could smell the blood. Judging from that heavy scent, they’d actually left more than a few someones. He shoved Leo out of his path and, moments later, he was in the bowels of that place. No guards rushed out to meet him. No one came at all.
But the scent of blood just grew stronger.
He hurried down a flight of stairs. Luke turned to the right and there—through a thick pane of glass, he saw the two men who’d been left behind.
Agent Timothy Lang sat in the middle of the room. His arms were tied behind his back. His feet were tied to the legs of a chair.
And sprawled at his side, a deep pool of blood around him…Julian.
“Keep calm, Luke,” Leo warned. The guy had followed him. “Stay in control, stay—”
Luke lifted his hand and shattered that glass. Then he stepped through the now-broken wall and the shards of glass crunched beneath his feet.
“OhmyGod,” Timothy stared up at him with wide eyes. “Garrick said you’d come back. I wanted him to be wrong. I needed him to be wrong.”
Luke bent next to Julian. He turned his friend over and a low hiss escaped him when he saw the damage that had been done. They shot you in the head. Fucking bastards. He put his hand to Julian’s throat.
“I didn’t do it!” Timothy cried out. “I swear, I didn’t! Garrick said you’d be pissed as all hell when you found your dead friend and that you’d kill me, too. He wanted you to do that, to get rid of me because I know what a twisted SOB he is. That bastard turned on me. He’s trying to get you to do his dirty work and kill me so I can’t report him to the higher-ups at the agency, but—”
“Shut up.” Luke glared at him. “Or I will kill you.”
Timothy gulped and immediately shut up.
Luke glanced back at Julian. “My friend isn’t dead yet. That’s why you’re still breathing, Agent Lang. If I’d found his dead body, you would be in pieces right now.”