Ethan limped with Nik to the docking bay. His calves ached, but Redd’s teeth hadn’t broken the skin; the thick cotton of his cargos had protected him. The jagged edge of conduit was another matter. He had a three-inch-long gash on the outside of his thigh. Becca had told him he needed stitches and a tetanus jab. She was already at the infirmary, waiting for him. He just needed a little time to get his head straight first.

The more time he spent with her, the more he doubted the decisions by which he’d lived his life for the past ten years and it scared him. So he’d made his excuses, professing a need to check up on Finn, stalling for breathing space.

Carefully, favoring his injured leg, Ethan climbed into the Lady with Nik. Finn was nowhere to be seen, but the air was redolent with the rich scent of oil and burning electrics over the familiar warmth of the leather pilot seats.

Nik banged on the sub interior. “Finn?”

Finn shot out from under one of the control panels. “What? Can’t you see I’m busy?” He wiped his forehead with a rag, streaking black oil across his forehead.

“Haven’t you picked all the dead fish out the motors yet?” Nik chided, dropping down into one of the seats.

Finn wheeled himself back under the control panel. His voice was muffled. “Damn fish are gone but the circuits are fried. And we didn’t exactly arrive with a workshop full of spare parts. My Ladylove requires some serious TLC. What’s happening with the research?”

Nik pinged the dancing Elvis glued in front of the central viewing screen and watched it boogie and shimmy. “We’ve given up on codes. Cade’s working on extracting the hard drives.”

Ethan opened the comms link on the Lady’s communications panel and initiated the sequence to establish links with Triton on the surface. Cade’s words still worried at the back of his mind, that Aimee was restricting communications in and out of the habitat.

“What about Redd?”

“Ethan’s ex has him locked down. He’s going nowhere till we decide.”

An electric screwdriver clattered onto the metal floor. Finn’s fingers hooked the underside of the panel and he slid himself back out. Curiosity painted his features.

Ethan shook his head at Nik. “You couldn’t let it lie, could you?”

Nik stretched his legs as he kept an eye on the upload for the topside communication link. He winked at Finn. “Like I’m going to let that one slide. What are the chances? A mission to the bottom of the ocean and Ethan lands up in the lap of his ex.”

“Not quite her lap.”

Nik snorted. “You can hope, Ethan. That’s a mighty fine lap.”

Finn whistled and turned back to his work. “Clearly, I’ve been spending too much time with the wrong kind of ladies.”

The comms link crackled and buzzed. “Gray Lady, This is Triton Command. Over.”

Ethan responded after a moment’s hesitation. Comms were down in the habitat but not the Lady? “Triton Command. This is the Gray Lady. We need an update on the evacuation of Dr. Redd. His…” Ethan searched for the right word. “Injuries.”

Nik raised an eyebrow.

“Are more serious than first realized,” Ethan continued. “Confirming Dr. Johnson’s original request for immediate emergency evacuation. Over.”

Ethan released the button and sat back while the line hissed. “Copy that, Gray Lady. We’ll get back to you about that shortly. Can you provide an estimated time for the Gray Lady’s return with the research database? Over.”

Ethan turned to the Wolves pilot. “Finn?”

“The parts Dr. Vincent supplied us with need adjustment. At least another five hours and that’s if I don’t take time to breathe.” Finn scooted out from under the electrics and headed to the rear of the Lady.

Ethan checked his watch and relayed the information.

Nik narrowed his eyes. “I thought comms were down?”

“Yes.” Ethan hesitated, unsure whether to share more. Had Cade made a mistake? Perhaps it was a glitch? “They must have fixed the problem at their end.”

“You’d think they might have told us.” Nik turned and gave Ethan a sly look, changing the subject. “So what’s the real story with you and Dr. Johnson?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“He always wants to know.” Finn’s muffled voice came from the rear of the sub. He stuck his head out the access hatch. “His life is so boring he needs yours to make his more interesting.”

Ethan grinned. “The last thing I’m going to do is spill my guts with you two losers.”

“If you’re not going to entertain us, at least help me out while you wait for the suits to get back to you from topside.”

“What do you need a hand with?” Ethan asked, heading toward the stern.

Finn was poking at a mess of wires in his lap with a spindly screwdriver, his fair hair in disarray.

“Here. Save me having to hold live wires in my mouth.” Finn passed him a pile of cables. Ethan held them while Finn worked silently for a few minutes, stripping wire casings and making new connections. Eventually, Finn spat out plastic and scraped flakes of burnt solder from a circuit board. “The past followed you to the bottom of the ocean?”

“Hmm,” Ethan mumbled.

“Holy cow.”

“I know.”

“When did you last see her?”

“Ten years ago. College. We were just kids.”

“You married young.”

Ethan nodded. “Yup.” His emotions were scrambled after being in the air vents with Redd. He didn’t know if he would’ve made it out of there without Becca talking him down. She understood him like no one else. Seeing her again stirred the sadness that was a permanent weight in his belly, but for the first time in years, the sadness was lighter. It gave him a spark of hope. Hope that he might be able to move forward, and even more incredibly, that Becca might be a part of his future.

Finn hacked a recalcitrant circuit board into submission. “Sorry. Must be hard.”

Ethan forced a smile. “It was a long time ago. I should be over it by now. Thought I was. But then, seeing her…”

Finn’s face was sympathetic. “Can’t imagine making marriage work in this business.”

“It wasn’t the job.”

“Something else?”

Ethan blinked away the memory. “Other stuff, but she’s moved on. She’s got this hotshot job.” Reality hit him hard. “There’s bound to be some hotshot science geek waiting for her back up on the surface.”

It killed him to say it, but he was going to have to face reality one way or another. Becca was amazing. If he was truly honest with himself, it was highly likely she had someone. To expect her to be single after all this time was unrealistic. He sighed inwardly. Just as he was getting his hopes up, he dashed them for himself all over again.

She was supposed to be his. She had been his, and he’d messed it up. Lost himself in grief over the miscarriage. Hated himself for losing control of the car even if it had been on black ice. That one had taken him a long time to move past, but he had, only to discover it was too late. He’d let her slip through his fingers. And he was still paying for it.

He hated himself for letting her go. And her for letting him go.

Sympathy flashed across Finn’s face as if he’d just read Ethan’s mind.

“You speak to her about it?”

“Not yet,” Ethan admitted.

“You should.”

“Who made you the resident shrink?”

Finn smirked. “No one. I’m just naturally talented that way.”

From the front of the sub, a loud chime announced an incoming message. Finn and Ethan stopped talking, their ears straining. Nik’s voice was raised as he took the call.

“Fuck.” The radio receiver clattered and bounced on the floor.

“Doesn’t sound good.” Finn grimaced.

The pilot’s seat creaked as Nik crouched forward to join them. His solid frame filled the entire doorway of the emergency hatch. He squatted and scrubbed a hand through his short hair. “Storm’s coming and it looks like a long one, several days at least. The big-hearted folks at Triton are refusing to send an evacuation sub. We’re on our own. Redd’s free ride home will have to wait till we get the Lady back on her feet.”

Finn tugged another strand of plastic casing free and tossed the remnants to the side. “Guess I better hurry up un-fucking everything that’s fucked then.”