Becca gasped as Ethan released her and she tipped onto the floor. She lay motionless for a second, enjoying the sweet coldness of the tiles beneath her back. Fuck, she was still alive. She tilted her head to where Ethan lay panting beside her. He twisted his head and made eye contact. A faint smile lit his face.

She nudged him in the ribs as she rolled onto her side. “Next time, give me some warning before you throw me through a doorway.”

“Spoilsport.”

“All habitat doors now sealed,” Aimee reported.

Becca huffed and ran a hand through her hair. “I thought I’d shut her up for good.”

Ethan levered himself up and headed over to the dive area. “I’m going to enjoy watching that bitch get detonated when we’re on the other side.”

Becca followed and slipped her arms around his waist. “That makes two of us.”

He turned and drew her close. Despite the thickness of the neoprene separating them, warmth rushed through her skin. Becca rested her head on his chest, sensing the thud of his strong heart under her forehead. She’d come so close to losing him forever, thinking there was something wrong with her. She’d locked her heart down because of it. But she had a second chance now, and she was going to make the most of it. She lifted her head and kissed him. Ethan responded, his arms tightening around her as he pulled her body against him. He broke the brief kiss. “We need to hurry.”

She nodded, opened the keypad that locked the hard suits in place, and typed in the command codes. Across the room, the suit delivery mechanism powered up, and the rack of hard suits trundled toward the moon pool. One hanger was empty but there were still three suits remaining. Anticipation fluttered in Becca’s belly. Despite being constructed from reinforced steel mesh and titanium to protect the wearer from the colossal pressure of the ocean, the hard suits still freaked her out a little.

“We’ll take our time, walk over slowly,” she said, as much for Ethan’s benefit as her own. “You have used these suits before?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “We’re not Ocean Wolves for nothing.”

Right. “What kind of name is that, anyway?”

Ethan shook his head, grinning, and picked up an oxygen meter. “I’ll confirm air supplies. That good enough?”

Becca prepped the suits, directing them over the moon pool onto the descent platform until the weighted feet hit the metal with a solid clunk.

Nearly there. She took a deep breath and wiped her hands on her thighs.

With the suits secured, she activated the release mechanisms on the chest panels. Gas hissed, and the chest cavities opened in a slash that ran from shoulder to hip, revealing the dark interior with state-of-the-art thermodynamic lining to protect the wearer from the freezing seawater. She ran her fingers over the velvety lining. One last trip. One last walk and then she would be going home.

Ethan helped her check diagnostics, confirming the integrity of the air supply and maneuverability.

“Everything seems to be in order,” she said. This was it. She licked her lips. There was no going back now.

Ethan slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the shoulder, resting his chin briefly. She closed her eyes, inhaling his scent of safety, savoring it for as long as she could.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“What for?”

“For being you. For being here. For seeing past the mistakes I made.”

He kissed her ear. “Same.”

She closed her eyes. “It’s a long walk. The Geo-lab is beyond the sampling site.”

His arms tightened around her. Did he hear the hesitation in her voice?

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” He spun her around so that she was looking directly at him. “We can do this.”

“I know.” She pointed at the waiting dive suits and took a deep breath, bolstering herself. “Shall we?”

Becca stepped up onto the platform first and gripped the metal bar above her head. It was cold enough to make her fingers ache as she lifted herself up and over the suit, letting her legs drop down into the hard, mechanical shell.

She released the bars and slipped her hands into the plated arms. The gloves were snug on her fingers as she flexed her fist, the motion triggering the interior fastenings. The plates locked around her body, starting at her groin and moving toward her throat in a series of muted clicks, leaving only her head and neck free. Gentle pressure clamped every inch of her body. She exhaled through pursed lips, working on reducing her heart rate as she waited for Ethan to follow.

Encased a minute later, Ethan turned to her and shot her a toothy smile. “You ready?”

“Ready.” Becca hit the button on the panel in front of her with her metal-clad fist.

The helmet lowered over her head, green digital information already scrolling across the inside of her visor.

Becca checked the suit diagnostics, using her eye movements to scroll through the menus. “Joint comms enabled. Oxygen status confirmed. Mechanics fully operational.”

Ethan’s voice buzzed deep in her ear. “Set?”

Becca couldn’t help but smile. She hit the release button. “Set to get wet.”

Out of sight, the hydraulic lowering apparatus kicked in with a low tremor and the platform began its slow descent toward the oceanic lobby beneath the Ceto habitat. The moon pool swirled around her legs, rushing to meet her. The whisper of the water filled her ears, almost drowning out her own rapid breathing.

“Becca, you’re hyperventilating.” Ethan’s voice was in her ear. “I’m going to be beside you every step of the way.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Mini waves hit her chest first, then bubbles broke and spumed at her face mask before disappearing over her head.

The darkness of the North Atlantic Ocean surrounded her, broken only by the points of light that defined the edges of the platform. The hydraulics shuddered to a final halt as the pad hit the ocean floor. Becca could see a few feet beyond the access platform with her headlamp, but everything else was abyssal darkness. She craned from within the bulky suit to see Ethan.

He’d already released his suit from the lowering system and taken a step onto the silty seabed. Mud puffed in leisurely clouds around his heavy boots, at odds with the pressure of time that gnawed in her belly. Ethan pivoted and held out his hand, waiting for her to disengage, his face dimly outlined by the light in his helmet.

Ocean stretched out behind him. Darkness, and crushing water, and lethal inhabitants.

Becca froze.