OT hoped like hell she wasn’t claustrophobic. He wasn’t but this wasn’t the ideal spot to learn that about yourself. “How are you holding up?”
“This is amazing.”
No denying the awe in her tone.
“I know. I had an opportunity to tour one tube from Kilauea during the centennial celebration. It was impressive but so is this one. We don’t even know when or if anyone has been in here before.”
She dragged her fingers along the black walls of the tube carved out from the molten lava that used to flow through there. A sparkle hit her gaze he could see in the light. There were many different offshoots they could take and he wasn’t sure where to go.
“I’m guessing we’re not splitting up.”
“Hell no. I’ll tie you to me if I have to but we stick together here.”
“Ideas?” She freed her hand from his and took the flashlight, scanning the walls. “Do we stay in the main one or go off?”
“I think the main. My guess is it will stay bigger, who knows how tiny the others will get.”
αβ
“Have you pinpointed the location of those two who don’t seem to get the hint about leaving this alone?” He paced while he spoke into the phone.
“Yes sir. They’re out alone with nothing but a paddleboard. Right now, they are taking a break and are exploring a cave. It will just be an accident in the ocean.”
He snapped his fingers at the woman who had made the poor assumption that because he was on the phone he was done with her and had begun dressing. He waggled his index finger at her.
She allowed her dress to slip from her grip and walked her dusky self back to his bed where she lay back on the rumpled coverings.
“Get it done. Don’t contact me again. And make sure you don’t fail a second time.” He dropped the phone and eyed the beauty in his bed.
“Not done then?” She dragged a finger down between her perky breasts.
“Not even close.”
She shrugged. “Your dime.”
Anger surged, a simple sentence reminding him that for him to get someone like her, he had to shell out obscene amounts of money. Just one more thing trying to keep him in his place.
If they only knew.
αβ
“You’re sure this one is dormant, right?”
“Maybe should have asked that before we started.” OT kept his smile hidden.
“I was worried about other things, like sharks. And sea snakes.”
“You never mentioned anything about sea snakes,” he countered.”
“I am now. Do you have them here? Is this like Australia and all their deadly sea snakes?”
“You find things to worry about, Natasha. You’re going to be fine. No sharks, no snakes, and no lava.”
“Good because if I die, you don’t get paid.”
This time he couldn’t hide his smile. “Guess it’s in my best interests to keep you upright and kicking then.”
She whipped around to glare at him but the enjoyment in her gaze took away from the heat, he supposed she’d wanted to be in her stare.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked. They had begun heading down and he kept an eye out to ensure they would be able to get back up again.
“What’s that?”
“What kind of accident were you in?”
“Airplane over water.” Her voice got throaty and not in a good way.
He stepped up next to her and rubbed her back as he held her. “I’m sorry for making you relive it.” This had to be hell for her. Having to cross all that way to Hawaii both in and over the things that had nearly killed her.
Natasha allowed the contact for a moment then stepped away, giving him her back as she continued up the tube.
They continued on for a bit when he heard a noise, he didn’t like. “Wait,” he ordered in a low tone.
She stopped.
OT caught up to her. “Light off.”
She listened and pressed against him as the darkness of the cave swallowed them.
He could feel her chattering and wrapped his arm around her.
“What is it?”
“I thought I heard someone else in here.”
“What’s odd about that? It’s a cave, people explore them,” she replied.
“At our location? Thought you didn’t believe in coincidences?”
“I don’t. I’m trying not to freak out and scream.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead, her soft curls brushing his skin. “Don’t do that. Let’s keep going.”
“In the dark?”
“Nope, with light. I’m not positive I heard anyone, it just sounded like it.” He clicked on his light.
Natasha followed suit with her light. “Do you think Ash could have found something like this and got the hose cut on a sharp rock which didn’t let her breathe on the way up? I mean, if she was in here when the tide came in, she would have had to swim out with the water, right?”
“I think if that happened, there would have been more damage to the gear. The way and with the force the waves come in here, she would have been knocked around. There wasn’t much if any scratching on the tank.”
“So still with the, we may be the first ones in here in a while bit then?”
“Yes.”
She stopped and swung her light down another tube only a slightly smaller size of the one they were currently in. there was another down to his left as well.
OT checked the time. While they had plenty left, his unease had increased. He cut his gaze to Natasha.
She stood there, taking it all in. If she felt uncomfortable or nervous, it was well hidden.
He didn’t want to go further. Almost positive he’d heard people behind them which meant they were between himself, Natasha, and the exit. That posed a problem. The .45 tucked in his waistband made him feel a bit better but nothing more than a tiny bit. “Let’s go.”
He moved and she didn’t, just stood there. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She walked to him. “Lost in thought for a moment there.”
The first shots rang out as he ducked and took her with him. “Down, down, get down.” Drawing his own weapon, he fired back moving toward the ones trying to kill them. The thunk of something landing on the floor of the tube before him, had him scrambling back, in a rush. “Go, go, go!”
The grenade exploded and small chunks cut into him as he was tossed backward even further. Rolling to his feet, he saw Natasha running up the tube, he saw her light vanish indicating it rolled over another side channel.
“Take it,” he called out.
She veered into it, not even slowing.
He scrambled back from the next grenade that was launched toward him. It exploded, rocking his world and senses, knocking him for a loop, everything echoy and hazy with falling chunks of rock around him. He blinked hard, willing his vision to sharpen and focus.
What was sharp and focused was the scream of pure terror from Natasha. It pumped more adrenaline through him and ignoring his own streaming pain and pounding ears, he ran in the last direction he’d seen her go.
The ground fell away from beneath him, not giving him any chance to hold onto or try and scramble to safety. As OT plummeted, he gave a final thought to Natasha, hoping she was okay, all the while cursing himself for failing to protect her.
αβ
“Do you see them?”
“No, they fell down into that hole. They won’t make it out before the tide comes back in. I’m calling it good. They’re dead.”
“We don’t have visual proof.”
He snorted. “So follow them down then. I’m not getting my ass trapped in here when the tide comes in. I’ll wait up here in the boat for you to return. How are they going to get back up? Use a grappling hook? Did you even seen any rope on him? I’m betting that fall killed him. Both of them.”
“What about him?”
“He’s not going to know we didn’t actually put bullets into them if we don’t tell him. So far as he knows, we shot them and they were left in a cave for the tide to come in. Right?”
The man nodded slow-like. “Right. So we can go home now?”
“We can go home and get paid.” He rubbed his hands together thinking how lucky he was and how much his life was going to change with this windfall. He had plans for that money.
Together, they turned and collapsed to the ground, bullet holes in the center of their foreheads. There would be no money for them. There wouldn’t be any future other than fish food. No one would miss them. No one was going to be looking for them.
The men who’d killed them walked closer, staring at them through their night vision goggles.
Two heaves and the dead men were tossed down into that gaping hole descending down into the depths of the ocean. The men dusted off their hands, turned off the night vision and turned on the headlamps before backing up and moving on down the main tunnel, weapons at the ready.
αβ
Her entire body hurt and Natasha didn’t want to move. Blood trickled down her head and she spit it out when it curved into her mouth. She moved cautiously, making sure nothing was broken. She was fine until she got to her legs. She’d managed to sit up and could feel the bone poking up through her jeans.
Great, compound fracture.
Tears streamed from her eyes and she didn’t even try to stop them. Feeling around her, she hoped she’d get the flashlight that had been dropped as she’d fallen. No such luck and she couldn’t move to get anywhere.
“OT?” His name wheezed from her chest. The pressure was hard on her and she struggled to get air in her lungs. “OT?”
Off to her right something splashed in the water and she cringed. Some water monster was going to kill her in the dark. At least she wouldn’t have to see what it was beforehand. She lay back, fingers digging into the sand beneath her.
“Tasha?”
“OT?”
A light clicked on and she squinted up to see his features come into view. He looked battered and bruised but he was alive and damn it, that was all she cared about for the moment.
He crouched beside her, hand gripping her chin and kissed her.
She closed her eyes once more as he pushed his tongue deep into her mouth. Gripping his shirt with one hand, she whimpered as his taste flooded her. God, he tasted so damn good. Heat traveled up her body despite the numb cold she’d felt from the pain in her body.
“Fuck, I thought I lost you.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Are you okay?”
“Broken leg, compound fracture. I’m not walking out of here. Hard for me to breathe as well.”
He swept the light along her left leg and swore a round of curses she’d not heard since she last hung out with Ashlee. “I can slow the bleeding but I can’t promise it’s not going to hurt like hell.”
“Already does. I’m not getting out of here, OT. I can’t swim out of here.” Her lungs burned and she forced herself to try for deep breaths. Slower ones.
OT did what he could for her leg. “I’m not leaving without you.” He stood up. “Let me take a look around.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” God it hurt. The metal bit of the plane in her chest had hurt more, so she could endure this but damn, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. She rested her head back against the sand.
“Black sand,” OT said, allowing it to stream through his fingers as he got to his feet. “Give me a moment.”
As she’d said, she wasn’t going anywhere. Soon, more light filled the cavern and she pushed up once more.
He held a torch, had used his shirt wrapped on the end of a stick. A low whistle left him and if she could whistle, one would have come to her as well.
There were chests in front of them both.
“She did it,” Natasha whispered. “She found the treasure.”
He shoved the light into the sand which allowed Natasha to see him as he went to the chests.
“Looks like Spanish coin to me. All weighted down, so it doesn’t move even when the tide comes in. Whoever left this here had plans to come back for it. These are some old and very heavy chains.”
“Congratulations, Ashlee.” She lay back, tears still falling from her eyes. While she didn’t know what treasure it was, what pirate or smuggler had stolen it, she was happy her friend found what she’d been after. She had no doubt that Ashlee had located this. She had a bloodhound nose for treasure.
There wasn’t any way for her to know how long she’d been here. She could ask OT the time, but really what good was it going to do her? She had no way to get out and knowing how little time they had left before the tide came in and filled this up, delivering her to her death.
“Don’t give up on me yet, Natasha.”
Pain made her groggy but she could see OT as he crouched beside her. “Find a way to get out.”
“I’m finding a way for both of us and I think I found it. I’ll be back.”
Her lids drifted closed once more. Gunfire had her jolting them back open. She wanted to scramble out of the way but she had nowhere to go and no strength to get there, wherever it should be. Shots were from up there, down here, she wasn’t sure who was firing.
“Get by the chests, Tasha! Move!”
From the panic in his tone, she dug deep, bit down on her painful cries, and dragged herself back toward them.
Bullets pinged off the chest and hit the ground near her.
How can they see? I can’t see a damn thing. Well, not much. The flickering from the torch didn’t give her much to work with, yet her mind was foggy with the pain of her injuries. She could see the muzzle flashes but that didn’t help her state of mind. As much as she could, she curved into as tiny of a target as she could become.
A large roar filled the air and her heart thudded hard in her chest. Her ears popped and her lungs burned as if she’d just attempted to run a three-kilometer marathon. She knew what was happening. The tide was coming in.
Her clock had counted down to the end. Honestly, she hadn’t figured to die like this. Under the ocean in a cave.
The water hadn’t gotten her the first time, but it was making sure it did this time.
OT was back beside her and pushed something into her hand. A small additional air canister. “It’s going to get cold, hard to breathe, but don’t give up. We’re getting out of here.”
She grunted, not wanting to risk losing the small bit of air she was getting.
“Stay with me,” he urged. “Slow breaths. You will make it out of here.”
As Natasha heard the water in the cavern filling up, she didn’t agree with him on that.