Code Name: Forever & Ever (A Warrior's Challenge series Book 5)

by Natasza Waters

  “Because,” he paused. “I need to apologize for being a fucking idiot. Again.”

  As the chopper hovered just above the sand, the SEALs jumped in. Lt. Baker spoke into the comm set he plucked from the bulkhead, giving instructions to the pilot. The howling winds had picked up to over fifty clicks. Illumination flares wouldn’t help much when they got on site.

  The pilot relayed information to them from a Coast Guard helo already on scene. The vessel had struck a reef. With a ninety degree list, she lay on her side, held up by a reef for now. As the tide rose, she’d probably lose her position and sink into the deep waters surrounding the island. Two survivors had been rescued from the water.

  “Who?” Patrick intervened.

  Pilot shook his head. “Don’t know. They’re looking for bodies now.”

  Patrick fisted his hands. No, Marg was either one of the survivors or she just hasn’t been found yet.

  The team geared up in the helo and waited for instructions. Lt. Baker voiced short commands. “Seas are reported as eight foot rough. Visibility low in heavy rain. You have to listen as well as look. The chopper will conduct an expanding square search over the site. We’ll conduct parallel tracks in the water. There’s six of us. We’ll drop two of you on the north and south ends of the island, two more off the west shore.”

  The team gave thumbs up.

  “Sir, was there any training being conducted on the island?” Patrick asked Lt. Baker. San Clemente belonged to the US Navy. Aside from training SEALs, it had a rocket testing facility, and naval ships trained their crews there.

  Baker nodded. “Affirmative, Cobbs. The USS Benfold is anchored off the island. The John F is also within fifty miles and launched a helo to assist. They’ve been searching since the last call from the Marlin. A storm warning is now in effect for the area.”

  “And they’ve only found two survivors?” He kept a harsh grip on his fear. Why hadn’t Baker told him this from the beginning?

  “Cobbs, your friend may or may not be alive, but keep your head.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Thane’s gloved hand gripped his shoulder. “She’s alive. Marg’s tough.”

  “No, she’s not. She’s a lady.” He shook his head. What if he found her? What if he found her and she was….

  The radios squawked as they neared the site. The pilot received instructions from the onscene commander, which was the USS Benfold until the Coast Guard cutter arrived. The pilot relayed their intentions, and who they had onboard. If it wasn’t for Marg being part of the search, Pat might have been proud to hear the pilot say he had six Navy SEALs responding to the search.

  The helo flew to the north end of the island. Stingray and Paul gave him a nod and jumped out. Both he and Thane had been given the positions on the west side of the island closest to the Marlin, who lay on her side mostly submerged. The Coast Guard requested them to investigate the ship again. An external search had been done initially by divers from the destroyer, but there was a chance someone was still inside.

  The helo hovered above the water. Buffeted by the wind, he and Thane hit the swelling sea at the same time, surfaced, gave a thumbs up and swam hard for the yacht. Stable enough on the reef, at least for now, they scrambled on top of the Marlin.

  Thane pounded on the hull with his fist. “United States Navy. Can anybody hear me?”

  They listened and heard nothing through the howling wind. Scrambling farther along the hull, they repeated their call. Their headsets picked up the chatter from the working channel. One of the Coast Guard pilots had found something. Sweeping lights beamed against the heavy seas hitting the island. Pat monitored the comms. A Coast Guard helo had arrived on scene and two rescue divers had been dropped in the water. His guts twisted into a knot when the pilot came back on the air ten minutes later. Female recovered, non-responsive. He wanted to ask for a description, but couldn’t bear to hear the answer.

  Thane and he reached the bow. It remained above the water, higher than any other part of the ship. They both hammered the hull with their fists and called out, then waited.

  A thump, barely audible.

  “Did you hear that?” Thane asked.

  “Could just be debris striking the hull or the reef.”

  “Anyone in there?” Thane boomed with his loud voice.

  Another thump.

  “Fuck, we’ve got survivors. Marg?” he shouted. “Marg are you there?” Pat shut his eyes and prayed. Another thump. Why didn’t she call out to him? “We gotta dive in.”

  Thane radioed in to the Coast Guard helo. “We’ve got survivors in the bow of the Marlin.”

  The pilot from the chopper responded. “Standby.” They saw the chopper veer around and hover over top of them, shining a spotlight onto the ship. “What’s your intentions, SEAL?”

  “We’re diving in,” Pat responded.

  Diving into a confined area like the inside of ship could be deadly. Getting the survivors out, even more so.

  “We need to cut an access hole in the bow. Taking them out through the ship will be too dangerous,” Thane confirmed.

  “We’ll pick up the extraction equipment from the Benfold and drop it with a couple other divers. If you feel it’s safe, proceed into the Marlin,” the pilot responded.

  Patrick and Thane had already slipped into the water. Pat bit down on his mouthpiece and submerged, an eerie dark world he’d become accustomed to in his training. His light washed across the windows, and he followed Thane, swimming toward the wheelhouse, the closest access to the forward cabin. The door swayed open with the languid fingers of the current. Thane gripped the frame and yarded it wider to let them pass. Debris floated against them, and they brushed it aside as they made their way toward the access to the forward cabin. What he didn’t expect, but should have, was an arm that drifted across his shoulder. He swung around and the face of a young girl, her eyes and mouth open, languished in death. His heart sped up.

  It wasn’t Marg.

  Thane gave him the signal to keep moving. Pat followed him down the hallway, toward the cabin situated in the bow. As they entered, he saw six pairs of legs, four of them women, two men. They rose from the water and found a one foot breathing space and women screaming for help.

  “Marg?” he called out. He didn’t recognize any of the women. “Where’s Marg?”

  “Buddy,” Thane said harshly. “We have to get them out of here. Not much time left. Tide’s rising. This air is going to disappear.”

  Distracted, one of the girls, wet and shivering, grabbed hold of Pat. “Please get us out of here.”

  “We will.” He drew her closer. “Do you know where Margaret Stines is? She was supposed to be on this vessel.”

  The girl’s teeth chattered and she nodded, then her face scrunched up, tears rising in her eyes. “The waves pushed us onto the reef. The captain dropped the lifeboat, but we were too scared to jump in the water. Marg wanted us to follow her. She said we needed to get to the island, and we’d find help there.”

  “Did she get to the lifeboat?”

  The girl hiccupped. He could barely understand her through her tears. “No, she tried. Marg said she could swim to the island.”

  Oh, shit, no.

  “Please get us out of here. I don’t want to die.”

  This shivering girl wouldn’t, but Marg had dove into the turbulent waters. Her chances had decreased to almost zero.

  Thane rallied everyone’s attention and calmed the women down. He explained the plan, and not long after, they heard feet on the ship’s hull and the cutting torch. A few minutes later, the women were hoisted through the hole.

  “She tried to swim for the island,” he told Thane as the last of the two crewmen were evacuated.

  Thane’s eyes rounded with astonishment. “Marg?”

  “She told me she was on the university swim team. I’m going to head toward the island from here.”

  “I’m right behind ya.”

  Even if she made it to shore, t
he rocks were sharp and deadly with the waves thrashing against them. The water was cold and the rip tide near the island unforgiving. He shook his head. Without some kind of heavenly intervention, there was no way she could have made it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Patrick and Thane swam hard, but the closer they got to shore, the rip tried to pull him out, eating up his strength. Could Marg withstand this? They reached a small beach, free of jagged rocks, and dropped to their knees.

  “Maaaarg,” Pat called out. Thane joined him.

  “I’ll head north and you head south,” Thane said.

  He strayed a look up the slope toward the top of the island. “You don’t think she’d try to climb that in the dark?” he asked before they separated.

  Thane flashed his high-powered light across the rocky slope. “No, she’d stay down here.”

  The wind bit cold on his exposed skin and Pat prayed to God that Marg hadn’t succumbed to hypothermia, but the likelihood was high. She probably didn’t have much on, and she’d be freezing in the cold November wind.

  “Marg?” He kept his concentration on finding her alive. He had to find her alive.

  Pat ran along the shore, shining his light across the rocks, calling her name, and praying, but fear mounted his determination with every step. She had no extra fat on her being a model, she didn’t stand a chance if she’d even made it to shore.

  “Goddammit, Marg, answer me!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something. A fleeting movement, a figure, but it wasn’t a woman. He’d come across someone else searching the shore. Pat flashed his light toward the image obscured by darkness, and the light caught a pair of legs in camo. With the rain driving into his eyes, he blinked.

  “Hey, have you found anything?” he yelled at the guy.

  A brush of warm air touched his face. He flashed his light over the boulders near the slope. His heart banged hard against his chest. There wasn’t a sailor or SAR tech there, no one was there. Exhaustion played tricks on his eyes, but he passed the light across the rocks one more time, certain he’d seen someone.

  “Anyone there?” The wind curled around his words and drove them back out to sea. He turned to head down the beach and another warm blast hit his face. Someone poked his back and he whirled around. The hairs rose on his neck.

  Pat listened, and then searched the rocks again. He ran up the sand to investigate. Curled into a tight ball, Marg huddled behind a large boulder, her head bobbed back and she barely opened her eyes.

  “I’m cccccold.”

  “Marg, I’ve got you.”

  Her eyes opened a sliver, and he could see delirium had set in. He radioed his position to the onscene commander for a chopper extraction and immediate medical assistance. They needed to warm her up on the ship.

  Quickly, he pulled his dive suit to his waist and wrapped himself around her. “Marg, talk to me.”

  “I hhhhate being cold,” she chattered against his chest.

  He chuckled, his heart a lot lighter with her in his arms. “Not a huge fan either, but you’ll be warm soon.”

  “I want to go hhhhome.”

  Pat heard the blades of the chopper as it crossed over the island toward their position. “I can’t come with you. There’s still people missing, but I’ll see you soon.”

  A large spotlight struck the beach as the helo descended. He helped Marg to her feet and when her legs gave out, he lifted her in his arms and carried her down the beach.

  Thane had put it into a full out run to reach them just as the helo descended. “Is she alive?” he panted.

  “I’m alive,” she said, thrusting out an arm toward him.

  Pat’s guts twisted tight when Thane leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You got balls, girl. I’ll give ya that.”

  The SAR techs jumped from the chopper and tried to take her from him.

  “No, I’ll put her onboard,” Pat yelled over the blades and the wind.

  Thane nodded at the techs. “Pat, let them have her.”

  One of the tech’s peeled Pat’s hands from her waist and scooped her from his arms, then ran toward the chopper.

  “There’s two more people missing, Pat. We have to keep searching,” Thane yelled over the crossfire of wind.

  Patrick watched them load her onto the helo and stayed where he was until it had taken off.

  Thane remained beside him and watched as well. “Where did you find her?”

  “Behind a group of boulders. I would have walked right past her, if…”

  “If what?”

  He didn’t give it much thought until now. “Thought I saw someone. Another searcher, but when I shined my light, I found her instead.”

  Thane took the radio comm from Lt. Baker who remained on the Navy helo. Pat turned to look at the boulders, sure he’d seen someone there. He flashed the lights across the expanse of cliff and along the shore.

  Nobody.

  “The L.T. says to keep searching the shoreline,” Thane repeated what Pat had already heard in his headset.

  For three more hours they searched. After two hours, another body had been found. The captain of the vessel didn’t make it. By dawn, the final passenger had been located. The incident took five lives and eight had survived. The helo hovered above the beach to pick him and Thane up. When they boarded, Pat wanted to be dropped on the USS Benfold where they’d taken Marg. It took twenty minutes before the Captain of the Benfold agreed.

  Pat jumped from the helo onto the deck of the Benfold and was escorted by the ship’s personnel down to the infirmary. They’d already started steaming for San Diego. Pat entered the shipboard hospital and saw a man hovering over a bed. “How’s she doing, doctor?”

  A man with graying temples turned. “Sleeping. You know her?”

  He nodded. “Can I?”

  “Sure, son. Were you part of the retrieval party?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said, stepping up to the gurney. Marg was bundled up with only her mouth and nose showing. “I won’t wake her.”

  “It’s been a long night, I’m going to step out and get a coffee. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. She’ll be on her feet before we reach San Diego. She’s young and strong, so you can wipe that look off your face.”

  Once the doc had left the infirmary, Pat couldn’t resist and brushed her lips with his. “You gave me a good scare, honey.”

  She surprised him. “Didn’t mean to,” she murmured back.

  He moved a flap of blanket aside and her beautiful blue eyes peered up at him. Her cheeks had a little flush to them and her skin felt warm to his hand.

  “My dad, I was supposed to meet him,” she said, shifting a little under the covers.

  “I saw him.”

  “When?” she asked weakly.

  “When I came to see you this afternoon.”

  “We didn’t have a date.”

  “No, but we need to talk. Although, I don’t think I’ll have your dad’s blessings after today. I left him standing at the door of your condo. When I found out you were on the Marlin, I had to find you.”

  “I don’t remember anything but being cold.”

  She’d endured worse than he had on the shores of San Clemente. “Are you warm now?”

  Marg nodded. “Why did you come to my place?”

  “Told you, well…to apologize. Hope you’d forgive me for acting like an asshole.”

  “You’re not an asshole,” she whispered. “You just prefer blondes.”

  “Not true.” Pat wished he could hold her hand. Wished he could climb in those blankets beside her and feel her heart against his.

  “The doctor said some people didn’t survive.”

  “Don’t worry about that now.” He bowed his head, thinking about the face of the pretty girl who he’d found floating in the Marlin. “It’s lucky anyone survived.”

  “I have to thank the person who saved me. Do you know who it was?” she asked, opening he
r eyes again.

  Marg had been delirious when he’d located her. She didn’t remember it was him. “Doubt he needs a thank you. I’m sure,” he paused. “I’m sure he’s just glad he found you.”

  “Was it Thane? I remember hearing his voice.”

  Pat gritted his teeth. “No,” he said sharper than he meant to.

  “If you’re here, thought he might be, too. You never go anywhere without your shadow. He’s a good man,” she murmured. “Cares about you.”

  “He was here, but he’s back in Coronado with the rest of the squad.” Pat rested his hand over the little bump near her hip. Her fingers wiggled beneath the blankets.

  “SEALs searched for us?”

  “Coast Guard. Navy. Everyone searched until all the passengers and crew were found.”

  “I tried to make them follow me, Pat.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I barely made it, and I’m a strong swimmer. I would have killed them all.”

  He shook his head. “You didn’t. We found six people in the bow. Two men and four women, but most importantly to me, we found you.”

  Marg smiled weakly at him. “Thanks for being a friend.”

  Friend? He didn’t want to be her friend. “I hurt you the other day. You saw me at Thane’s BBQ, but I swear to you, it was bad timing.”

  “Whatever. Don’t have to explain,” she said, turning her head away from him.

  “Rest. I’ll check on you later. Doc wants you on your feet before we reach Coronado.”

  She nodded, but wouldn’t look at him. A hollow feeling churned in his gut. Had he screwed up his chance to have Marg because of one drunken moment? He knew better. Seen his father’s careless comments and thoughtlessness destroy his mother.

  In the galley, Pat cradled a cup of tea in his hands. He really wasn’t a coffee drinker. Mostly, he shared a cup with his mother, but that’s because she liked it. Gazing down at the food on his plate. It turned his stomach. He should be hungry after the energy he’d expelled in the search, but food was the last thing he needed.

  A few minutes in the galley, watching the crew have their breakfast, and he decided he needed to be with Marg. Stepping into the infirmary in time to see her helped from the bed by the doctor, he stood transfixed by the beautiful woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. She looked up and swept the blanket tightly around herself.