Diver's Heart

by K. A Knight

  I grunt when it stabs its claw into my shoulder, but I manage to get my knife between us, impaling the creature. It recoils with a screech, and blood clouds the water, making it impossible to see. I swim away and wait, but nothing comes after me, so I turn and continue in the direction I was going.

  “You okay?” Michael asks.

  “Fine. Anything from the guys or Peyton?” I grumble, ignoring the pain in my shoulder.

  “Nothing from Peyton. The men are working through the first tunnel, checking everything. Just keep going,” Michael replies.

  I do, my only thought of my girl. I may be surrounded by enemies, I may not know where I am, and I may be facing death, but none of it matters as long as I get to her.

  Hoo-fucking-rah.

  Chapter Thirty

  PEYTON

  This cave system is bigger than we could have ever imagined. Normally, that would be a good thing, but when you’re cut off and searching for the rest of your dive team, not so much. Or when you are being chased by weird cave dwelling creatures that want to eat you, and not in a good way.

  It feels like it’s been days, when in fact it has only been hours, but my body is exhausted and I’m weary from blood loss. My arms hurt, my shoulder aches like a son of a bitch, my legs too, but I keep going, holding my knife ready in case any of them jump out at me. I can’t lose hope, I have to get back to my guys and we need to get out of here.

  Some places should never be explored, and this is one of them.

  I thought this dive was going to be for my life, how right I was. I’m willing to risk it all to save them—my heart, my sanity, and my life. But first, I need to find Kalen before the creatures do. I stay quiet and work fast, adapting easily, just like them. They may be hunting me, but I’m hunting them too.

  I come to a break in the tunnel, and the only way is up, so I grip my knife in my teeth and start to climb without any gear on. Teeth clenched, arms straining, I haul myself up, not letting the pain settle in. I think only of my family somewhere in this cave, probably searching for me. It gets me to the top and the tunnel there. Panting, I stare down at the forty-meter climb.

  “Easy-peasy,” I mutter with a snort.

  These creatures may have been down here for years, but they have never met Peyton fucking Andrews.

  Shining my light into the tunnel, I rush into the cave and the awaiting monsters in search of my men.

  Pizza, burgers, beer, beds…

  I’m mentally listing all the things I miss. It keeps me going, even as fatigue settles in. The dive already took a lot out of me, never mind climbing and surviving. I want to stop, to sleep, but I can’t, not alone. They could find me, and there’s no way I’m being that dumb bitch in a horror movie who just waits to be killed.

  Head hanging down, mouth moving on silent words, I push forward through the never-ending tunnel until it begins to slope upwards. I stop and lean back against the wall and just take a minute, sipping my water and having a little break as I shine my light up. It’s completely vertical, but where does it go? I guess there is only one way to find out, and there’s no way I’m going back.

  I force myself to start moving, knowing if I sit for too long, it gives them more time to find me, as well as sending my legs and body into spasms.

  Keep moving, one more climb. One more tunnel. One more breath. One more fucking minute closer to them.

  Pushing my back against the wall, I press my hands to the opposite side and pull and shuffle my way up, propelling with my legs. It’s slow going, but I just keep looking up, not down, and keep on fucking moving.

  I think of everything I want to tell them, everything I wish I’d told them. Maybe if I had been honest from the start, we wouldn’t be here. It’s not my fault I fell in love with all of them. The human heart is made to love, and it’s big enough for more than one person. Is it really so wrong? Why does it matter whom I love? Man, woman, fluid? As long as it makes me happy, why should anyone else fucking care?

  It’s how I keep myself distracted, thinking over what it means to love four men. If I do find them again, I’m telling them all the truth. If they can’t handle it, then fine, but I’m done lying. I’m finished breaking my own heart just to protect theirs.

  I did it when I left. I thought I was doing it to protect them, but having grown up and thought it through, I realise maybe I did it out of fear. Like they said, I was scared of what I felt and having to face the music. Maybe it was a bit of both, but I can’t change what happened, I just need to learn from it and do better in the future.

  In this kind of relationship, we have to be open and honest. Honesty is so fucking important, and I’m tired of my soul being weighed down by lies. I have to make myself weak, vulnerable, and open to them. Pressing my forehead to the wall, I take a deep breath, trying to fight past the tiredness in my body.

  Come on, princess. I hear Kalen calling to me, and it almost brings tears to my eyes.

  Get moving, baby.

  You heard him, Pey, Fin teases.

  Sixty percent chance of survival on your rations right now, so get moving before they run out, Riggs adds in my mind.

  I’m independent, I love being alone, and I’ve faced the unknown by myself for so long, but right now, I would do anything to have them here with me.

  For a moment, I just let the thoughts of them fill me until I can feel their presence—Tyler’s laugh, Kalen’s snark, Fin’s flirting, and Riggs’ comfort.

  It gives me the motivation I need to keep going.

  I push and pull, the rhythm of the movements lulling me into a trance, and before I know it, I’m at the top. There are tunnels to the left and right. Fuck, which one?

  Pick, Andrews.

  The left one looks smaller, while the right one seems to curve back down…maybe to a cavern, back to where I came from, or to some hideous creature, but who knows? I choose, and I go right. Dragging myself up and over, I groan in pain when rocks drag against the cuts on my stomach. I grind my teeth, pull my knife free, and start to crawl again. A sudden burst of energy comes over me, and I’m covering ground in half the time I was before.

  The tunnel does curve down, and I keep going, gripping and pulling myself through the shaft at this point. I feel air on my face, and that should be my first warning, but I blame my exhaustion. All it takes is one mistake.

  And I make it.

  The tunnel doesn’t just swerve, it drops off right into a pit of water. I slip to the end, flipping to hold on with my fingers.

  It’s too late. I try to hold on, but the walls are slippery, so to avoid hurting myself or breaking fingers attempting to cling on, I pinch my nose with one hand and let myself fall feet first into the water. I plunge into it with a splash, and it swirls around me before I kick to the surface, breaking into the air with a gasp and looking around quickly.

  The water here is freezing, really fucking cold, and going from dry to wet is sending my body into shock. I’m shivering, which isn’t a good sign. I need to get out of the water and get warm for a while. Hypothermia down here would be fatal. I duck under the water and swim, searching for a way out, and I find it at the very edge of the bottom. It’s deep, so I go back to the surface and suck in some breaths.

  It could go underwater for a long time, and I have no gear other than a tank, so it looks like I’m going to have to hold my breath for that and hope for the fucking best. It has its risks, but it’s my only choice, and with my body preparing to shut down, it’s now or never.

  Taking a deep breath, I dive down, trying to hold my breath without the tank for as long as I can. I swim fast into the tunnel and what feels like a maze. I manoeuvre around rocks, holes, and chasms, and about fifty meters in, I have to start using my tank. I know it won’t last forever, but I stay calm and search for another tunnel or cave.

  I swim.

  And swim.

  And swim.

  Until I find one just as the tank is nearly empty. It’s about sixty feet in front of me with light shining
into it. I take one last suck of the tank, draining it, and let it fall to the sandy floor below. Using my arms, I propel myself forward, my lungs screaming and body hurting. My eyes water, and I’m nearly unable to see, but I keep swimming right into the light.

  And out of the other side.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  TYLER

  We go slow through the tunnels, even though we have been through them before. We know something is lurking here now, and we also have to check every crack and entrance to see if we can spot Peyton or any other signs of life. It takes us hours just to make it through to the fully submerged cavern, and once there, we split up, searching some of the tunnels.

  That’s when it comes down the mic, and my heart leaps.

  “Come to the cavern we ruled out as an advanced base! Now!” Fin yells.

  I rush there, swimming as fast as I can, and I beat Riggs, who is right behind me. Ripping off my mask, I stand and pull myself out of the water, but my heart sinks when I see Kalen. I instantly feel guilty. I’m happy we found him, but that also means he didn’t find Peyton, and now she’s out there all alone…if at all.

  “Don’t look too happy, you fuckers,” Kalen snarls, making us all laugh. “I know I’m not as pretty, but damn.” Fin crouches at his side, and I head over to see him dressing a wound on Kalen’s shoulder.

  “You okay, bro?” I ask.

  He nods, looking behind me, his face falling. “No Peyton?”

  I shake my head, and his eyes close for a moment. I know he’s blaming himself, so I crouch down and Fin moves away. I grip his non-injured shoulder and force his eyes to meet mine. “No one can stop Peyton from doing something she wants to do. We would have all done the same thing in her shoes. Trust in her. She will find us, and we won’t stop looking. Don’t give up on her, not now.”

  He sighs. “You’re right…but fuck, I’m sorry, Ty.”

  I lean closer and press my forehead to his like we used to do as children, before he enlisted and went away, back when we had no worries. “Don’t apologise, you did the best you could, and it was better than anything we could have done. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “Who thought this is what we would become?” He chuckles bitterly. “Both of us are in love with the same woman. If Mum and Dad could see us now.”

  I laugh. “The old bastard would have hated her, and Mum would have followed what he said, you know that.”

  He grins at that. Our parents aren’t in our lives, and that’s our own choice. Kalen enlisted to escape them, while I found work that took me away and into the ocean so we would never have to go back, and I’d have a job waiting for him when he got out.

  They aren’t our family, not anymore, Peyton is. She’s our family, not just mine. I need to stop being selfish and hurting my family. I need to face the cold, hard truth laid in front of me. He’s suffering, looking for my forgiveness and acceptance without even realising it. Can I give him that? It seems like there’s no better time for honesty than now.

  “I wouldn’t want it any other way. I can’t think of a better man to protect my—” I suck in a breath as jealousy flares, but I push past it. “Our girl.”

  He swallows, and I see guilt in his eyes…and hope. “I love her, Ty. I tried not to, I tried so fucking hard, but she’s the only person who makes me feel alive, who makes me feel anything but this fucking anger.”

  I nod. “I know. I was selfish and stupid not to see it. When she left, I thought that was the end, that we wouldn’t have to deal with it. I didn’t even consider how you would feel, but she’s back, brother, she’s here.”

  “What if she leaves again?” he questions, his voice rough.

  “We won’t let her.” I smirk. “I don’t know what the future holds, or if we can do this” —I gesture to the others and lift my head to see them— “but if it takes all of us to keep her, so be it. We’ll figure it out, we always do.”

  “You finally fucking realised you want her to stay.” Fin grins.

  “Oh, I’m still pissed at her.” I laugh, and they all laugh too.

  “Take it out on her in bed, bet she would love it,” Fin teases, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Kalen snorts. “Shut the fuck up, man.”

  Riggs blushes but looks at me with consideration. “Does she like to be dominated?”

  I groan and close my eyes. “Bro, I’m not talking to you about this. Just because I’m not killing you for loving my girl doesn’t mean I won’t punch you for talking about her in that way.”

  He blinks and looks at Kalen. “She liked you ordering her around. Do I need to do that, or can I go further?”

  Kalen, Fin, and I share a look and burst into laughter, desperate, wild laughter—it’s either that, or cry. I don’t even want to ask what he’s talking about. Who fucking knew? Four men all in love with the same woman. I don’t know if it will work, it’s weird as hell for sure, but…but it also feels right. She was always the heart of our family, and their relationships with her were always more than basic friendship, I just didn’t want to see it.

  “Fucking hell, we need ground rules,” Kalen mutters when he can talk again.

  “So…we are really doing this?” Fin inquires, watching us. “I’m cool with it. Hell, I might even let one of you fuckers help me with her.” He wiggles his brows, and I scowl. “I don’t mean sword crossing, but it could be fun.” He wiggles his eyebrows yet again, and I get to my feet and point my finger at him.

  “Run,” I growl.

  He laughs and steps back. “But are we? Are we agreeing to share Peyton?”

  Share her… Fuck.

  Is this really the only way I get to keep my brothers and my girl?

  If so…can I really do this?

  It seems I have no choice.

  “If that’s what she wants,” Riggs inserts, frowning.

  “Oh, fuck it. I share everything else with you fuckers anyway,” Kalen grumbles. “But if one of you pervs even so much as tries to touch my pork sword, I’m out.”

  They all look at me. It’s hard to agree, it is, but I know this is the only way I’ll get Peyton again. She was never just mine, she was ours, this just makes it official. “We share her.” I nod my assent, the words strange on my tongue. “If she wants to. But first, we have to find her and get the fuck out of these caves.”

  “I wonder if there is a name for this kind of relationship,” Fin asks Riggs.

  “Well, in ancient and royal dynasties, the kings had harems, which were large groups of women, or concubines.”

  “I’m not being a fucking concubine,” Kalen snarls.

  “So a harem it is?” Fin laughs. “I like it, Peyton’s Harem. We could get shirts with funny names, like Captain Cock, First Cock, Second Cock.”

  “Please stop,” I grouse.

  We hear a splash and all turn, the mood turning sober as we remember just where we are. “Okay, Kalen, are you good to move?” He gets to his feet and nods. “Good, we need to find Peyton. It’s time we got our girl back.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain Cock,” Fin retorts.

  I’m going to kill them.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  FIN

  We dive into the water. I take the lead this time as we head back down, but when we reach the submerged section, we look at each other. Peyton could be anywhere, so we need to split up.

  But that’s a dumb move.

  Do we do it anyway?

  Yes.

  Because it increases our chances of finding her, and I will do anything to find her. I gesture to the fourth tunnel, and they nod, each picking their own channel to investigate. With one last look at my team, I head straight into the narrow cavern in search of my girl.

  I pray she’s okay. I don’t believe in a higher power, but right now, I’ll pray, whatever it takes to ensure she’s alive. I was a fucking idiot to hold back, to tell her no when we were alone. It all seems like such senseless reasoning now. When faced with her death, it’s clear there is enough of Peyton to sha
re, and we will share, because none of us will give her up.

  She’s ours, she just doesn’t know it yet.

  I keep swimming, slowly kicking along as I shine my torch around. I hold my knife at the ready in case any of those bat-like motherfuckers pop up. I will kill them for hurting my family. We still try to reach her over the comms, but it’s obvious it’s either damaged or… No.

  Just damaged.

  Nothing else.

  I refuse to accept she’s dead, my girl can survive anything. She’s a fucking beast, and she will make this cave her bitch and come back to us. When she does, I’ll show her just how fucking much I love her, and I’ll never let her go again.

  The tunnel narrows, and I basically have to crawl. Usually, I would turn back at Tyler’s orders, not wanting to burst my equipment, but he’s not here to tell me off, so in true Fin style, I push on. I hear the scrape against my tank and grin as I wiggle through.

  My heart pounds from fear and adrenaline, the best type. That’s what Peyton makes me feel as well, only ten times better. She’s my greatest risk and my biggest reward. The only time I truly feel alive is when I’m with her.

  “Come on, darling, answer me,” I mutter. “Let me know you’re there.”

  I wait, but nothing comes back. Refusing to believe she’s gone, I keep moving. “Anything?” Tyler asks, his tone desperate.

  “Not yet,” Kalen snarls. “Keep looking.”

  “Nothing,” Riggs says.

  “Not yet. She’s here, guys, I know it. Keep searching. She would never give up on us,” I tell them. “Like that time Kalen got tangled with an octopus, and she dived for hours trying to unhook him, all because he thought he could fight it,” I tease.