Hot SEALs: Protecting Julie (Kindle Worlds) (SEAL of Protection Book 0) (7 page)

She helped Johnnie upright and kept her hand on his elbow as she scissor-kicked her legs.

“I’m tired.”

“I know you are, baby, and we’re gonna get you back as soon as possible.”

“But I wanna be back nooooow,” Johnnie complained petulantly.

Julie figured rest time was over. It hadn’t been long enough, but the little boy was obviously too scared and tired to handle treading water for long.

“Okay, Johnnie. Lie back down and kick your legs, I’ll get us back to shore lickety-split.”

The little boy continued to complain while Julie towed him next to her and slowly made her way back to safety.

“Are we there yet? I want my mommy!” Julie felt helpless as the tears fell down his little face and disappeared into the blue water of the ocean.

She picked up her head at the sound of a motor in the distance. Thank God! The Calvary had arrived! There were four boats headed her way. They were flying across the water. If they’d been on dry land, they surely would’ve been breaking the law with how fast they were going. At the moment, however, Julie knew she’d never seen a better sight.

Julie turned to estimate where she’d escaped the rip current and was surprised to see heads bobbing quite a distance away from her. The boats zoomed past her and Johnnie’s location and toward the teenagers who’d originally gotten swept away.

“Why’d they go past us? Are we gonna die? I want my mommy!” Johnnie cried. Julie saw he’d turned his head and was watching as the rescue boats raced into the distance.

“They’ll be back for us. There are people worse off than us. People who can’t float as well as you can, buddy. Just stay floating, they’ll be back.”

Julie hoped like hell she wasn’t lying. The beach looked a long way away and she knew her strength was flagging. She honestly didn’t know if she’d be able to get them both all the way back to the shore.

Patrick kept his eyes glued to the water in front of them as Cookie raced through the waves. As soon as he’d hung up with Julie, he’d mobilized his crew. They had all happened to be down at the SEAL training beach, showing some of the recruits some maneuvers.

Patrick had raced to them, barking orders as he ran. “This is not a drill! Rip current at La Jolla beach. At least twenty people caught.”

The team was moving before he’d finished speaking. Patrick was the only one not wearing the proper gear, but no one said a word. His battle dress uniform, blue and gray camouflage, was appropriate for everyday wear in the office, but on a mission on the ocean, not so much. Not caring, he leaped into a boat with Cookie and Wolf and the others got into the other two boats. Two other instructors on the beach jumped into the last boat and they were all on their way without knowing exactly what the situation was, only that if the Commander came racing down the beach yelling about a rip current, it was serious.

Patrick filled Cookie and Wolf in on what he knew as they raced across the water, their legs bending with the movement of the boat and the waves as if second nature.

“How’d you find out so quickly?” Wolf questioned.

“Julie called me. She was there as it happened.”

“Smart of her,” Wolf complimented.

They arrived at La Jolla beach and could see a couple of the lifeguards on jet skis in the general area where they needed to go, towing some of the teenagers back to shore.

The SEAL team immediately began to assist, pulling as many people into the boats as they could find. The surfers were all scared and mildly dehydrated from swallowing the salty water and being out in the sun for as long as they’d been, but generally all right. They’d been lucky.

Wolf, Cookie, and Hurt were the first back to shore with their boatload of rescued swimmers. They were greeted by a huge crowd of worried, scared, and curious onlookers. As the kids exited the SEAL boat, a panicked voice rung out over the other general chaos surrounding them.

“Where’s my baby? Did you find him?”

Thinking the lady shrieking at them was looking for her teenager, Cookie tried to calm her down. “The other boats are picking up the others. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

“But he’s just a baby. He can swim, but not that well. He’s only five!”

“Five?” Patrick questioned sharply.

“Yes! I was watching what was happening and didn’t realize he’d gone into the water. He’s always been curious about the lifeguards and he’s been going to swimming lessons. He must’ve either wanted a closer look or he thought he could help in some way. The current took him away from me before I could get to him. A lady ran in after him, but I haven’t seen her come in on any of the boats yet either. You have to find him! He’s my only child! Please!”

Patrick looked around uneasily and didn’t see Julie anywhere. “A woman went after him? Who?”

“I don’t know who, she just told me to stay put and she’d get him for me.”

Patrick turned to his men. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Wolf didn’t say a word, but after helping the last swimmer out, immediately climbed back into the boat, with Patrick following along behind him. Cookie pushed the inflatable raft with the powerful engine backwards until it had enough depth to turn around, then he leaped inside. Wolf took off, headed back out to sea.

Patrick and Cookie scanned the ocean surface with their binoculars. They didn’t see anyone else in the area where all the surfers and boogie boarders had been located.

“Widen the search,” Patrick ordered. “I don’t know what she knows about rips, but if she knew anything at all, she’d try to swim parallel to get out of it. It has to be why they weren’t in the general area with the others. They could be anywhere either right or left of the main current area.”

Nobody wanted to mention the possibility that she, and the missing little boy, could have drowned, but each of the men were thinking it.

Wolf cut the engine and grabbed a pair of binoculars. Cookie looked to the right, and Wolf and Patrick looked left. They scanned the surface of the ocean for anything that might look out of place. Spotting a person’s head bobbing in the waves was almost impossible. They all knew it, but none of them said a word.

Finally Wolf said calmly, “I might have something.” Cookie immediately dropped his binoculars and grabbed hold of the wheel, turning it to the left and heading to the area Wolf and Patrick had been scanning.

“Turn to your eleven o’clock,” Wolf ordered Cookie. “Yeah, right there. Straight ahead, we’ll run right into whatever it was I saw.”

Patrick dropped the binoculars he’d been squinting into, preferring to see with his own eyes whatever it was Wolf had spotted and praying it was Julie.

The boat slowly made its way to the dark spot in the ocean. As they got closer and closer, they could all make out a dark-haired head bobbing up and down. Then an arm raised and waved at them.

Thank God.

* * *

“Hey Johnnie, look!” Julie said excitedly. “A boat!”

“A boat? Where?” Johnnie asked, immediately sitting up in his excitement. Julie sucked in a mouthful of sea water as she struggled to keep the boy’s head above the surface.

“Move your legs, Johnnie,” she begged. “Tread water.”

“I’m too tired,” he whined, clinging to Julie’s neck.

Julie’s legs moved faster to keep both of their heads above water. She was holding Johnnie like she would if they were standing on firm ground. She had her hand under his bottom and he had both legs wrapped around her waist and both arms around her neck. Julie used her free hand to try to help keep them afloat.

Thinking back to Johnnie’s complaint, Julie agreed. She was also tired. Exhausted, but she could hang on for another minute or so until the boat reached them. It would suck to be so close to rescue to fail the little boy now.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was only seconds, the boat was there.

It looked so much bigger now that it was right next to her than it did from far away. Earlier, she’d watched as the boat headed away from the shore and had stopped dead in the water. She’d wondered what they were doing, but hoped they were scanning the area for more people. She’d waved her hand over her head, praying they’d see her. She’d breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed they had.

Julie looked up and was shocked to see Patrick’s face peering down at her and Johnnie.

“Hi.”

If she had the energy and the free hand to smack herself in the forehead, she would’ve. “Hi?” That’s what she said to the man she thought she wanted to spend the rest of her life with after he kind of broke up with her and after she’d just spent what seemed like an hour treading water in the ocean not knowing if she’d ever put her feet on dry land again? Good lord, she was a dork.

“What’s his name?” Patrick was all business.

“Johnnie.”

“Hi, Johnnie. I’m Hurt. The guys with me are Cookie and Wolf. How about getting out of the ocean, huh?”

“I want my mommy.”

“I know, buddy. And we’ll get you to her in just a minute. Can you lift your arms so we can help you in the boat?”

“No! Don’t wanna let go of Julie.”

Julie turned her attention away from Patrick and Cookie. Shit. It
had
to be Cookie, didn’t it? It looked as if she was going to have to face him sooner rather than later. The choice had just been taken out of her hands. But first things first.

“Johnnie, it’s okay. I won’t let go until you’re safe in the boat. Okay? You’ve been such a brave boy this entire time. But let Cookie and Hurt help now. Yeah? They’re Navy SEALs…the best of the best. They’re almost like superheroes. They aren’t going to let anything bad happen to us. ”

“Promise?”

Julie smiled at Johnnie. “Promise.”

Even though she’d promised, Johnnie still was reluctant to let go of what he obviously knew was the only thing keeping him alive. Finally he lifted his arms up just enough for Wolf to grab both of his wrists and easily lift him up and out of the water and into the boat. Julie breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the boy hadn’t been terribly heavy, she was exhausted and the burden of knowing he was relying on her to keep him alive had been a heavy one. She looked up at Patrick.

“Your turn, Julie. Lift your arms.”

She treaded water and looked at the boat dubiously. It was a rubber raft, the kind she saw on documentaries about SEAL training. There was no way she’d be able to climb over the sides without help. She wanted out of the ocean more than anything, but wasn’t sure how to accomplish it.

“Uh, you guys wouldn’t happen to have a ladder would you?”

Patrick smiled down at her for the first time since he’d arrived, as if she was a shining ray of sun in the rising morning fog. “Nope. Give me your hand.”

Julie sighed. He was smiling, but his words were obviously an order. Still not meeting Cookie’s eyes, Julie lifted one hand toward Patrick. He immediately grabbed hold of her wrist in a grip she knew she wouldn’t slip out of. He had her. She was safe.

“Give Cookie your other hand. We’ll lift you over the edge. No problem.”

Julie looked at the other man for the first time since the boat pulled up next to her. She bit her cracked lip. Hell. He was holding his hand out toward her.

When their eyes met, he said simply, “It’s okay. Trust me.”

Shit. She raised her other hand and felt it, too, grasped in a secure grip. Before Julie could even think about how they were going to get her into the boat, she was there. The two men had lifted her as if she weighed five pounds instead of over a hundred. Then she was in Patrick’s arms.

They’d set her on her feet on the bottom of the boat, but her knees had immediately given out. She would’ve crumpled to the floor, but Patrick was there. He wrapped his arms around her and eased her down, still holding her tight. Julie could feel the boat moving, but didn’t lift her head. She was exhausted. She felt as if she could sleep for days.

Knowing she had to do it before she either lost her nerve or passed out, she raised her head to look for Cookie. She found him driving the boat, but alternating between watching where he was going, and looking down at her and his Commander.

“Thank you,” Julie said without breaking eye contact with Cookie. “Thank you for coming to get me, for being patient with me. I know I was a bitch, and probably the worst rescued person you ever had to deal with. I was a selfish cow and I’m sorry. You probably don’t believe me, but I’m working on being a better person. I swear, I’m not the same woman you met in Mexico.”

“I know, and you’re welcome.”

“You know?” Julie asked, surprised and confused.

“Yeah. Hurt wouldn’t put up with the bitch I met in Mexico. And since he likes you a heck of a lot, I figure you must’ve used what happened to you to better yourself.”

“You’re not pissed at me? I was horrible. And I also heard that you married Fiona…I don’t—”

“Julie. Stop. Do I think you and Fee are ever gonna be best friends? No. Are we suddenly gonna go out and get manis and pedis together? Hell no. But I can appreciate that you were under a lot of stress while we were in that hellhole. Don’t screw Hurt over, and we’re cool. All right?”

Julie nodded and buried her head back in Patrick’s neck. “I’m not going to screw you over,” she told Patrick in a low voice, “but I can’t promise to never be a bitch again. I think I have the gene. It’s buried deep, but it’s still there.”

Patrick chuckled. “I can handle your bitch gene.”

“Okay. Patrick?”

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Thank you for finding me. I was so scared.”

“You did good, Julie. Except for the part where you dove into the middle of a rip current when I specifically told you to stay out of the water. We’ll have to talk about that later.”

Julie lifted her head and looked at Patrick. She spoke softly so Johnnie wouldn’t hear. “There’s no way he would’ve survived. The lifeguards were already all in the water trying to help others. There wasn’t anyone else around to go after him.”

Patrick didn’t respond, but put his hand on the back of her head and returned it to his neck. He held her against him the entire way back to the beach. When they arrived, Cookie pulled the boat as close to shore as he could and Wolf carried the little boy out of the boat. The mother was there and grabbed hold of her child, who immediately started crying now that he was back in his mother’s sympathetic arms.

“Where’s your stuff?” Patrick asked Julie.

She lifted her head and looked toward where she’d left her stuff. She could see it over the edge of the boat and between the people milling around the crowded beach. “It’s over there, next to the three police officers.”

Wolf set off toward the men and Julie watched as he gathered up her stuff and headed back to the boat. Without a word, he climbed in and Cookie once again shoved the boat back into the water. The guys who were in the other boats followed behind. They’d been speaking with the lifeguards and the local police. Amazingly, everyone had been accounted for. Between the lifeguards and the SEALs, everyone was back on shore, safe and sound.