“Amen,” Emma chokes out.
Water covers my mouth.
I close my eyes and wait, surrendering everything I have to the understanding that bad things might happen, but God is always good. Because it’s not what happens in this world that matters but what happens next.
And I finally know where I’m going.
The water begins to lower.
“What’s happening?” she asks, breathing ragged.
“God,” I tell her, joy surging toward me. “Thank You, God! Thank You!” I kiss her loudly and lower her so she can stand on the bottom of the safe, though I keep her close so I can brace her if we fall again.
The water continues lowering until we hit something hard. My head bangs on the back of the safe once more, but it doesn’t knock the smile from my face.
Because I’m not sure how I know it, but I know it won’t be Heath on the other side when that door finally opens.
Seconds tick by in the dark silence, with just our ragged breathing to keep us company.
Muted voices carry outside. Someone yells, but I can’t make out what they’re saying.
A loud whirring fills my ears, so I do what I can to protect Emma’s face as I imagine a steel cutter slicing through the hinges.
And then light.
Air.
Sweet oxygen fills my lungs as the door is lifted. Sunlight blinds me, but then a man comes into view, blocking it so my vision can clear.
He’s grinning at me.
“Tucker, I have never been happier to see you,” I say.
“You too, brother.” My twin grins and reaches in to help Emma out and to her feet. She’s shivering, her entire body trembling.
“Here,” Riley offers Emma a towel, and she wraps it around her shoulders.
I sit up, and Bradyn tugs me to my feet. “You guys took long enough,” I joke.
“We had to find a boat,” Riley says. “Silas came through for us. Seems the two of you share a friend who was more than happy to help us get you out of deep waters.”
My cousin comes into view, and I surprise him by pulling him in for a hug. He’s wearing a wetsuit, his hair soaking. Which means he was likely the one who dove down to hook the safe up to the crane they used to pull us out. “It’s good to see you, cousin,” he says.
“You too.” I pull away, then take a deep breath. “I’m sad I missed the action.” Heath is kneeling on the ground, his hands zip-tied behind his back. The captain is right beside him, Tori on his other side, and—to my surprise—Mattheus Karver is right beside her. Wet and furious.
Seven of the guards are dead, the others kneeling.
“Did you find Delta?” I ask.
“Nova and Elliot went to look for him. We assumed he was here when he wasn’t on the plane.”
“You found Jesper, then?”
Tucker nods. “When you didn’t show up in Maine, we tracked his financials and saw a payment of half a million dollars had hit his bank account. Then we tried to trace his plane, but it was untraceable. Had Delta’s tracker not come on when it did, we wouldn’t have found you.”
Right as he finishes, Delta, happy and unmuzzled, bolts around the side of the ship. I drop to my knees as ninety-five pounds of furry German shepherd slams into me like a speeding bullet. He spins in a circle, rubbing against me and doing what I’ve always called his happy dance.
“I love you too, buddy. I know. I love you.”
