Nerd In Shining Armor Part 5

"What are we going to do?" The tremble in her voice was more p.r.o.nounced.

He could only see one option. "Can you swim?"

"Swim?" Panic edged her words. "What do you mean, can I swim?"

"Can you swim?" He was yelling, but he couldn't help it. If she couldn't swim, he didn't know how the h.e.l.l they'd survive, because he didn't think he could get them both to sh.o.r.e. He steepened the descent and cut the speed. He could see whitecaps now.

"Yes, I can swim! Are you telling me we have to land in the water?"

"I don't see any alternative." He clenched the wheel, clenched his teeth, even clenched his toes. If there was a coral reef just under the surface, they were done for. "I'll try to put it down as close to that beach as I can get without running into the cuff. Once we hit the water, we-"

"Hit the water? Can't you just settle the plane gently down into the water?"

"Look, this is not the f.u.c.king Millennium Falcon, okay?"

"Don't get all mad at me! I'm not the one who got us into this."

"No, it was your precious boyfriend Nicky, wasn't it? What did you ever see in that slick talker, anyway?" The water drew closer.

"He seemed very nice! I suppose you knew all along that he was a murderer, because you're so smart. Tell me, Mr. Smarty-Pants, if you didn't trust him, why did you come on this trip?"

"Because Matt asked me." G.o.d, they were coming in too fast, the water skimming along underneath them. He worked with the flaps, hoping that would help. It seemed to, a little. "And because I thought-"

"What? Oh, Jackson, we're going to die, aren't we?"

"I don't know." But he thought they might, so he decided to tell her. "I came on this trip mostly because of you. I thought I might be able to help you when Brogan broke your heart."

"That's so sweet. I take back calling you Mr. Smarty-Pants." Her voice was thick, like she might be crying. "You are smart, though, and I admire that. And you've always been nice to me, especially on this trip, when I was scared."

"I'm sorry I'm not a better pilot."

"You're doing your best."

"Okay, I'm going to cut the motor. We'll go down pretty fast after that. Once we're down, get out of the plane as quick as you can and start swimming for the beach. Don't try to find me first. Just start swimming."

"Okay. Same with you. Just start swimming."

"And you're sure you can swim?"

"Yes." She choked back a sob. "Every kid in the Hollow learns to swim."

"Good. Cover your head with your arms." He cut the motor.

Waiting for the impact was horrible, and it seemed to take forever. Genevieve had time for plenty of regrets and prayers and loving thoughts for the mother and brother she might never see again. Would the plane never land?

Then it did, and she wished it hadn't. The water had no give to it, and they hit so hard the windshield cracked. She tasted blood and knew she'd bitten her tongue.

Still, she was alive.

"Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here!" Jackson shouted.

And thank G.o.d, so was Jackson. As water poured in from the open cabin door, she struggled to unfasten her seat belt.

"Come on, Gen!" Jackson shouted again.

"I'm trying!" She concentrated harder on the seat belt as the water level in the c.o.c.kpit rose almost to her knees. At last the seat belt came free. Then she couldn't think what to do next.

Jackson was already on his feet. "Through the back door, d.a.m.n it!" He started to lift her out of her seat.

"I'm going!" s.h.i.tfire, she didn't want him worrying about her. He'd said it would be every man for himself. She waded through the plane to the open door, took a quick look to make sure she knew where the beach was, and realized she'd lost her right contact. She shut her right eye and looked through her left.

"Go!" Jackson yelled in her ear.

"I'm going!" The beach still seemed much too far away. She was used to swimming for enjoyment, not distance. Oh, well. She launched herself into what she prayed weren't shark-infested waters and starting swimming as fast as she could.

The crawl stroke, her old reliable method of getting herself through the water in a hurry, was twenty times harder while wearing a dress, jacket, and high-heeled sandals. But stopping to take them off could leave her a sitting duck for Jaws and all his relatives. She kept going until her arms ached and her lungs burned. At least the water was warm, but after a while she forgot to be thankful for that because her body was in such agony.

Finally she switched to the breast stroke and squinted through her left eye again. The beach didn't appear to be much closer, d.a.m.n it. Maybe she should just drown and get it over with. Then she wouldn't care what ate her.

"First one to the beach gets a Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino!"

Treading water, she turned her head and saw Jackson bobbing about two yards away. Without his gla.s.ses on. "Can you see?"

"Sort of." He swam a little closer. "At least I recognized you."

"Very funny." Treading water like this let her catch her breath, although she didn't want to think of what could be circling her, waiting to move in and take a big juicy bite. But as long as she was taking a break, she might as well work herself out of her shoes. "Did you lose your gla.s.ses?"

"Nope. Tucked them inside my underwear."

She a.s.sumed that meant he wore tighty whiteys instead of boxers. Knowing Jackson, that figured. She nudged one shoe off and glanced back to where they'd left the plane. Nothing but water. "The plane's gone." She felt even more vulnerable now that their link to civilization had sunk beneath the waves.

"I know. Come on," he said. "Race you to the beach."

"I'll be lucky if I get to the beach. Couldn't you have landed a little closer?"

"I should have, huh? I totally forgot that the water taxis aren't running at this hour." He grinned at her.

"Jackson, did you take a blow to the head? In case you haven't noticed, we're in a heap of trouble here."

"I suppose."

"You suppose? First there's the swim to the beach, where we might either drown or be gobbled up by sharks. Then once we get to the beach we have no supplies, no flares, no nothing." And no shoes for her, now that she'd kicked off the second one. But she was used to being barefoot.

"Yeah, but did you notice that we're not up in the air anymore?"

"Well, sure, but-"

"I landed the plane! And I didn't kill us! Gen, that's awesome."

"I guess it is."

"I can hardly believe I did that."

She'd never noticed that his eyes were blue, maybe because they were usually bloodshot and covered by smudged lenses. She'd have better luck finding him a girlfriend if she could get him into contacts. Then again, maybe he looked better because one of her contacts was missing. She closed her right eye and used only her left. And there he was, still fairly date-worthy.

"Are you winking at me?"

"No. I lost one contact."

"Oh. For a minute there I thought you might be trying to hit on me."

She knew he was joking, and yet something in his voice told her it wasn't totally a joke. Before the plane crashed he'd said something about coming on this trip so that he could help her. Was it at all possible that Jackson had a crush on her? Now, that would be awkward.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get moving."

"Okay." Taking a breath, she started swimming toward sh.o.r.e again, and not having her shoes helped considerably. She would make it, d.a.m.n it.

But distressingly soon her arms began to ache again and she grew short of breath. She switched to the breast stroke and then the side stroke, always aware of Jackson swimming steadily beside her. Whenever she slowed, he slowed. He was keeping pace with her. She just wasn't sure she'd be able to keep pace with him.

They needed to discuss it. She stopped swimming and began treading water again.

He noticed immediately and followed suit. "Need a break?"

She nodded, too winded to speak. But he didn't seem winded at all. She'd never have guessed he'd be in good physical shape. She'd a.s.sumed that he spent all his time in front of the computer and never got any exercise.

"You can make it, Gen," he said.

She liked the way he'd started calling her Gen instead of using her foil name. It made them seem closer, like buddies, and right now she needed that feeling, because he was her only hope. But she didn't want to put him in more danger because she wasn't up to the challenge.

"It's not much farther," he said.

She glanced toward sh.o.r.e and was even more discouraged when the vision in both eyes was blurry.

"I lost my other contact."

"When we get there you can wear my gla.s.ses."

His gentleness made her want to cry. "I'm not sure I'm going to get there," she said. "I'm so tired." She looked at him with a mixture of admiration and frustration. "How come a brainiac like you swims like an Olympic athlete?"

He tread water and gazed at her. "Nerds work out, too, you know."

"You belong to a gym?" She couldn't picture it.

"No. I have a whole setup at home. I work out when I'm thinking about a project, and since I'm usually thinking about a project, I work out a lot."

"Well, I don't work out at all, and I'm fading fast. I want you to go on ahead."

"Like h.e.l.l."

"No, really, Jackson. Don't be n.o.ble. You said that when we left the plane we'd both have to fend for ourselves. That's the way it should be."

"That was just to get you started. I never planned to abandon you."

And she didn't want him to, either. But he might have to, for his own good. She wouldn't drag him down with her. "Look, it's stupid for both of us to drown or get chewed on by sharks. You go ahead and I'll either make it... or I won't."

His expression tensed. "Do you imagine for one minute that I'm the kind of guy who would leave you out here?"

Until now, she'd never thought about what kind of guy he was, and he was surprising her at every turn.

"I know you wouldn't want to, but be realistic."

"Are you done in? Is that what you're saying?"

"Not completely, but close."

"Can you float okay?"

"Jackson, I want you to-"

"Can you float?"

The edge to his voice took her aback. That was twice now he'd shown a tough side she'd never imagined good old Jackson would have. The first time was when he'd demanded to know if she could swim. She was beginning to realize that if she'd said she couldn't, he'd have tried to land the plane on the top of the island, no matter how impossible it had looked. For whatever the reason, he'd appointed himself her protector.

"Yes, I can float," she said.

"Then get on your back. I'm towing you in."

"No. That will take twice as much energy, and I don't care how often you work out, you're going to get tired."

His expression was like granite. "I'm not leaving you. You can either get on your back and let me tow you in or we can stay here and tread water until you're too exhausted to move, and then I'll tow you in, but by then I'll be more tired, so we'll both be at greater risk."

"You're not towing me. I'm swimming." And she set off, although every muscle in her body protested. d.a.m.n his n.o.ble hide. He was liable to kill himself trying to help her. She couldn't let him do that.

Chapter 5.

Jackson swam beside her, painfully aware of her gasping, flailing struggle to make it to sh.o.r.e. But she had grit, and she wasn't about to let him help her until she couldn't move another muscle. Thank G.o.d they were getting close to the beach and the swell of the incoming waves lifted them toward the water's edge. They would make it.

Then, without warning, she sank.

He dove under the water, eyes open, and saw her gliding slowly down toward a bed of coral, her muscles limp. He got to her right before she reached the coral, which looked sharp as gla.s.s. Hooking an arm beneath her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, he surged upward, dragging her with him.

When they broke the surface, they were both sputtering and coughing. He figured as long as she was making noise, she wasn't going to drown on him, so he started swimming with one arm and pulling her through the water with the other. Stupid, stubborn woman.