Beloved Enemy by Elizabeth Whitaker

Author:Elizabeth Whitaker [Whitaker, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2023-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-three

Brush with death…

Antonio blinked a few times, but then focused. “I came looking for Enrique. He followed you down to the beach, señorita. Have you seen him?”

“But Enrique’s afraid of the water, isn’t he?”

Antonio kicked at the sand with his bare toes. “Yeah, but the stupid kid has a crush on you. He’d follow you anywhere.”

One minute Antonio was ready to drive her out of the country at gunpoint, the next he was reporting that his little brother was enamored of her. “I haven’t seen Enrique, but maybe he passed by when I was swimming. He wouldn’t go near the rocks with the undertow, would he?”

His eyes stretched wide with fear. “He’s been warned a million times, but like I said, he would follow you anywhere.”

She didn’t wait to hear more. She ran headlong toward the beach, casting off her sandals and robe as she went, ignoring the shards of sharp marble lacerating her feet. Her breath came in short, constricted gasps as her sore ribs expanded, then rebelled, and naked fear knocked at her heart.

“Enrique!” she shouted into the wind. “Where are you?” As she neared the ominous rock ledge, her fear became reality when she spotted Enrique’s tiny form near the very edge of the jetty. Heavy winds whipped his shock of black hair and puffed the cloth of his bright blue jacket. “Enrique!” she screamed, but the child couldn’t hear.

She knew the boy was terrified of the water, yet he leaned out too far and peered into the choppy abyss, searching for something…for her? She tried to run faster, her chest bursting with love and concern, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. And as she gasped for oxygen, events unfolded as in a dream—or nightmare.

An evil wind slapped hair into her eyes and lifted the sand like dust. As a cloud passed over the sun, the wind teased the water into foamy green peaks. It filled the back of Enrique’s little jacket, and in slow motion, as he lost his balance, the wind seemed to lift the child and drop him into the sea. His arm broke through the surface once, only to vanish again into nothingness.

God! Her outcry was a prayer, not a curse, yet it took a lifetime to cover the distance between them. As she dove under, she saw a surreal green light when she opened her eyes in the briny undersea world. She searched the bottom twice before coming up for air. She shook her head, clearing it to concentrate, then dove again, noting how the current pulled sideways, rather than out to sea. Swimming as hard as she could, she allowed the undertow to capture her body, carrying her closer to the bright blue bundle skidding along the seabed.

She hooked Enrique by the collar and swam for the sun. Her lungs begged for oxygen and her eyes stung from the salt, but when she finally pushed through to blessed air and blue sky, it felt like salvation.

She dragged her sodden burden onto the sand, knelt over him, and found no signs of life.

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