Chapter 2

2.

The listing cargo ship pressed down above me as I thrashed wildly, grabbing onto an exterior safety line.

The bone-chilling seawater seeped into every pore, numbing my limbs within seconds.

A red indicator light on the ship's exterior camera blinked, showing they had locked onto my position.

I used every ounce of strength to pull myself toward the camera, only to hear their laughter echoing through the waterproof speaker.

"Look at him flailing! I thought he said he could swim miles in open ocean!"

"Told you so! He won't even survive two minutes!"

It was Trevor and the rest of the team chatting as if watching a sitcom.

A finger tapped against a table, followed by Maren's smug voice.

"See how much everyone hates you? That's your karma, Garrett."

"Six months ago during deep-dive training, you pushed Trevor until he almost drowned."

"Two months ago, you refused to teach him tactical maneuvers and claimed he wasn't fit for the elite squad."

"And two days ago, you humiliated him and kicked him off the main team in front of everyone."

"Did you ever imagine the day would come when you'd be begging him for your life?"

Her venomous words were laced with deep, festering hatred.

Those incidents were completely fabricated lies Trevor had fed her to play the victim.

Yet she had swallowed every word and harbored this grudge, waiting for this exact moment to strike.

Trevor put on a fake, tearful voice right on cue.

"Maren, you're the only one who truly stands up for me."

"We can't go soft on him. He needs to pay for every single thing he did to me!"

To make sure I suffered, Maren turned on the video feed on the deck monitor.

She was sitting on Trevor's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.

When she turned her eyes toward the camera, they were ice-cold.

"Don't worry, baby. I'll make sure he dies a slow, agonizing death."

My fingernails dug into my palms until blood mixed with the saltwater.

"Maren, we've been together for ten years. You know damn well I'm strictly professional when it comes to training."

"What possible reason would I have to sabotage a junior recruit?"

The hurricane intensified, threatening to drag the cargo ship into the depths.

To survive, I had to clear up this deadly misunderstanding.

Maren remained utterly unmoved, raising her wrist to show her luxury watch to the camera.

"Take a good look. You only have forty minutes before the cartel's deadline expires."

"You have two choices: haul that ship to the border docks with your bare hands, or drown in the dark."

With the Category 3 storm raging, dragging a vessel by swimming was humanly impossible.

Both choices were a guaranteed death sentence.

Trevor sneered, reveling in my despair.

"At least the second choice lets you suffer a bit longer before your lungs fill with water, right?"

"Maren said that if you miraculously make it, she'll post the footage online and turn you into a circus freak!"

"With that sturdy body of yours, she'll sell you off to work private parties for rich older women to buy me designer sneakers!"

Greed and malice oozed from his face.

"That is, if you manage to crawl out of the sea alive."

Maren abruptly cut the feed, leaving behind one last cold statement.

"I already have the ship's GPS coordinates locked. If you don't deliver the cash on time, I'll send a private boat to pick up the crates."

"Don't worry. Everyone will make it out rich and happy, except you."

My heart plummeted into ice.

Submerged in the freezing water, my strength was evaporating rapidly.

If another major wave hit, I wouldn't last five minutes.

Without rescue, my only desperate gamble was to swim.

I closed my eyes and braced myself to fight the currents toward the distant border.

Suddenly, a loud siren echoed through the storm, and a booming voice cut through the rain.

"Coast Guard storm patrol! Final sweep before landfall! Signal with your lights if you are in distress!"