Waterfall Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (Saltwater Kisses Book 8) (22 page)

He wouldn't leave me alone. He
wouldn't
. Leo loved me. He wouldn't do the thing I feared most in the world. He wouldn't leave me, especially not after telling me what he had done.

I needed to talk to him. I needed to tell him that I forgave him. This empty, hollow, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was terrible and all I knew was that I wanted him safe. I didn't care what he had done anymore. I just wanted him back with me.

I closed my eyes, the sun now to bright to look at. I was so tired. After Leo's radio signal stopped, Murdoch immediately called the coast guard. I'd spent the rest of the night pacing the docks, waiting for a boat to find him. Unfortunately,
Speed Demon
was a very fast boat. There was a lot of territory to search.

I could hear the conversation of the command center over the sound of the water. It was still quiet on the docks with just the sea birds starting to cry that the day was here, so it was hard not to hear the searchers' conversations. Their words floated through my mind. I didn't want to understand the depth of their meaning, because nothing they said gave me hope.

“He was only going fifty knots, and the water was smooth...”

“We found the GPS transponder. It appears to have broken off and gotten caught in the current. It'll take some time to find him...”

“If he crashed going sixty-five miles per hour, that's still a hard crash...”

“He's an experienced captain, perhaps he bailed out in time...”

I thought again of asking Murdoch for the keys to the
Silver Lightning
, but I knew it wouldn't help. I wasn't trained and I'd just get in the way of the coast guard. They had asked me to stay here, to be a point of contact if they did find him. I couldn't just take a boat I didn't know how to drive out into the ocean with no idea what I was doing. Then they'd just have two people to look for. As much as I hated it, I had to stay on land. Even as useless as I felt, it was where I needed to be.

I turned away from the voices. I just wanted to wake up and find this was all a dream. A horrible, terrible nightmare of a dream. I wanted to just wake up in Leo's bed and find it was yesterday. No blackmail, no missing money, no fight, no crash.

“Here,” Murdoch said softly. I opened my eyes to see him holding out a blanket. I stared at it without moving and so he unfolded and carefully wrapped it around my shoulders. “You're shivering. You look exhausted. Go to the
Silver Lightning
and lay down. I'll come get you as soon as there's any word.”

“But...” I turned to look back at the command center the coast guard had set up to centralize the search. I didn't want to leave. What if something happened? I needed to be here.

I looked up into Murdoch's eyes, expecting to find hardness and anger. Instead, I found big brown eyes that were warm and gentle. There was a hardness to his face, but a deep well of kindness bubbled deep within his dark eyes. I'd always seen him as cold and intimidating, but in this morning sun, he had a warmth I hadn't expected. Especially from someone who bet all of our friends that Leo and I would never be a couple.

“He would want me to take care of you,” Murdoch said quietly, putting his hands on my shoulders and gently steering me away and toward the
Silver Lightning.
“You need to rest.”

“Okay,” I relented, letting my feet move without thinking. Everything in my brain was foggy and distant from trying not to think and worry, yet still failing. I moved on autopilot because if I thought about what was happening, I would break down.

I couldn't break down yet. Not until I knew for sure.

“Do you know why I bet that the two of you would never get together?” Murdoch asked after a moment. The sounds of the command center were fading to the gentle bumps and splashes of boats tied to a dock.

I shook my head. “No.” Something deep in my chest started to ache.

“It's because I have to win,” Murdoch stated. “I'm an ex gambler- that's how Leo found me. I used to work security at some rather disreputable gambling establishments. I was in a bad place until Leo got me a real job and out of gambling. He saved me.”

“I didn't know that,” I said, fighting against the lump in my throat. I wondered just how many others Leo had saved that I didn't know about. Knowing that Leo had helped him out of a terrible position suddenly made Murdoch's unwavering loyalty make more sense, but not why he wouldn't want me in Leo's life.

“He's a good man.” Murdoch looked at me, his eyes telling me that he believed it far more than words could. “That's why you were my last bet. I bet that you and Leo would never be a couple.”

My stomach clenched. He didn't think I was good for Leo.

“Why don't you want us together?” I asked, tightening the blanket around my shoulders and looking anxiously for Elijah. Suddenly, being alone with Murdoch didn't seem like such a good idea.

“I
do
want you together. You make him happy, and he deserves some happiness,” Murdoch replied. “But, you see, I have to win.”

We'd reached the boat. I clutched at the blanket and turned to face him, doing my best to be brave. I didn't think he would hurt me, but he was loyal to Leo, not me.

“I don't understand,” I said. “How can you want him to be happy with me, but bet that we'd never be together?”

“I made the bet, because if you didn't end up together, I'd win some money. I would win
something
. But money would just be a consolation prize,” he explained. He smiled, the planes of his face warming into something that was no longer frightening. “But, the two of you together and in love? That's real winning. It's better than money.”

“So, you bet that we would never fall in love, even though you really did want us to?” I frowned trying to figure it out. It was a little backward, but I could follow the logic. If he won the bet, he would be sad but rich. If he lost the bet, he'd be happy but poor. Either way, he won in some fashion.

“Yes,” Murdoch replied. He put his hand gently on my shoulder. “You should know, that as far as I'm concerned, I won. I got the outcome that I wanted.”

The world didn't seem quiet so cold and frightening for a moment. If people like Murdoch were rooting for us, how could anything bad happen? Leo had to be safe. “Thank you, Murdoch.”

He nodded and offered me his hand to get into the boat. I climbed aboard and settled into the passenger seat, wrapping the blanket around me. For a moment, I considered starting up the boat and searching anyway, but I was so tired I could barely see straight. At this point, I'd be more likely to run him over than find him. Murdoch waited until I was settled before nodding.

“I'll let Elijah know you're here, and I'll come get you as soon as there's any updates,” he promised. He smiled at me fondly. “I know it's hard, but try and get some rest. We'll find him.”

I yawned, my jaws cracking with the size of it. The sun was so warm now, and this seat was surprisingly comfortable... maybe if I just closed my eyes for a moment, it would all just go away...

C
harlotte...

Leo's voice hovered on the morning light, caressing me with warmth and feelings of home.

“Leo?” I whispered, blinking my eyes against the light and waking from sleep. Was he here? Was he safe?

I rubbed my eyes to find myself alone. No one was there, not even Murdoch or Eli. Just me, alone and dreaming in a boat.

I stifled a sigh and forced the tears back. I hadn't cried yet and I wasn't about to now. Crying didn't solve anything. Crying was for when things were finished and safe. Crying was for when there was nothing else to do. I wasn't finished yet. Leo wasn't finished yet. So I wasn't crying yet.

I looked down at my watch to see a little more than an hour had passed. There had to be some sort of update by now, but I expected that Murdoch was trying to let me sleep. It was a sweet gesture, but I needed to know where the man I loved was, even if they weren't sure.

I stood up and stretched my arms overhead, hearing a disturbing number of pops and crunches in my shoulders. The chair was not designed for sleeping in, but I at least felt a little more refreshed than I had an hour ago.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I had completely forgotten about it. I turned on the screen to see several worried messages from Bastian and Gabe, some work emails that could wait until later, and a game notification. I put it back in my pocket with a sigh. I hadn't been expecting a text message from Leo with his exact geographical coordinates, but I had hoped he had tried to contact me that way.

I jumped out of the boat and walked along the dock. Now that it was daylight, there was far more activity. Men in uniform buzzed around looking important the closer I got to the command center, but nothing seemed to have changed. The sky was the same hopeful shade of blue that it always was and the dark waves rolled in just the same. The same level of determination and activity, with no big smiles or bright eyes told me that there was nothing new.

I stopped and just stood there.
What would I do without Leo? What would any of us do?
My heart was slowly breaking, being squeezed in a vice with every second I didn't know where he was. I didn't know how long my heart would survive before it shattered.

I turned from the command center, thinking I would go find Murdoch, when I saw a boat was coming in. It was one of the coast guard vessels, but something about it drew my attention. I stared out at it, shadowing my eyes from the sun and wishing it was just a little bit closer.

Someone was standing at the bow of the ship. Someone with unruly brown hair and broad shoulders.

My heart knew before my eyes. It was Leo.

I ran to the edge of the dock, thinking of jumping off and swimming to the ship just to have those extra few moments with him, but I stayed put and just wished for wings.

Leo was alive.

All my anger disappeared in a breath. I didn't have time to be angry any more. Just time for loving him and having that man in my life. I wasn't going to let one stupid mistake five years ago ruin everything. Not when he was everything to me.

The big boat lumbered in far too slowly for my taste, and apparently for Leo's as well. Long before the boat was tied down or even fully finished stopping, he was jumping from the side of the boat and onto the dock.

I ran to him, throwing my arms around him and holding onto him for dear life. He pulled me into him, kissing my hair. I breathed in the scent of him, mixed with ocean and sweat, but taking every inch of him in with my senses to know he was really here and this wasn't a dream.

“Charlotte,” he whispered, pressing his lips against mine and making sure I was real, too. He was firm and real, and clinging to me as strongly as I clung to him.

That's when I started to cry.

“I thought I lost you,” I sobbed, tears running down my cheeks. Tears of relief mingled with tears of stress and concern. He was alive. He hadn't left me. We still had our whole future in front of us. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“I'll live. I thought I lost
you
,” he replied. His eyes went to my tears and he frowned, wincing at the motion. There was a large cut over his eye that was no longer bleeding, but looked painful. He put his hand to my cheek and wiped them away with the rough pad of his thumb. “I've never seen you cry before.”

I sniffled, and wiped the tears with the back of my hand, embarrassed. I wished I could be a little stronger. People were starting to stare at the rescued man and his bawling girlfriend. Leo was fine. He was the one who had just survived a boat crash, and if the myriad of cuts and bruises were any indication, he had far more reason to be upset than I did. He was alive and safe. There was no need for tears, yet I couldn't stop them.

Leo leaned forward and kissed me again. I could taste my tears in his kiss, salty and full of emotion. He pulled back after a moment, his blue eyes going to mine. “You are so beautiful.”

“Even when I'm crying?” I laughed, knowing that I was anything but beautiful right now. I'd been up for over twenty-four hours straight with just a quick nap. I hadn't eaten since dinner and I sorely needed a cup of coffee. There was no way I was beautiful with that on my plate and then adding tears, red eyes, splotchy cheeks, and a runny nose.

He touched my cheek, his fingers gentle and kind. There were tears in his eyes. “Always. You are always beautiful to me.”

When he looked at me like that, with the sun in his hair and his eyes so blue the sky paled behind him, I had to believe him. Even with my tangled hair and wrinkled t-shirt, I knew he was telling the truth. I was beautiful to him.

“Excuse me, ma'am,” a male voice said with a light touch on my shoulder. I turned to see a paramedic behind me. He looked at Leo. “Sir, we need to get you to the hospital.”

“Of course!” I said, leaping to the side and practically pushing Leo in the paramedic's direction. I had been so wrapped up in just seeing him that I had forgotten that he had just crashed his boat.

I followed Leo and the paramedic to the waiting ambulance, noting how he limped slightly on his left foot, how he cradled his left arm, the bruises already forming on the back of his legs and the myriad of cuts and scratches I was just now noticing.

He was banged up to hell and back. A lump rose in the back of my throat again, the panic of loosing him welling up within me. Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought of how close he must have come to dying.

The paramedic got him into the truck and strapped him into the ambulance.

“I want her to come with me,” Leo said, as I stood outside the ambulance door. “If she'll come.”

The request melted my sore heart.

The paramedic nodded. “Hop on in.”

“You couldn't get me off this ambulance if you tried,” I told the paramedic.

“I was afraid you wouldn't want anything to do with me,” Leo said quietly as I crawled inside and sat down next to him.

“What happened, Leo?” I asked, changing the topic. I wasn't ready to talk about that yet. I just wanted to be happy that he was alive for a little longer before having to be angry again.