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“Is Donal?”

“We’re fine!” Donal shouted back. And I thought his next words were something like “Just get us fucking out of here,” but he was muffled by a gust of air.

“We’re going to tow you back!” I bellowed the words slowly and they nodded, letting me know they’d heard me. I pointed toward the cabin of the boat and the two of them hurried inside. Cameron shot me a look over her shoulder, and I swear my heart went with her.

From there, Isla and I moved swiftly. The dangerous part was connecting the lifeboat to the cabin cruiser because of the positioning. I attached myself to a short tether so I could lean over to hook the tow to the smaller boat. Once it was done, we returned inside the lifeboat, and Bryan guided us toward Leth Sholas.

I stayed on the upper deck the entire trip home, my eyes locked to that cabin cruiser, every muscle in my body tight with tension. The air inside the lifeboat was thick, and none of my colleagues spoke, as if they knew I couldn’t handle the chatter. The only sounds were Bryan on the radio, letting Aodhan (who had volunteered to man the radio station tonight) know we were on our way home, and that medical assistance was not required at the moment.

At the moment.

Fuck.

It was the longest two hours of my life.

I didn’t wait for anyone. As soon as Bryan killed the engine, I jumped onto the dock and then back down onto the lower dock where I could get to Donal’s boat. The lights from the harbor offered some illumination as I ran toward Cameron and Donal as they climbed out of the cabin.

“Cameron!” I skidded to a stop, reaching over the boat for her. “Baby.”

Typical Cameron, she was grinning from ear to ear as she held out her arms to me. I hauled her up onto the dock and wrapped myself tightly around her, probably squeezing her too hard. The familiar feel of her body against mine helped slow my pulse. “Fuck,” I bit out.

“Thank you.” She hugged me hard. “I knew you’d find us.”

“Eh … does somebody want to help me out? I need to let my wife know I’m all right,” Donal said somewhere below us.

Reluctantly, I released Cameron, giving her a searing look of relief before I leaned down to help the older man from the boat.

He patted my shoulder as his feet steadied on the dock. “Thanks, lad. Thanks to you all.”

“You all right?” I asked belatedly.

“Aye, we’re fine. Just need to warm up.”

“Aodhan will get you a room at the Lantern. Let’s get you settled.” I slid my arm around Cameron’s waist, pulling her closer.

“Wait, my bag and my cart of goodies.” Cameron gestured to the cabin cruiser.

“You’ll get them tomorrow, lass,” Donal huffed. “Get home. Get warm.”

I pulled her with me. “He’s right. Let’s go, baby.”

I was quick as possible at the lifeboat station, getting Donal sorted with Aodhan and changing out of my gear. The crew told me to head home while they dealt with maneuvering the lifeboat into the station’s boat launch.

As soon as Cameron and I returned to her house, I hurried us upstairs to her bathroom and stripped us both naked. She was chittering and shivering while I trembled with adrenaline. It was a fucking miracle I’d found her considering it was like finding a needle in a haystack.

I blasted the hot water in the shower and tugged us both under it. She squealed with shock as the heat hit her cold skin, but I distracted her, rubbing shower gel between my palms to froth it up before I coasted it all over her body. I didn’t stop until her shivering ceased.

Her eyes fluttered closed and she swayed on her feet, so I made sure all the soap was off and then guided her out. Gently, I dried us with bath towels and then teased a brush through her wet hair. I blow-dried as much of the long blond strands as possible, so she wouldn’t go to bed with it wet. Cameron swatted impatiently at me, staggering on her feet with exhaustion, but I needed her to be warm, so I continued with my ministrations until I was satisfied. Then I pulled on the clean underwear and T-shirt I’d left here and helped Cameron into a pair of her warmer pajamas.

Only when she was tucked under the duvet and up against my warm body did I allow myself to relax.

She wasn’t shaking anymore and as soon as her head hit the pillow, I knew by her breathing she was out.

Emotion thickened my throat, and I pulled her even closer, snuggling against her back. I tucked my leg between hers and rested my palm over her chest so I could feel her heartbeat.

It was terrifying how integral this woman was to my existence.

And I thanked whatever fate was out there tonight that had led the crew straight to her. That had led me to her. As if maybe the universe gave a shit about me and knew that life didn’t mean much of a damn to me if Cameron McQuarrie wasn’t by my side.