She murmured back for his ears only, “I happen to like garlic. Next time try kimchi. I can’t stand the smell of that.”

He stepped back and shocked her by bellowing with laughter. Everyone stared at her. She stared straight ahead, stone-faced. She knew better than to celebrate her victory openly. To do so was to invite the kind of attention from her instructors that no trainee wanted.

They loaded up in Zodiacs, which were rigid inflatable rafts equipped with monster outboard engines that could flat-out fly across the water. The trainees were dropped one by one in the ocean and then left to float around for a while.

After a chilly half hour, Sherri heard an engine gun in the distance. The pickups had begun. The Zodiacs were moving slowly past each swimmer without stopping. Apparently, this was their chance to practice running pickups before they tried it at bat-outta-hell speed.

She spotted a Zodiac bearing down on her and put her arm up, angling her body properly. She recognized the face of the pickup partner peering down at her as the vessel approached. Oh, no. Grundy.

He leaned down, and as the Zodiac got nearly on top of her, instead of reaching for her arm, he slammed his open hand down on top of her head and shoved her under the boat. She scrambled frantically to back away from the propellers and to get out from underneath the rubber ceiling holding her down.

She opened her eyes and the salt water burned them like mad, but she spied light off to her left and kicked in that direction.

Except whoever was driving the boat cut the motor just then, which made it drift toward shore—to the left, right back over the top of her.

Crap! If she didn’t surface soon, she was going to be in real trouble. Anyone leaning over the edge to fish her out wouldn’t be able to see or reach her under here. She did her best to remember her training and relax, not burning up all her air at once, but the panic won.

I am going to die.

Chapter 17

Something big splashed into the water beside her. Rough hands grabbed her shirt collar and hauled her violently onto her back. And then she was out from under the Zodiac. Her face popped up above the water, and she dragged in a frantic breath.

Hands unceremoniously grabbed her rear end and shoved, and more hands grabbed her from above and pulled her into the Zodiac. A wet instructor flopped onto the deck beside her. Peevy.

Well, shit.

“Make me go into the water again after you, girlie, and that’ll be the end of you,” he growled.

She didn’t have the air or energy to do more than nod.

Smitty appeared above, leaning over her. “What the hell happened? You’re a better swimmer than that.”