They cruised through the water, the wind tossing the forty-seven-foot boat around like a rag doll. They sped away from the shore, and Cody put the binoculars down, relying on his eyes to lead him to anyone who might be in danger.

His eyes, his gut, and the good Lord above. Those had always been his most trusted allies.

And maybe there was no one. Maybe this time his gut had steered him wrong.

“Nobody’s out here, sir,” a seaman named Jessup called out. “Wind’s getting nasty. We should head back.”

Cody planted his feet on the deck of the boat as water poured over the side. Nasty for them, yes, but deadly for someone in the water without a paddle.

Or maybe the paddle had floated away from somebody’s dock. Or maybe someone had already perished and they were too late.

As the next swell jolted the boat, the men at his side lost their balance, both reaching for the railing to steady themselves. Cody didn’t move an inch.

As the water lowered the boat back down, he spotted the faintest shock of red in the water up ahead. He lifted a hand, then turned to face the coxswain, who’d caught the same glimpse and now sped toward the object.

Could be nothing. But what if it wasn’t?

The red object had disappeared, and Cody took out the binoculars again and scanned the water. The white-capped waves dispersed, and there it was, only this time, Cody had the object in his sights. This time, it was clear that this was no piece of discarded plastic—it was a paddleboard, and there was a woman clinging to it.

The person on the beach had been right. There was someone in the water.

The coxswain maneuvered the boat closer to the woman, slowly—and Cody locked his gaze on her. When they were close enough, one of the men threw a flotation device. The woman reached for it, but a wave pushed the ring out of her reach.

“She looks tired,” Cody said, mostly to himself. How long had she been out here?

His heart kicked up a notch. He was trained for this, and yet there would always be a part of him that had to steady his own thoughts when it came to the ocean.

But then there would also always be a part of him that was filled with rage when it came to these watery depths. A part that refused to let them win.

The seaman at his side tugged the flotation device in and tried again, but the brutal waves poured over the woman’s head, and the weight of the water pulled her under. Her hand slipped off the paddleboard, and she struggled to hold on.

The woman went under again, and after another wave, only her paddleboard surfaced.