Page 67 of Four Cards Exposed

She tried again, her brow furrowing.

“I take it something should be happening?”

“You try. Crank faster.”

Susan looked back at the ship. She seemed to be counting the seconds until they were thrown back onto the ship.

We’ll be crushed like a walnut.

James cranked—hard and fast, but nothing happened.

Fuck.

Is nothing going to go our way today?

James looked out at the side. Maybe they should take their chances in the water.

But Susan had another idea. She was on her feet already, her legs far apart as she made her way to the central area of the boat.

And then he saw what she was looking for—oars.

James staggered upright. By the time he reached her side, she had two oars through sockets he assumed were designed for this purpose.

“Wait for me,” she said. James heard the exhaustion in her voice, but her moves were sure as she hefted first one oar, then another, until they’d also gone through the sockets.

“On three,” Susan said.

James copied her moves, leaning forward and pushing on his wrists until the blades dipped into the water. He clenched his jaw tight to stop a ragged groan from escaping.

Bitter wind and rain pelted him. He watched Susan curl up onto herself as the water struck her, but she didn’t stop pulling.

For a long instant, it felt like they were going exactly nowhere. The small lifeboat stayed in place, regardless of how hard they pulled. And then, suddenly, as if led by a magic thread, the lifeboat moved forward.

Yes.

“Harder,” Susan whispered.

James tightened his hold on the oars—pulled as if their lives depended on it, which they likely did. His eyesight flickered, but still he pulled and dipped, taking strength from Susan, sitting in front of him, matching him pull for pull.

The radio on his hip crackled. “James. Tell me that’s you in that lifeboat.” Lorraine’s voice was softer than he’d ever heard it before.

Susan looked back at him. Her lips were cracked, her face wan, but a large smile crossed her face.

He smiled back at her.

They were going to make it.

21

* * *

Susan

While the Coast Guard worked to assist the rest of the passengers, she and James had been immediately bundled into the back of a large SUV.

Across from her, James leaned his head against the window, his eyes closed. Somebody had put a compression bandage on his shoulder. She had no idea how bad the wound was, but it’d been bleeding for a long time.

She watched the scenery fly by, not saying anything until they stopped outside something that was not a hospital. If anything, it looked like a farmhouse.