She sat, thinking through her options, what few there were for a good couple of hours before she heard a loud commotion on deck. Gunshots rang out but were quickly silenced and before she knew it, Hal was pushing his way through the small hatch that had kept her isolated in this small cabin.

"Hal!"

"Are you all right?" he asked briskly, moving fast to rip the layers of duct tape that held her to the chair. He spared a moment to kiss her soundly and she could feel the relief in him.

"I'm okay. You?"

He shrugged. "Good enough for now. I've taken out the crew, be we need to get off this boat. They've got others in the area and if we take the boat, they'll hunt us down." She was free and standing as he headed for the door. "The crew of this tub is supposed to check in with the speedboats every half hour. I made sure they'd just checked in before I took them out. That gives us a half-hour at most before the speedboats move in to see what's wrong. We need to be well away before then."

He talked briskly as he brought her up on deck, avoiding the areas where he'd hidden the bodies of the crew. He headed for the rail at the far end of the boat where the speedboats would have the least visibility. He'd studied their movements for a few hours before making his move. For one thing, he needed the light of day to make his escape a little easier on Casey. For another, he had to gather his strength. That knock on the head from the accident had hurt him more than he liked and whatever dope they'd injected into them both had made him sick.

"I think I should warn you, I'm not a good swimmer."

He kissed her quickly. "I'll be with you, sweetheart, but we've got to get off this boat. There's no other way."

He lowered her into the water to eliminate as much telltale splash as possible, then lowered himself down beside her. He set off away from the boat and toward the distant sh.o.r.e with a steady, strong pace, but she soon fell behind. He stopped and tread water, reaching for her.

She clutched his shoulders as they rode the swells several miles offsh.o.r.e. The boat was growing distant, but it wasn't far enough away to make him comfortable yet. Even worse, they were stuck out here in the middle of the ocean. She'd managed to paddle after him this far, but she was no Olympian by any stretch of the imagination.

"I'm sorry, Hal. I'm slowing you down. I told you I'm not a great swimmer."

"Not to worry sweetheart. I think I've got an ace up my sleeve."

He held her loosely, helping her tread water and conserve her strength. She was already shivering in the cold water, but luckily the summer sun had warmed it a bit and they could last for a while. At least the time it would take to get back to the island-he hoped.

"I can't imagine what you have in mind, but I've trusted you this far."

He smiled at her. "That's the spirit. One of the reasons my unit has been working together on Plum Island is so that the doctors can keep an eye on us while we train our new abilities under top secret conditions. One of the things we've been working on is a form of telepathy. Several of my guys can communicate with each other now and we're working on getting all of us up to speed with it, if at all possible."

"You can talk mind to mind with them? Holy c.r.a.p."

"Well, actually," he looked sheepish for a short moment, "I can't do it with any of the guys yet, but I've had some success with higher level animals."

Her attention was caught by a group of dorsal fins approaching rapidly from behind him. "You mean like sharks? I hope you mean you can talk sharks out of eating us." Her eyes widened in alarm as the fins made straight for them.

He turned his head and chuckled. "No, sweetheart, they're not sharks. They're dolphins. That's what I mean by higher level. Dolphins, Cas. Air-breathing, fast-swimming, intelligent dolphins. They're coming to help us. I called them."

Her eyes shot back to him and she finally acknowledged the fierce blue light shining from his eyes. Her shoulders relaxed a bit in relief as she saw that the fins did indeed belong to pretty, playful dolphins who, even as she watched, leapt up for a breath of air.

"I'm going to stay in communication with them and ask them to tow us to sh.o.r.e. They like to swim deep and can hold their breath much longer than we can, but I'll ask them to stay near the surface and pop up every minute or so, so that we can breathe. I think they'll do it. They like to play games and this is a new one for them."

The biggest dolphin of the group was closing in on them, spy hopping with one of his eyes so he could look them over before moving closer. He seemed interested in them and cautiously friendly, which was exactly the way she was feeling.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Some of her fear must have shown in her voice because he pulled her close for a quick kiss, squeezing her tight for a moment.

"I'm not positive, but it's worth a try, right? Now just give them a minute to check us out. I'll tell you when to grab on. These are wild dolphins so this could be a little tricky at first. Wait for my instructions, okay?"

"You're in charge, Hal. I trust you."

Those three little words meant so much to him in that moment. He wished he could stop and tell her how much her trust meant. This woman had followed him into peril and without any training or preparation, had weathered the storm like a real trouper. She was his match in every way, and if they lived through this, he was going to ask her to make their relationship permanent-or as permanent as he could manage.

He decided in that moment he was going to ask her to marry him and let fate decide how long they might have together. He knew he would never be happy again without her, so he might as well risk everything. He wanted it all with her. Marriage, a home in the suburbs that she could decorate all in pale yellow and white, maybe even some kids and a white picket fence. The whole nine yards-or as much of it as he could manage given the twists and turns fate had taken in his life recently.

"I love you, Cas."

He hadn't planned to blurt it like that, but it just came out. Oh, he'd said he loved her before, but never directly like this. The look on her face was his reward though, as her luminous eyes filled with tears of joy.

"I love you too."

His heart expanded and would have burst, but the moment was broken by one of the dolphins head-b.u.t.ting her hard in the back. She squealed and dug her fingers into his shoulders.

"Ow! I thought you said these guys were friendly."

He laughed, kissing her as his heart overflowed. But there was work to do and he had to focus.

"That was just a love tap. Don't forget that guy outweighs you at least three times over and is mostly muscle. He didn't mean to hurt you. He's communicating curiosity and fun."

"That is so cool," she breathed.

He let her go, letting her tread water on her own while he worked with the dolphin that approached him.

"It's about to get even cooler." His focus was on the dolphin and his friend that was coming up alongside Casey at his request. They seemed to want to play with them and he bathed their intelligent minds with thanks and caution about staying near the surface. They seemed to agree readily and were eager to set out for their new adventure with this odd human who could somehow speak with them.

"What's he doing?"

Casey's voice was rising in a bit of surprised fear as the dolphin's buddy sidled up next to her, peeping one eye out of the water to spy her.

"He's letting you know he's there and he wants to get a look at you. Just move slowly and let him investigate you." He stroked his hand over the dolphin he was working with. "Get ready now. Stroke his side, let him feel your hands on his skin. When I tell you, take a deep breath and grab hold of his dorsal fin down near the base and hang on. They'll take us down a few feet under the surface since we can move a lot faster that way. But they'll come up for air when we need it." He watched carefully as she stroked the dolphin that was at her side. "If you need to breathe before they surface, just let go and push for the top. You won't be that far beneath the surface and I'll come get you. Don't worry. I'll keep track of you at all times. If this doesn't work, we'll figure out another way to get to sh.o.r.e, okay?"

She sent him a brave smile and he had to hand it to her. She was obviously scared, but excited too and willing to trust him with her very life. That meant more to him than he could say. Even the men in his unit took some time before they formed such a deep bond through combat. But here was this beautiful woman, untrained, untried and willing to trust him with everything that was her. If he thought about it too long it would bring him to tears, he knew.

So he focused on the task at hand. The dolphins were surprisingly easy to communicate with. Each time he used his new talent, it seemed to get a little easier and he was glad of that now. These friendly, intelligent creatures might be the only chance they had at making it to sh.o.r.e in one piece. Sure, he could probably swim it, but he wouldn't leave Casey behind no matter what. He loved her too much.

"Are you ready, Cas?" He sent her a quick look to a.s.sess her readiness. She looked as ready as she'd ever be and the dolphins were raring to go. Now was the moment.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She tried to smile for him, but her teeth were chattering a bit too much.

"Okay, on three then." He counted them down, simultaneously communicating mentally with the sea creatures who were so willing to help them. He prompted her to take a deep breath and hold it right before they submerged and then the dolphins were off and running.

It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. The huge dolphins cut through the water faster than he would have believed, staying rea.s.suringly close to the surface as he'd asked. The big male that let him hang on for the ride communicated its enjoyment of this new game and inquired as to how he liked it.

He answered honestly with his joy and it seemed to please the dolphin, who moved a little faster after its friend. The rest of the pod swam alongside them, flanking and guarding below, before and behind in a protective move that made him wonder again at the intelligence of these masters of the ocean.

He signaled for a breath and the dolphins rose to the surface. He took quick stock of their location and was amazed by how much ground they'd covered.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm good. Man, that was incredible!"

Her enthusiasm brought a smile to his face as he shared her excited awe at the once in a lifetime experience.

"You're telling me. Ready for another go?"

She nodded and they repeated the procedure of taking a deep breath and diving beneath the surface with their new dolphin saviors. Within an hour, they were approaching Plum Island's rugged coast. The beach here was rockier than the groomed sand of Jones Beach or Fire Island, but the dolphins were able to take them pretty close before they had to say goodbye. Hal gave him their thanks and promise to return any favor he could should they need him. He didn't know how he could keep that promise, but his newly spooky friend Jeff had made him realize that sometimes the most improbable things really did come to pa.s.s.

He took Cas in his arms, towing her in as they faced the strong currents near the beach, but he could see she was beat. Physically and mentally, she'd been through the ringer today, and he was amazed she was still with him, ready for just about anything. Still, he enjoyed using his newly acquired strength to bring her the rest of the way onto the beach.

He knew once he set foot on dry land they'd be setting off all kinds of perimeter alarms, but he figured that was a good thing. His friends were on the island and they'd help him get her to a dry, safe place.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Jeff found them on the beach and signaled the rest of the unit to come help. Rick showed up first, laying his hands on Casey first, then on Hal, just to check if they were okay. Several anxious pairs of eyes waited for his p.r.o.nouncement.

"They're okay, just worn out."

"Even the Captain?" one of the men asked with surprise in his voice.

Rick nodded. "Even the Captain. Although his lady's temperature is somewhat lower than it should be. Let's get them inside and into something warm."

Several men lifted Hal in their strong arms while Rick took Casey, Jeff following closely behind. This woman was too important to their Captain and therefore too important to them, to let anything happen to her.

They took them to the mostly empty barracks where they'd all been staying and Rick shooed out everyone but Jeff, who wouldn't leave Casey's side for some reason. But all of them had learned not to question Jeff's newly weird ways. The guy had been spooky before, but now he was downright scary. He knew things about the future, and they weren't always good things.

Making a quick decision, Rick decided to treat Hal first. He knew the Captain would want to be awake to watch over his woman and even though he was a medical doctor, Rick didn't feel right stripping her out of her wet clothes when just a quick application of his newly acquired healing talent would revive the Captain.

"How is she?"

Rick smiled, realizing that Hal's first words would be concern for his lady.

"She's resting. Her body temp is a little low, but I'm about to take care of that right now. I figured you'd want to help." The mischievous smile he spared for Hal was wasted as their Captain stumbled out of his bunk, caring only that he reach his woman's side.

He was sopping wet, but Rick didn't argue with him as he began stripping off Casey's clothes. She was still unconscious, but Rick knew it was just exhaustion from their ordeal catching up with her. That and being stuck in the ocean for who knows how long.

"What happened to you two, Captain?" Rick took one side while Hal worked on her other side, fighting with sodden material that didn't want to come off her.

"Foreign agents got us. Syrian, or maybe Egyptian, I think. Took us out on a boat several miles into the Atlantic. They threatened to hurt her if I didn't cooperate."

"But you kicked their a.s.ses and escaped, right?"

Hal nodded grimly, wrapping Cas' bare upper half in a warm blanket before moving to fight with her wet jeans.

"They're dead, but there are more where they came from. Two speedboats full. Whatever we stumbled into in ancient Babylon, they want to know all about it and they're willing to kill to get our cooperation."

"We're hunted then." Rick's voice didn't sound all that surprised, just resigned.

"'Fraid so. But I think we have the skills to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. And our government is behind us. At least so far."

"Speaking of which, they've sent us a new team of scientists and specialists to hear our tale of woe and

help us figure out exactly what happened."

That was good news, Hal realized. It meant that they were not being abandoned by their superiors. His faith had been repaid.

"How did you get away from them?" Jeff was still there, his voice low and concerned. "I couldn't see that

far ahead, Captain. I'm sorry I didn't warn you in time."

Hal stood after he'd covered Casey's bare legs, nodding to his team doctor. "Do your thing, Rick." He turned to face the seer of the group. "Don't blame yourself, Jeff. You gave me time to prepare and try to

evade. That's more than I would've had without your warning. As it was, your warning probably saved her brother's life. He's my best friend and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that."

Jeff looked oddly touched, but said not a word. He simply nodded, the blue flare of his eyes eerie in the

twilight of the long room. Then he stepped out.

But he paused just outside the doorway to glance back. "Take care of your woman, Captain. She is important to us all, as is the child."

"Child?" Hal was shocked but Jeff kept on walking. "Wait a minute! What child?"

Rick straightened from Casey's side, an expression of awe on his face as he looked from his commander

to the woman who was now awake and watching them both.

"Your child, Hal," he said softly, his own gift flaring in his eyes. "Casey's pregnant."