Beyond the Sea Read Online Free PDF Page A

against the sandy bottom. Crawling onto solid ground, he saw Troy on his back, his heels dug into the sand as he wrenched Brian to safety. With a muscular arm around Brian’s waist, he helped drag the suitcase to the palm tree.
    “ We need to take shelter!” Brian jerked his head left and right, ignoring the pain that shot down his neck and made his eyeballs almost explode. He squinted at what was left of the plane. It looked like nothing more than a child’s broken toy against the towering cliff face.
    Hell, Paula. Should have been me.
    Brian blinked. The passenger was talking. He tried to focus, staggering in the gusting wind. Rain streamed from Troy’s brown hair and over his tanned face. His teeth were very white and straight, and wait, he was still talking. Brian shouted, “What?”
    Then he was flying, actually lifted off his feet. The air slammed from his lungs as he hit the sand, tasting grit and blinking it from his eyes. He threw out his hands, grabbing hold of Troy’s bare foot.
    They clutched each other and the suitcase, crawling. “It’s getting worse! Holy fuck!” Troy yelled. With shaking hands, he nudged Brian along. “Over there?” He jutted his chin toward the base of the cliff. Hyperventilating, his chest rose and fell rapidly.
    Brian nodded, which sent a fresh knife of pain through his skull. They needed shelter against something solid, or surviving the crash would be moot. With the emergency pack and suitcase, they crawled along the tree line and then beyond it into the jungle, hoping it would be safer away from the shore.
    Sticking close to the jutting cliff that apparently extended across the end of the island, they found a little cave where the rock seemed to be cleaved in two. The cave barely covered their heads, but they were able to jam themselves and their cargo into the crevasse. Knees to their chests, they huddled together. Troy trembled, his teeth chattering. The uneven stone ground dug into Brian’s ass, and Troy’s elbow was jammed against his ribs.
    But his passenger was alive, and Brian closed his eyes, bone-deep grateful that he hadn’t failed in that, at least.
    As the wind grew from a howl to a scream, they both shivered. He heard Troy muttering a prayer over and over, and hoped it would be enough for both of them.

     
    Jolting awake, Troy jerked his head from his knees. He blinked at a world of green—nearby trees and vegetation. A jungle.
    The memories stormed back, explaining why he was hideously uncomfortable and more tired than he’d ever imagined he could be. Why he ached, starving and soaked, wedged next to a stranger in an opening in a rock wall. His sodden sweatpants clung to him, and he pulled at the damp cotton of his T-shirt.
    Thirsty. Fuck, so thirsty. He reached beneath his collar for the plastic water bottle he’d shoved down his shirt to keep it from being blown away. After gulping down the rest, he realized it had not only stopped storming—it had stopped raining too.
    It was quiet.
    After the relentless howl of the storm, the stillness was eerie. Water dripped from leaves. Birds chirped. Beyond the bent and ragged tops of the palms and leafy trees he couldn’t identify, the sun was a diffuse light low in the sky behind a wall of steel cloud. But the terrible darkness seemed to have passed. The storm was over.
    Troy turned to Brian beside him, their arms sweaty where they were squashed together. “Hey—”
    Heart plummeting, he inhaled a jagged breath, scrambling out of their little hidey hole. God. Please no. Mind reeling, he stared at Brian’s open hazel eyes and the vacant expression locked on his face.
    Fuck, he can’t be dead. He can’t be dead! Don’t leave me alone!
    “ Dude, are you okay?” His voice scraped out of his raw throat. “Brian?” He touched his trembling fingers to Brian’s bare forearm. His skin was cold and clammy, and he didn’t move. “ Brian ?” This time he shook Brian’s arm, expecting him to topple over