Golden Angel: (Broken Angel #5) by L.G. Castillo

and he fell back from the velocity, Jeremy knew something was wrong.
    And when everything grew black and Leilani’s muffled cries called to him, he knew he’d lost everything.

13
    “ H ey , Jeremy, wanna take out the bodyboard? I’ll teach you how to do the forward spin,” Sammy said.
    “Not now, buddy.”
    “How about snorkeling? I brought an extra mask and fins for you.”
    Wiping her surfboard, Leilani shook her head. Sammy was doing everything he could to snap Jeremy out of whatever was eating at him. She was surprised Sammy had been able to drag him out from the cottage he’d rented and to the beach. They’d had to bang on the door for ten minutes before he’d bothered opening it. When he had come out, he had squinted, holding a hand to cover his eyes as if he hadn’t seen light in days.
    Something had happened at the bar that night, and it was more than Kai knocking him out in one punch. All morning Jeremy had stared out into the horizon, pretending to watch Sammy doing his bodyboard tricks.
    “That’s okay,” Jeremy said, keeping his eyes on the horizon. “Why don’t you show me that dropknee trick you said Kai taught you?”
    “You bet! Then afterwards, maybe you can try it,” Sammy yelled as he ran into the water.”
    “We’ll see,” Jeremy mumbled.
    Her heart sank. She wished she knew what was wrong. Maybe it had something to do with that girl, Naomi. He had been all sad and mopey over her when she’d first met him years ago.
    This time it was worse. He looked awful. He was pale, unshaven, and his eyes were dull. He’d lost that special spark that never failed to draw her to him.
    “Way to go, buddy!” Jeremy gave a half-hearted yell.
    She smiled softly as she gazed at him. Even when he was down, he wanted to be a friend to Sammy.
    If Naomi had anything to do with Jeremy looking out of it, the chick was an idiot.
    How could anyone want to hurt him?
    Yeah, she’d been pissed that he kept thinking of her as some pimply teenaged girl, but when Kai had knocked him out, there was something about watching him lying there so helpless. It had made her so mad, she’d chewed Kai out and chased him out of the bar.
    After she’d helped Jeremy up and called a taxi, she’d thought Jeremy would at least be little mad about the situation. He hadn’t said a word to her. He had just mumbled his address to the driver and stared out of the cab’s window.
    She’d tried teasing him by telling him that she’d have to give extra hula lessons to pay for the cab ride. There had been nothing, not even a smile. And when they’d pulled up to his place, he’d tossed a couple of fifty-dollar bills to the driver and instructed him to take her straight home.
    She sighed. She wished he would talk to her. They used to talk all the time before he had left. She couldn’t help him if he wouldn’t tell her what was going on.
    “All right, that’s it.” She plopped her board on the sand and marched to him. Standing in front of him with hands on hips, she let him have it. “What’s wrong with you?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Uh-uh, I’m not buying that ‘nothing’ business. Come on.” She reached for his hand, tugging it.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Ugh, you’re so heavy. Help a woman here and get on your feet.”
    To her surprise, he obeyed. He slowly unfolded his legs and stood, keeping his eyes on the horizon.
    “Look at me.”
    “Why?”
    “God, you’re stubborn. Sammy, we’ll be right back!”
    When Sammy waved to acknowledge he’d heard them, she poked his arm.
    “Walk.”
    “Walk where?”
    “It doesn’t matter, just walk with me.”
    They walked for a few moments in silence. She waited, hoping that he would start talking. They were nearly at the end of the beach when she decided that she was going to have to prod whatever was wrong out of him.
    “Spill it.”
    “Spill what?”
    “Are you going to question everything I say? Seriously, you’re worse than Sammy. You know what I’m talking