In Embers (The Ember Series Book 3) by Madison Daniel Page A

admit. With a splash I jumped on the board with a failing confidence and tried with all my might not to fall off.
    The shadow swam closer , but I continued to ignore it. I had enough troubles going on in my forsaken life, I refused to let the possibility of becoming shark bait rattle me anymore than I already was. So, with teeth clenched and pure ignorance, I pushed forward into the rolling wave. It growled with ferociousness, spitting foam and mist all over me and my board. Another crash of water and I was thrown from my board. With my arms and legs flailing into the deep blue, I panicked. My eyes searched the scene trying to focus on any movement that wasn’t my own. In the distance was a lone sea turtle, swimming along unaware of my terror.
    Where was the shark I had seen just moments before? I spun around behind me still searching, still holding my breath. Nothing. Feeling a calmness settle over me, I began to swim to the nearby surface. Just as my head broke through the water, gasping for fresh oxygen, I was struck from behind. My surfboard slammed into my neck and then my head, making me see stars. Blood gushed from the back of my head and the waves washed it all around me. Dizzy and choking on water, I let the power of the sea push me toward the beach. My board had broken in half when it smashed into my skull and both pieces teased me as they slid onto the sand before I did. Holding onto my consciousness as long as I could, I reached out for the beach feeling my eyes fading to black. Something whipped the water behind me as if trying to avoid me at the last second. Quickly, I looked behind me and saw a long blue and gray shark slicing through the incoming waves. It slapped its tail ferociously trying to get away from me. It didn’t make sense. Why attack me one second and then run from me the next?
    “Ugh…” I coughed as my chest and arms finally hit the thick, muddy sand. The rushing wave pushed me up another ten-feet onto the sand before falling back away leaving me bloody and winded. Thankfully, I hadn’t passed completely out.
    “Wow, that was a sight. You should really think about going pro, Valentine,” a mysteriously familiar voice said from above me. I tried to look up , but my eyes wouldn’t focus on the shadowy outline standing above me. I reached out and the person stepped back from me and another wave slid along my body, smearing my blood all around me. The saltwater burned inside the slash on the back of my head. I tried to apply pressure to it with one of my hands.
    “Damn it!” I cursed, trying to focus my vision. I slowly made it to my knees as the mystery man spoke again.
    “I’m very disappointed in you. Very upset.”
    “What? Who the hell are you?” I coughed again. I knew that condescending tone.
    “Mr. Valentine, do you know who I am?” he asked, in almost a laugh. Suddenly, my sight cleared just enough to see the eyes of my interrogator. It couldn’t be…it had to be a dream. Devon Wahlberg, my old archrival, my enemy for life. Sam’s ex-boyfriend who tried to kill me. Sam’s ex-boyfriend who Asia just so happened to throw off a cliff over a year and a half ago. It couldn’t be him.
    “Devon?” I asked in a blur of memories. Is this who scared away the shark? An even scarier predator.
    “Close, but no.” Surprisingly, he reached down with a welcoming hand up to my feet, and I finally got my first good look at him. It wasn’t Devon, but close enough. It was his kidnapping scumbag brother, Avery. He looked almost identical to Devon, only with slightly darker blonde hair and a more aged face. The lines at the corner of his steel gray eyes proved he was the older brother. The same man who had taken Sam. The same bastard that had sworn revenge on me and anyone I loved.
    “Avery,” I cursed. The blood along my head had slowed to almost nothing, and I wiped the excess red from my neck and shoulders, ready for the worst.
    “Max,” he smiled, and crossed his arms.