Rescued (Navy SEALS Romance Book 1) by Rachel Hanna Page A

power of the Pacific.

    S ometimes everybody does everything right and something still goes wrong. Sometimes fear gets the better of people and all bets are off.
    Mike was in the water when it happened. Heading to one of the rafts when a wave caught it and flipped it neat as a pancake. Some fifteen people suddenly found themselves bobbing in the Pacific too far from shore to swim back, no bottom to plant their feet on. The tourists in the other rafts, the one without the trained whale watching crew, began trying to get to them, convinced the lifejackets everyone wore weren't enough. Panic spread. Over the communications system Jake firmly but calmly gave instructions for those who could swim well to help those that couldn't, to hold to the side of the raft until they could be reached, to remain calm because they were all wearing lifejackets and would float.
    But, understandably in the still rough ocean, they panicked. And suddenly a savage businesswoman who might in everyday life be halfway pleasant, decided she was more important than the children in the group, more important than anyone else in the group and even if Tanner had wanted to put it down to terror, she'd still been angry and loud and screaming and at any rate, she climbed Mike like he was a flagpole and dragged him under.
    Not that they weren't trained in how to rescue. Or trained in how to handle the hysterical. But in the thrashing and keeping himself above water and keeping her more above water if she'd just paid attention, she managed to drive him into the side of the overturned boat and break his leg.
    So they rescued their own. Mike stayed there, seeing every one of them into the helicopter as the day wore on and the sea became rougher. Another storm was blowing in. Mike stayed in the water until the last of the whale watchers were taken aboard, bedraggled and still panicky, then motioned the basket down one more time.
    Tanner swore. "He's injured."
    Beside him Jake said, "That's our boy," and got ready to haul him onboard.

    T hings happen .
    Shit happens.
    But it made him think. Emergencies happened a lot more often for some people. Like Search and Rescue. And SEALs.

    M ike's leg was broken in three places. He'd had a couple tense moments he admitted when the substantial businesswoman had been pushing herself as far out of the water as she could get using Mike as her life raft.
    "It happens," he said, waiting for the ER doc to send him for casting or wrapping or whatever they were going to do. "My leg broke the instant she pole danced me. Controlling her after that was a bitch."
    Jake muttered something about just who the bitch in the situation had been.
    "She was scared," Mike said, not quite exonerating the woman but back to his usual stoic self. "I know better."
    "Than what?" Jake exploded. "Than to rescue the bi – woman? What were you supposed to do?" They called Jake "The Wall." When he paced, his muscled bodybuilder physique blocked out what they could see of the ER past the curtains. They didn't see the doctor coming back.
    Mike shrugged. "Dial it down. Maybe I need a refresher on water rescue."
    Which was like saying any of them needed a class on how to breathe, but Tanner just said, "Hell, that's play time for you, bro. We're supposed to pay for your vacation?"
    "Hell yeah. Me in the water, I'm gold to you landlubbers." He grinned, despite the fact his face was still slick with sweat from the pain. He ran a hand through his sandy hair even while the others heaped on the abuse, because seriously, landlubbers?
    But when he repeated he wanted to get back in the water and a refresher course never hurt, despite the rest of them telling him he should teach classes, not take them, the doctor stepped through the curtains.
    "Not either of those options for the next several weeks," he said, his singsong cadence making the medical advice sound like a taunt. "Mr. Hancock has broken his leg in several places. Let me show you, then outline the therapy, and