Below The Surface

Below The Surface
Karen Harper

She surfaced from the depths of the sea…and was terrifyingly, inexplicably alone Briana Devon knows her twin sister would never deliberately leave her–but when she emerges from underwater, Daria and their boat have vanished. Fighting rough waves and a fast-approaching storm, Bree doesn't have time to question: if she wants to survive, she has to swim. Exhausted and terrified, Bree barely makes it to a tiny barrier island, where Cole De Roca, who has also taken shelter, revives her.Bound to Cole by the harrowing experience, she turns to him as she struggles to understand what happened to her sister. What was her twin, whom she thought she knew so well, hiding? What really transpired that terrible afternoon? And what secrets lie dormant…below the surface?

Karen Harper

Below the Surface

Contents

Acknowledgment

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Acknowledgment

Thanks to my great MIRA Books team.

I value your expertise and support:

Miranda Stecyk

Margaret O’Neill Marbury

Dianne Moggy

Donna Hayes

Craig Swinwood

Katherine Orr, Marleah Stout

and their great staff,

including Maureen Stead

and especially all the dynamic MIRA Books

sales staff!

And, as ever, to my greatest supporter, Don.

1

The Gulf of Mexico off South Florida

September 12, 2006

When Briana Devon surfaced, her boat was gone. Something—besides the fact that the gulf had gone rough since she’d begun her dive—was terribly wrong.

She struggled to keep her underwater camera and strobe from being ripped away by the waves. Her tethered plastic slate with its latex rubber pencil she used to make notes underwater smacked her face; she thrust it behind her.