Riley held onto her as long as he could. The fast moving water yanked them apart. He crashed into a rock.
She went under.
He never saw her come back up.
“Storm,” he called out. A wave hit him. He swallowed a mouthful of water. Choking, he coughed. “Storm!” He called again and again until he grew hoarse.
The icy water stopped the burning in his shoulder. It did nothing for his aching heart.
He leaned his head back, looking at the sky as the river had its way with him.
Floating and spinning in the current, he lost track of time.
Gray shadowy fingers inched out the sinking sun. Darkness crept in.
Fuck! What a way to die!
He slammed into a sharp rock. Dragged down, he went below the surface. Instinctively, he held his breath, waving his arms. Fighting to get air, Riley bumped into something soft. It grasped at him.
Storm!
Riley flung out his hand, catching her. Yanking her, he dragged them both up.
Clutching him, she sucked in a breath. The sound rent the air. He struggled with her, each gasping.
With the last of his strength, he clamped down harder on her wrist. “Storm,” he whispered with what was left of his voice.
He kicked out, trying to stop them from being swept away. His foot connected with a rock, jarring him to a jerky halt.
His body spun. Then he slipped. The ride continued.
She must have sensed what he was trying to do; Storm wrapped her leg around his. It joined them closer and gave them more leverage.
Finally, he found another one. They banged into it, stopping them.
It took another ten minutes of floating for Riley to find sure footing. Helping her, he swam from one rock to the next before he could get to land and haul them both out.
They crawled over smaller rocks and reached solid ground.
Sucking in great big gulps of air, Riley collapsed beside Storm. She clutched his hand.
In slow degrees, his heartbeat returned to normal. Looking over at her still body, he realized she must have passed out.
Exhaustion nagged at him. But he couldn’t let it get the best of him.
Murphy and Echo were still in danger. Or dead.
This time, when he found Gerald Sr.—and he would—he’d kill him.
The bastard didn’t deserve to live anymore.
Storm woke with a start. It was dark. She was wet and cold.
Shivering, she sat up. “Riley?”
“You all right?” His voice was like music to her ears.
“I can move. You?”
“Same.” He came to her side. “Let’s get going.”
“Where are we?”
“Mile or two down, I think.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, she began to fathom how close they’d been to dying. “Echo? Murphy?”
“Sense anything?”
“Nothing.” That scared her.