Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Saylor.”
Saylor bolted awake, blinking in an effort to clear her vision. Zain slowly emerged from the blurriness; those amazing blue eyes focused on her.
He smiled. “That’s my girl. Do me a favor and try not to move.”
She frowned, her gaze finally adjusting to the low light — the cloud of dirt and smoke lingering in front of her. Waves crashed against the shoreline below, everything tilted off at a ninety-degree angle.
She swallowed, coughed, doing her best to take stock. “What…”
Zain maintained eye contact. “We didn’t quite make that turn.”
Creaks sounded around them, a loud screeching noise cutting above the other noises as the RV lurched a foot forward, jerking her against the seatbelt. Dirt sloughed away from the front end, falling a good fifty feet before splashing into the water .
“Greer?”
“Fine. Bucky, too, other than the bullet wound. He actually got thrown clear. Is out on a ledge bitching to Greer about how we owe him a new RV. Guy won’t shut up.”
She nodded, inhaling when the chassis shifted again, dropping them another foot. “I’m awake, so feel free to get me out of here.”
Zain’s lips pursed, his left eye twitching a bit. “I just need to make sure you’re not hurt before I get us both out, okay?”
She frowned. There’d been a rasp in his voice she hadn’t heard since he’d told her to run the other night when that squad had shown up. “Zain. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Everything’s fine.”
“Zain…” She reached over and cupped his jaw. “Tell me the truth.”
“Your seat’s wedged in too tightly for me to slip you out.”
She nodded. “Then, move it. I’m fine. I mean, I’m sure I’ll have a bruise where the seatbelt was, but nothing hurts.”
“That’s good. Really, that’s great.”
“But…”
“Remember Bucky’s trunk of weapons? Turns out he had a couple incendiary grenades in there, after all. They all scattered during the crash, and one’s wedged under your seat.” He paused, looking like he wanted to scream. “Pin’s missing.”
The words rattled around her brain for a moment before sinking in. “So, if you move the seat to get me out…”
“The whole thing’s gonna blow.” He leaned in, getting his face lover-close. “It’s okay. I just need to find another pin and replace it. So, hang in there.”
She nodded, again, faster than before, her racing heart making it hard to breathe. To stare out at the ocean without imagining all the ways this could end, crashing onto the rocks the least of her worries.
Zain gave her a quick kiss, then shifted over, slowly inching his way toward the back.
He’d gotten just out of her peripheral vision when the RV pitched forward, slamming him against the dash as the vehicle slipped, bumping down over a log — teetering toward the shoreline.
It rocked back and forth, sloughing off more mud before it finally settled, the rear end much higher than before.
“Zain.” She reached for him, squeezing his hand until he opened his eyes. Gave her a nod. “This is crazy. Get out before it’s too late.”
He shook his head, peeling himself off the dash. A bloody gash marred his temple, a fine line dripping down his face. “No.”
“Zain. Please. I can’t be the reason you’re killed. I can’t, I…”
He placed a warm, strong finger over her mouth. “We either both make it out, or we both go down. It’s that simple.”
She closed her eyes. Was this how she’d felt in the Zodiac?
Wondering if the next wave would kill her?
If she’d survive the storm only to die from blood loss or hypothermia?
She’d always imagined she’d faced it with fierce determination.
Sitting there now, Zain’s face a mask of unyielding resolve, she wasn’t quite sure.
A few tears slipped free before she drew herself up — held her chin high. “Then, what are you waiting for, soldier? Get that pin.”
“Hooyah.”
“What does that even mean?”
He smiled. “It means, I’m getting your ass out of this damn RV.”
He made a tentative shift to the left, stopping when it rocked the vehicle, tilting it up before it tipped back down. “Damn.”
“I think we’re past damn, but… Could we use something else?”
“Unfortunately, I left all my paperclips in my other pants.”
“What about a bobby pin? I’m still growing out a bad hair decision when I thought bangs would make my life easier.”
His gaze flew to her head. “Well, shit.” He ran his fingers through the front part of her hair, removing a small one from behind her ear. “Remind me to show you how impressed I am later.”
“Deal.”
“Okay. Hold still.”
She clenched her jaw, her chest heaving against the steering column. The waves crashed in the distance, a few crows cawing overhead.
Zain disappeared behind her chair, every slight shift fisting her hands a bit tighter around the steering wheel. Muffled grunts drifted up to her, a sudden lurch drawing a hushed cry from deep in her chest.
The chassis rocked, threatening to tip them over. Teetering on that lip like a damn seesaw. Time drew out, everything slowing until she wasn’t sure if the grenade had detonated and this was what dying felt like. As if the entire world was moving so fast, it appeared frozen.
Her seat wiggled, an eerie scraping sound cutting through the other noises before Zain popped up, the grenade clasped in his hand. He gazed down at the shore, then tossed it, doing his best to cover her as it tumbled through the air, disappearing beneath the next big breaker.
Zain held on, his heart thundering against her chest, his breath panting across her neck. He finally eased back after what felt like forever, staring at the rocks before chuckling. “I wasn’t sure if the pin would hold, but…” He dropped a kiss on her mouth. “You, okay?”
“I think I’ll need some new pants, but otherwise…”
“That’s my?—”
Shots.
Booming through the air.
Kicking against the back of the RV — rocking it dangerously close to tipping over. Return fire sounded a moment later. Deeper. Only one pop for their three.
“Damn.” Zain shook his head. “Those assholes from the truck must be alive.”
Saylor gave him a shove. “I still can’t move. Go. Help Greer. I’m not going anywhere.”
Zain frowned. “If the RV was on solid ground, I’d chance it. But one false move… ”
It’d go over.
He didn’t voice it, but she knew that’s what he meant.
“Everett.” Greer’s voice sounded from outside. “You need to get Saylor out of there. Now.”
Zain cursed under his breath. “What the hell does she think I’m doing in here?”
He carefully shifted over — yanked on her seat. It shimmied back as the RV creaked and groaned, far creepier than anything she’d ever heard on a ship. He kept working, slowly moving it as more shots rang out, the RV rocking, again, from the strain.
Saylor wiggled her ass, trying to move even an inch over, another dull roar echoing around them.
She pulled harder, slicing a few lines across her ribs when a shadow passed over a moment before Foster’s chopper swooped down in front, side door open, Kash hanging on the edge.
He started shooting, the muzzle fire flashing in the dull light, each report feeling as if it might shake the RV off the ledge.
Zain doubled his efforts, ignoring the way the vehicle slipped a few inches, the waves below looking more than a bit wild.
He muttered a curse, then yanked, finally sliding the damn seat all the way back.
It hit the stopper, jostling her against the seat before she fell forward, the seatbelt stopping her from continuing all the way to the rocks.
He lunged for her, bracing his arm across her chest. “I have to cut the seatbelt, but I promise I won’t let you fall.”
She nodded, gripping the arms, wondering if she could bore her fingers into the fabric when Zain slid his knife beneath the belt, slicing it in one smooth flick.
She jerked against his arm, a startled yelp clawing free before he tugged her against his chest, his breath raking across her cheek.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathed him in. “You’re insane.”
He chuckled. “It’s something we have in common.” He eased her away. “You ready for the hard part?”
That had been the easy part?
She bit her bottom lip. Nodded. “Let me guess. The only way out is through the back.”
“Can’t fool you. We’ll need to go very slowly.” He paused. “Unless it starts to go, then, climb like there’s no tomorrow.”
Because there wouldn’t be.
She didn’t say that out loud, just took a breath, when Kash appeared in the busted rear window, the downwash from the helicopter scattering the photos across the interior.
Kash held up his fist, looking at something on the side of the RV before readying a rope. “I swear, we leave you two alone for five minutes…” He tossed in the line. “Normally, I’d say one at a time, but…”
Zain merely nodded, wrapping one harness under her arms before securing his. “No matter what happens, keep everything in tight.”
Zain twirled his finger, and the line pulled taut, slowly inching them up.
They climbed as best they could, scrambling over cushions and debris.
Making good time when the RV shifted. The back tipped up, nearly knocking Kash off the bumper before it surged forward, the floor dropping out beneath them.
The entire ledge gave way. Mud and rocks sloughing off — sliding down the cliff in a river of dirt and debris.
Metal screeched across gravel, the engine whining in the distance.
Glass shot through the interior as the windows smashed against the rocks, everything rushing past in a nauseating blur.
Zain wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head into his chest as the noise rose into an ear-piercing roar before abruptly cutting off.
Everything paused, just a few branches cracking below them before the RV hit the rocks, exploding in a thunderous boom. The line twirled, spinning them a few times before Foster hauled them up and over the edge, setting them down on that bend in the dirt road.
Kash rushed over, giving them each a quick pat down after helping them out of the harnesses. “Sheesh, way to give me a freaking heart attack.”
Zain sighed. “You should have tried being inside the RV.”
“Maybe next time. You guys, okay? I need to grab Greer and Bucky before Greer shoots the guy in the ass.”
“We’re good.”
“Chase’ll be the judge of that. And you’re all getting checked out at Providence, so make peace with that now.”
Zain rolled his eyes as Kash jogged off. “Do me a favor? Don’t scare me like that, again.”
Saylor elbowed him gently in the chest. “You’re the one who insisted on staying.” She leaned in, kissed him. “Thank you. And not just for saving my ass.”
He slipped his hand behind her head. “Like I said. You’re stuck with me.”
“I suppose there could be worst fates…”
“Remember that when I’m still doing patrols in the middle of the night.” He looked up as the helicopter soared over, Greer and Bucky already onboard. “Our ride’s here.”
He helped her up, tucking her hair behind her ear. “A bobby pin. Stay close. I’m feeling unusually protective.”
She tiptoed up, brushed her lips over his. “That thought might be scarier than being trapped in the RV.”
“Probably.”
“I’ll stay close. And once your teammates stop obsessing how we almost died, again, we need to figure out what Bucky uncovered. Because this feels like it’s reaching the boiling point, and I’m not letting Watson escape, again.”