Chapter 38 #2
Was that why his mom had called before they’d been taken, and why she’d continued to call?
Since both of their phones were now at the bottom of the ocean, the first order of business upon returning Stateside, along with buying a new bed, was to purchase new phones.
As soon as Chris had powered his up, he was inundated with notifications of missed calls and voicemails.
“Yeah, that’s him. And you are?” Rory reached out to pet Bear as she asked for confirmation. Bear surprised her by waiting for permission to approach the stranger, and she’d given it.
She stole a glimpse at Chris, who was now heading their way.
“I’m Elijah.” The guy stepped around Bear. “Are you his wife?” He offered his hand.
“No.” One of these days.
“Can we help you?” Chris strode closer, removed his ball cap, and set it against his chest.
Elijah pulled his hand free from Rory’s and twisted nervously to face Chris. A good ten feet of space separated the two men. Brothers, she was sure of it. And her stomach knotted at whatever both of them must have been feeling.
“You’re not an easy man to find.” Elijah gripped the nape of his neck and squeezed. “I just learned about you.” His throat moved as he swallowed anxiously. “I found some photos of you, and when I pressed Mom for the truth, I got angry and left home a few weeks ago. Decided to come find you.”
And yup, that was why Chris’s mom had been calling. She knew her sons would meet at some point.
Chris remained motionless. Shocked?
“Did you know about me all this time? Or were you as clueless as I was?” Elijah asked, his voice cracking.
Chris slowly lowered his hat to his side, looked to Rory for a moment before he focused back on his brother. And she knew this part was going to be hard for Elijah to hear and for Chris to say.
“You knew.” Elijah stumbled back in his sneakers a few steps. “You just didn’t care.” He dragged a palm down his face.
“Wait, I, um.” Chris stretched his free hand out, but the words must still have been hard to come by.
“I need to catch my flight anyway.” Elijah turned to the side, tossed one last look at Chris, then took off. Actually, he ran like he was hightailing it from a robbery.
“Shit. I just fucked that up.” Chris came alongside Rory as his brother backed out of the driveway in a hurry, Bear barking at the dust kicking into the air from the gravel.
“You were shocked. It’s not your . . .” Rory closed her eyes and set a hand to her stomach at the memory of words that hadn’t made sense at the time. “We’ve gotta go!” She hurried into the house and grabbed the Jeep keys before Chris could ask questions. “I’ll drive.”
“What?” Chris stared at her in confusion, but Bear didn’t waste any time and hopped into the Jeep.
“Get in,” she hollered while strapping herself in with the seat belt.
Once Chris joined them, she quickly reversed out of the driveway.
“Elaina said, ‘Don’t let him go to the airport,’” she reminded him, hoping to catch up with Elijah, following in the direction he’d gone.
“I think she meant your brother.” Chills coasted over her skin.
Chris didn’t question her. Or call her insane. He knew Elaina better than Rory. “There,” he said once they neared the highway. “I see the Kia on the ramp about to merge.”
Rory gently switched lanes even though they were in a hurry, not wanting to send Bear flying.
“He’s only ten cars—” Chris abruptly let go of his words.
It all happened as if in slow motion.
Rory’s heart beating loudly with each frame of action as it unfolded before her eyes.
The 18-wheeler switching lanes.
Elijah in his blind spot.
The little red Kia flying sideways at seventy miles an hour on the small bridge.
Rory pumped the brakes and pulled onto the shoulder of the road just before they reached the bridge. She and Chris watched in horror as the Kia slammed against the guardrail, bounced off, and hit another car.
The Kia flipped up and over, careening off the bridge.
“No!” Chris screamed, his hand outstretched as if he could freeze the scene and stop the action.
He reached into the glove compartment in one fast move and grabbed some metal tool, then opened the door and began sprinting alongside the stopped traffic.
Rory searched for her phone to call 911, but shit, she’d left it on the couch.
“Come on, Bear!” She exited the passenger side, so they didn’t get hit, then they raced after Chris.
“Call an ambulance!” she hollered to the stopped cars while pumping her arms, and Bear sped ahead of her to close the gap between him and Chris.
Without hesitation, Chris stepped up onto the guardrail, swung his arms in front of him, and dove off the bridge and into the river that had to be about twenty feet below.
Bear remained by the guardrail barking when Rory got to him. She glimpsed over the side to see the top of the red car disappearing from sight. No sign of Chris.
“Stay here,” she commanded Bear, then stood on the railing.
“What are you doing?” someone shouted behind her, but she ignored the man and dove in, making sure to dive off to the side of the vehicle instead of down on top of it.
The cold, late October water smacked her body like she’d been spanked all over, but she shook off the chill and the sting and opened her eyes, trying to see in the murky water.
But damn it, it was cloudy, and how the hell would Chris find Elijah?
She felt around, trying to find the car. To find Chris.
No, no, no.
Nothing.
They’ll be okay, she tried to convince herself as she ran out of air, knowing she would need to come up for oxygen soon.
Adam McGregor’s words from Italy came back to mind as she pushed to the surface. You could be driving down the street and get sideswiped by a truck. You can’t protect your loved ones from everything.
She broke the top of the water and seized a breath, and the familiar, high-pitched howl overhead had her turning to see Bear barking frantically, his paws on the railing.
He was trying to let her know something, so she looked off in the distance to see Chris swimming, pulling Elijah as he neared the embankment twenty feet away from her.
Oh, God. She swam their way as fast as she could get her legs and arms to move, pulling out her best Michael Phelps butterfly technique.
When she reached the small bit of ground by the river, Elijah was flat on his back as Chris gave him CPR. “Rory,” Chris yelled in surprise at the sight of her, and clearly, he had no idea she’d come in after him.
She moved to the other side of Elijah, preparing to help Chris when Elijah began to cough up water, and they rolled him to his side. His head was bleeding in a few spots, and Chris tore off his shirt and wrapped it around Elijah’s skull.
The wail of sirens in the distance was the best sound she’d heard in her life. More heroes like Chris were on their way.
“You okay?” Chris asked when helping Elijah sit up. “Your neck? Back? Legs?”
Elijah looked shocked. Stunned.
He was lucky.
Really, really lucky.
“How’d you . . .?” Elijah mumbled something else, clutching his ribs in agony, but Rory couldn’t make out his words.
Chris pulled Elijah to his side to support him while they waited for the first responders to reach them.
Once they’d all been lifted to the road, Bear rushed to their sides, barking up a storm. “It’s okay,” she told Bear as she watched Elijah get loaded into the ambulance.
“Hey, you okay?” Chris turned back to peer at Rory from where he stood outside the ambulance doors.
“Yeah, are you?” she cried.
Chris looked back to the stretcher, then to Rory again.
“Go with him,” she urged, reading his thoughts. “Bear and I will meet you at the hospital.”
“And who are you?” the medic asked Chris and offered his hand to help Chris into the back.
“I’m his brother.”