Chapter 14
Every cell in Aiden’s body vibrated with anger. Enough was enough. If Meredith wanted Dez, she’d have to fight him first.
He turned in a wide circle, frustration jumping along his nerve endings. “C’mon already. I don’t have all fucking night.”
Silence.
“I know you’re there. You’re going—”
Crack!
A bullet hit the dirt near his feet. He jumped back and braced his legs, bringing his focus down the barrel of his Glock.
Scanning the darkness, he blinked. Every shadow played a trick on him.
He had to end this. Not daring to move too far from the tree protecting Dez, he took a few paces away to get a better view.
A whimper sounded.
His muscles tensed. “Dez?”
He whirled around to find Meredith moving away from the tree where he’d left Dez. Her arm circled Dez’s throat and the mouth of her gun pressed against the slim column of Dez’s neck.
All the blood drained from his head. He shouldn’t have left her. Shouldn’t have—
Turning the gun so it pointed at the sky, he raised both of his hands. “Please. Let her go. It’s me you’re angry with.”
Meredith ground the gun harder against Dez’s neck. Dez’s pale face scrunched with discomfort. Meredith smiled and pulled Dez in retreat, moving toward the river. They weren’t far. Less than ten feet from the slope to the water. Anxiety spiraled inside him.
“Don’t go any farther,” he demanded.
Even without his flashlight, he could see the hard glint in Meredith’s eyes and the tension on her face. If ever someone had murder written on them it was now.
Jesus.
She retreated a step. Then another.
A frigid finger of dread touched his spine. “I said stop!” he yelled.
She ignored him, taking two more steps backward. In one swift motion she could send Dez down the ravine. If his memory was correct, it was maybe a six-foot decline to the river.
He had to calm her down.
“Let’s talk, okay? I clearly gave you the wrong idea and I want to correct it.” Fear ran rampant through his body. In any other situation, with any other person held hostage, he could keep his cool and talk his way out of it.
But this was his fault. If something happened to Dez because of him . . .
“She needs to erase the spell she has on you,” Meredith said, through gritted teeth. Then she turned her mouth to spit her words into Dez’s ear. “Then maybe I’ll let her go.”
Meredith had lost touch with reality. The more he corrected her, the angrier she became. He moved his gaze to Dez, sending her a silent message to just stay quiet while he found a way to get between them.
Dez’s hand slipped into the pocket of her cardigan. He widened his eyes and gave his head half a shake to the side. No. Whatever the hell she had planned, no.
“I feel sorry for you, Aiden.” Meredith moved the gun away from Dez, flicking it lazily in his direction. “You fell for her wiles. You were supposed to be smarter—”
Dez spun around, her hand sailing through the air and cracking something into Meredith’s head. Meredith staggered to the side and let out a screech. She grabbed Dez’s arms and propelled her toward the ravine.
“No!” Aiden focused his gun on Meredith. If he got in the middle of them, he could cause one or both of them to fall in the river. “Hands up!”
Blonde and dark hair swirled in a tangle as Dez and Meredith struggled. Dez grabbed a handful of Meredith’s hair, rearing her head back.
Meredith threw a punch to Dez’s stomach, loosening her hold. He ran for them, but Meredith shoved Dez hard in the shoulders.
Aiden aimed the gun at Meredith and pulled the trigger.
Crack!
Meredith sank to the ground.
Dez stumbled. Her ankle caught a fallen branch and she staggered backward. Her mouth opened in a scream, and her eyes were wide and locked on him as she fell out of sight.
“Dez!” His heart ripped from his chest as he raced for the edge of the ravine.
* * *
The ground slipped away from her feet. Dez windmilled her arms through the air but there was nothing to grab. Her back hit the earth, knocking the wind from her lungs. Her body tossed itself down the sharp hill.
She stretched out her fingers, grasping for the slope, but only dirt filled her hands while she spun down the hill. The roar of the river grew deafening. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, bracing herself for impact.
Splash!
She hit the icy water. Waves washed over her head, pulling her under and down the river.
The cold temperature shocked her body, making her mind flicker.
Water forced its way into her nose and she kicked to the surface.
Her face broke through the torrents, and she gasped for a breath.
The current dragged her at a rapid pace.
Using all her strength, she swam toward the bank, but the river carried her too quickly to let her gain traction.
“Dez!”
She jerked her gaze toward the ravine. Aiden ran along the top, catapulting over fallen logs and rocks as he sprinted to keep up with her. She had to slow down. If she could just grab something and stop herself, Aiden could help her get out.
She stretched for low-lying branches, but her cardigan weighed down her arms and the cold made her muscles weak and clumsy. The rocks. She had to empty her pockets before they sunk her.
A wave came and forced her under. The jolt made her gasp, and water gushed to the back of her throat.
She paddled her arms, pulling herself to the surface.
A blast of cold air prickled her lungs as she inhaled.
She dug her hands into her pockets and yanked out the rocks, letting them fall to the bottom of the river.
Then she tugged at her cardigan, but the blasted material refused to come off.
The buttons. Dammit, she still had it done up.
“Hang on!” Aiden’s voice reached her, but with her wet hair around her face she couldn’t see him.
Batting her eyes clear, she blinked. There was a splash close to her. A rough arm caught her waist, hugging her in place.
She didn’t need to turn around.
The terror in her chest eased a little, but they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“I’m going to get you to the riverbank,” he shouted, sounding breathless. “I need you to grab on to whatever you can. Don’t worry about me, okay?”
“Okay!” she shouted over the rapids.
He directed them closer to the bank, but the water still moved them faster than rubber ducks in a water race.
He gripped her waist and shoved her toward the ravine.
She reached for the rocks and low branches, and her toes touched silt.
Water swept her feet out from under her and carried her beneath the surface once again.
No!
Failure punched her in the stomach. If she didn’t make it out, they both might die. She had to fight. Had to get to shore so Aiden could focus on saving himself. She propelled herself to the surface. Aiden was several meters away, fighting the waves. He’d tire out quickly.
She took a deep breath, plunged under the water, and kicked with all her might toward shore. The pressure of struggling against the current used up most of her energy. She needed more air. Resurfacing, she took another breath, but a wave smashed into her face, sending her backward.
Her back connected with something hard. Pain shot up and down her spine. She turned and faced two large boulders in the middle of the river.
She scanned the water, whipping her head back and forth. “Aiden!”
He popped up a few feet away. His gaze landed on hers, and relief relaxed his brow.
He swam to her, caught the rock, and positioned himself beside her.
He rubbed his hand over his face, wiping away the water.
“Holy shit. You scared the hell out of me. I saw you go under and I made it to shore but couldn’t find you. ”
Her teeth chattered, shaking her frozen cheeks.
He pressed his chest against hers and wrapped his free hand around her waist. “It’s okay, we’re going to get out of here.” He gasped with exertion as he spoke.
She searched both sides of the riverbank. There had to be a way to get to shore. They’d both almost achieved it. A tree jutted out over the river a ways downstream. Its branches were so low that they trailed in the water. “There,” she said, pointing to the spot.
Aiden squinted in the darkness.
“The branches of that tree are touching the water. If we can reach that we might be able to pull ourselves out.” Her words broke apart with the effort it took to speak them.
He nodded. Rivulets of water ran down his face. “Good eye. I’ll go first, that way I can grab on to you.”
She squeezed his bicep. “Be careful.”
“I appreciate the late-night swim, but I’m ready to head in.” His attempt at humor warmed her insides, giving her hope that they’d make it out alive. He pressed his lips to her cheek. They were a few degrees warmer than her skin.
He kicked away, swimming quickly to the right of the river with the strength of the water behind him.
Her insides twisted as she clung to the rocks.
Her breath hitched in spasms, shock threatening to take hold of her.
She dug her fingernails into the side of the rock that held her in place.
The water beat against her back as if blasting from a fire hose.
Aiden reached up and snagged the branches. The river carried his body, but he held fast. He kicked so that he faced her then waved. “Now!” he called.
She broke away from the rocks. The current swept her along, pulling at her legs and ready to drag her under. She had to stay afloat. Kicking, she swam to the right so there was no chance she’d sail past Aiden.
She closed in on the branches, now pulled down by Aiden and dipping into the water. She collided with them and grabbed two handfuls.
Aiden’s arm circled her chest. “I can touch the bottom, but the water is strong. I’m going to swing you toward the riverbank. Don’t let go of the branches until you’ve got a good footing.”
“Okay.”
He walked them as close to the side of the river as he could then pushed her toward the shore.
Hanging on to the branches, she crawled onto the rocks jutting out from the slope.
The cold air froze her body, making her muscles seize.
She reached forward, grabbing the trunk of the tree that stuck out from the ravine. Then she let go of the branches.
Her body was weak and freezing, but she didn’t dare try to climb the ravine until Aiden was out.
She watched as he walked toward the shore.
The water was chest-height. His clothes were soaked through, and his sweater had to be heavier than her cardigan.
He reached the slope, dug his free hand into the earth, and let go of the branches. He lifted his leg but slipped.
He collapsed into the water.
“Aiden!” Dez leaned down and grabbed hold of his sweater, keeping her arm looped around the tree trunk.
He regained his footing, a stream of curses leaving his lips.
Rough hands grabbed her bicep. “I’ve got Dez,” a male voice announced.
She snapped her head up to face Wes and gasped. Help was here. Oh, thank God. Another figure eased his way down the ravine and stretched his hand out to Aiden’s. She took in the light hair and build—Jaxon.
Her relief was so great that her bones weakened. “Oh, thank god,” she wheezed, as Aiden was pulled out of the water. He swooped his arm around her waist as if he’d never let her go again, and Jaxon and Wes helped them both up the ravine, where Quin waited.
“Holy shit. You know that river kills a few tourists a year, right?” Wes said, almost admonishingly.
Shivers racked Dez’s body and her teeth clanked together, rattling her jaw. Quin stripped off his sweater and Aiden tugged her cardigan off her. The material fell into a wet heap on the ground and Quin picked it up.
“How’d you find us?” Aiden asked, as he removed his sweater and came up behind Dez to fit Quin’s sweater over her head.
She should have been a bit embarrassed about someone dressing her in front of a group of men, but nope. Not now. All she cared about was getting warm and dry.
Jaxon gestured to Wes. “He spotted Meredith and promised to make her a torniquet if she told us what happened to you guys. She said Dez fell in the river and you went running after her.”
Dez snorted. “She pushed me.”
Wes lifted his shoulder. “I figured. Doesn’t matter. Hank’s got her now.”
Dez relaxed her shoulders and fell into step with the guys as they made their way through the woods. Her legs shook like Jell-O, and painful twitches tweaked her extremities.
Aiden’s arm around her waist, bearing half her weight, was the only thing that kept her from falling on her face.
She’d almost died. Would have if Aiden hadn’t jumped in after her. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of how quickly things could have turned—for Aiden or her.
They were lucky to be alive.
And tonight, she’d make it clear to him that she didn’t give a damn what people thought. Couldn’t care less if sleeping with the town’s hottest cop created gossip.
Whatever this ride was between Aiden and her, she wanted to stay on for the long haul.