Chapter 11 #2
Liam landed on the sandbar. “Okay, grab the rope and start crossing. I’ll lead the way!” His voice carried over the frothing river.
The kids on the sandbar reached for the rope.
Liam stepped out into the water.
One of the girls on the shrinking island lost her footing. Sand crumbled, sending her sliding toward the torrent. Nimue’s breath locked in her throat, hand flying to her mouth as disaster unfolded in slow motion.
The girl’s knuckles went white on the rope.
Liam lunged, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her up against him, wrapping his arm around her waist.
She was screaming. He bent his head, clearly talking to her.
Nimue knew exactly what that felt like.
After a moment, the girl seemed to come to herself. She gripped the rope in front of Liam, and they started across again.
The other stranded teenagers hesitated, choosing their dissolving sandbar, eyes darting between Liam and the far bank. Nimue could feel their terror all the way to her bones.
“Move!” Liam’s voice cut through the water’s roar like a blade. “You’ve got this!”
Something about his confidence steadied her racing pulse. If Liam believed they could make it…
“It was narrower before.” The kid beside her stammered. “When the first group crossed.”
Of course it was. Because nothing about this day could be simple.
Liam sloshed to shore and handed off the girl to the waiting teens.
Then Liam was back in the water, a bulwark in the river. He shouted to the kids on the sandbar. “One at a time. Steady movements. You’ll be okay.”
They started across. Clumsy but determined, each teenager worked their way across the water, hand over hand, step by careful step. One by one, they reached safety, the burly kid hauling them onto solid ground.
Then Liam made his way back to her and the kid shivering beside her.
“Ready, kid?” he said, dripping wet, breathing hard. He glanced at her, but she could barely breathe.
“I can do it,” the kid said and stepped out into the river to cross, leaving just her and Liam with the roaring water between them and escape.
“Hand me your pack.”
She handed it over, fingers trembling despite her best efforts. He clipped it to the rope with a carabiner, then secured it to her belt like he was rigging her for a technical climb.
“Let the rope carry the weight.”
He checked the knot again, then met her eyes once more, gaze lingering with something that made her chest fill.
His lips pressed against her forehead. Quick. Warm. A promise.
“You’re up.”
Oh no…no…
But she gripped the rope and stepped toward the river.
The rope was sandpaper against her palms. Her mind started calculating—drowning statistics, survival rates, all the ways this could go catastrophically wrong. And somewhere behind them, the Bratva might still be hunting.
How were they supposed to get out of this?
Then Liam stepped behind her. His chest brushed her back. Solid warmth that made the world stop spinning.
“You’ve got this.” His voice rumbled against her spine. “I’m right here.”
She leaned into him for just a moment. Let his presence regulate her breathing, her hammering pulse. This trust—bone deep—she hadn’t felt since before Emberly had left.
But Liam was here. Real. Refusing to let her face this alone.
They stepped into the wash together.
The current hit like a freight train. Ice-cold water slammed against her legs, stealing her breath, threatening to sweep her feet from under her. She slipped immediately—her foot skidding on slick rock, body lurching forward toward the churning depths.
Liam’s arm whipped around her waist. Yanked her back against his chest. His grip iron strong, unbreakable.
“Easy.” The word vibrated through his chest more than his voice.
She nodded, white-knuckling the rope. They moved forward inch by inch. Water rose to her thighs. Her waist. Each step heavier, harder. The rope frayed before her eyes—two strands gone, one barely hanging on.
It had held the teenagers. Some of them were bigger than her. But every creak, every groan of stressed fibers made her chest tighten another notch.
Five feet from the bank, her foot found solid rock. But beyond it—nothing. The current had carved a hidden channel, water surging deep and fast beneath the murky surface.
Her stomach plummeted. Going under wasn’t an option.
Mostly because she couldn’t swim.
“Jump!” One of the teenagers shouted from safety. “Hold the rope, stand on the rock, and jump! We’ll catch you!”
She looked back at Liam. His jaw was set granite hard, but his eyes held hers.
“I’m right behind you.”
Her legs shook as she climbed onto the rock. Fought for balance while water tried to knock her loose. Please don’t let her drown.
The burly teen stretched out his hand, friends anchoring him, shouting encouragement at her.
She couldn’t hear anything over her thundering heartbeat. This was so dumb—oh—no, no—
“On three!”
Nimue counted under her breath. One, two, three—
She launched herself toward shore.
Strong hands grabbed her arm as she fell into the water. Cold shock jolted her, but before she could go under, they hauled her onto the bank.
Solid ground. Safety.
She’d made it.
A shaky smile started forming as she turned back to watch Liam follow—
The smile died.
The rope had snapped, the other end trailing, swallowed into the churning brown river.
And somewhere in all of that, Liam had disappeared.