He had her. Not willing to celebrate yet, he pulled her in. Brandon reached him and together they dragged her to the shore. He hauled her out of the water and she collapsed into his arms.
Darcy lowered them both to the ground, his pulse hammering. Safe. Finally safe.
They clung to each other, the rain still beating down, but he didn’t care. Faith was in his arms. “I’ve got you now.”
“We need to keep moving,” Brandon said. “The river’s still rising and we’re going to have to retrace our steps to get back up the slope.”
Shit. He was right. Gently, he pushed Faith away. “Come on, Sweetheart. Let’s get out of here.”
She nodded, but when she stood, her legs buckled. “Sorry. Give me a minute.”
They didn’t have a minute. “Brace yourself.” Without waiting for a response, he lifted Faith over his shoulders. “Move,” he ordered Brandon. His brother would pick the best path to the top.
As they arrived on flat ground, the ute pulled up and Lara burst out of the passenger side, hurtling towards him. Carefully he placed Faith onto her feet and then opened his arms. Lara flung herself into them, sobbing. “I thought you were going to die!”
Using the last of his energy, he picked her up. “I’m fine, pumpkin, and so is Faith.” He squeezed her and then put her on the ground. Faith leaned against Brandon, and Lara dived into her arms.
“I’m so sorry, Faith. I’ll never get mad again. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
He was missing part of the story, but it didn’t matter. Both his girls were safe.
“There’s nothing to apologise for, La La. This is all Jay’s fault.”
Darcy jerked. In all his panic, he’d forgotten about the bastard who’d left Lara there.
Brandon’s radio squawked. “Any update?”
Poor Matt had no idea what was going on.
Amy leaned into the ute to respond. “Everyone’s safe. We’re coming home.”
Tears blurred Darcy’s vision. He liked the sound of that.
***
Lara sat on Faith’s lap and they clung to each other as Darcy drove the ute home. They were all soaked, so he switched the heating to high, but it did little to help. Brandon was riding Starlight back, and Darcy dropped Amy at her car and waited until she shut the gate before continuing. She could get bogged in the mud.
Lara shivered and Darcy accelerated as he hit the bitumen.
Both Matt’s ute and the police car were outside the house when they arrived, and Fezzik was back in the horse paddock. He must have returned home by himself. Lee stood on the porch waiting for them.
“We’re home, pumpkin.” He switched off the engine and then strode around to the passenger side to help both Lara and Faith out of the car. Both had their hair plastered to their head and were covered in mud splatter. The continuous downpour helped with the mud at least. The once dusty soil had turned into a shallow muddy lake as the soil struggled to keep up with the deluge.
He climbed the steps behind Lara and Faith and shook hands with Lee. “Thanks for your help.”
Lee nodded. “Glad I could.”
Lara had disappeared into the house but her shriek of fear slammed into Darcy. His skin tightened, and he stormed into the house, Faith right behind him. Dot, Nhiari and Matt sat at the table with a sombre Jay and his wife, Cheryl, sobbing, between them. Seeing the older man filled Darcy with rage. He strode over and hauled the man to his feet. “I ought to kill you.”
“Put him down, Darcy,” Dot demanded.
He ignored her. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t tie you up and throw you in that cave right now.”
The man shook but stared Darcy in the eye. “Because my family was being threatened.”
Darcy relaxed his hold a little. What was he talking about? Nhiari pushed him away. “Take it easy. There’s a lot to get through.” She looked at the others. “Do you need the ambulance?”
“We just need to warm up,” Faith said.
