The tent went quiet.
Boone grinned. Hawk cursed. Russ just nodded like the decision was already made.
And me? My gut twisted, because I knew exactly what was coming.
The river was about to take Echo. And Raine Carter was going to be right in the middle of it.
10
Raine
The ground trembled before we heard it.
A deep, low groan, like the earth itself was warning us.
“Levee’s going!” someone shouted.
Then it happened—wood, rock, and steel snapping all at once, a roar louder than any storm. The river burst through Echo’s wall in a tidal wave of black water and debris, swallowing everything in its path.
“Move!” I sprinted forward, boots slipping in mud, lungs burning. A farmhouse stood just ahead, water smashing against its side. People screamed from the upstairs window, frantic arms waving.
“Raine—wait!” Adam’s voice thundered behind me.
I didn’t wait. Couldn’t. Time wasn’t a luxury.
I hit the porch as the house shuddered, yanked my rope free, and clipped fast. “I’ll go up!”
Strong hands clamped on my harness, yanking me back hard enough to spin me around. Adam. His face was a storm—jaw tight, eyes blazing.
“You’re not going in there alone!”
“I don’t have a choice!” I shouted back, shoving at his chest. “They’ll drown!”
For a heartbeat, I thought he’d drag me away by force. Then his grip shifted, tightening instead of pulling.
“Fine,” he growled. “We go together.”
The current surged, slamming against the house. Adam clipped onto the same line, and we moved—two bodies, one tether. Boots crashed through the upstairs window. Inside, water poured up the staircase, devouring each step.
“Two kids!” a woman cried, shoving them forward.
Adam scooped the boy, I grabbed the girl, and we hauled them onto the roof. The structure moaned, tilting under the weight of the river.
“Now!” Adam barked into his comm.
A cable dropped, swaying in the wind. Boone’s voice came through, sharp and cocky:“Harness ready, princess. Try not to die.”
I clipped the girl in, shoving her toward the line. “Go!”
The house jolted again. A beam cracked, sending shards spraying past my face. Adam shielded the boy with his body, taking the brunt of the hit.
“Adam!” I reached for him, panic slamming into my chest.
He shoved the boy into my arms, voice steady even as blood streaked his temple. “Get them out.”
“I’m not leaving you—”
“Raine!” His eyes locked on mine, fierce, unyielding. “Do it.”
