Cy’s face was stark. “I ...”
Gideon pressed. “You mean nothing to him, and he’ll leave you to die.”
Still, Cy hesitated.
“You have time. You can get out and save yourself, but you have to go now.”
Cy turned on his heel and splashed toward the foyer and out of sight. He wasn’t likely to make it to his vehicle, but Gideon couldn’t concern himself with Cy’s choices.
He dashed the water from his eyes in time to watch the flood wrest the heavy sofa from its position. It hurtled toward Cordelia, who hadn’t yet reached the bottom stair.
She screamed and clutched Katie. They both went under as the sofa rammed into them.
Gideon dove for the furniture, gripped one end, and dropped his weight like an anchor to slow it down.
Cordelia bobbed up, coughing and frantic. “Katie!” she screamed.
His stomach plummeted as he realized she no longer held her daughter.
He struggled to hold the heavy sofa in place, desperately looking for the child.
A flash of her pink fleece caught his eye. Katie had been jerked loose from her mother and swept across the space, caught against the wall beside the French doors. He called to Cordelia.
He scanned the room for Mackenzie while Cordelia splashed her way to Katie before he let the sofa go. Cordelia hauled Katie into her arms. The little girl coughed and cried, her small body shaking with cold and fear. He swam to them and took hold of Cordelia’s forearm, then propelled them once again toward the stairwell.
Across the room he saw Mackenzie with her back to him, water streaming from her jacket. Beyond her, the liquid splashed and foamed as if they were in a giant washing machine, rapidly filling. Where was Frank?
The water began to pull Cordelia from his grasp. He tightened his grip. “Hold on to me,” he called over the chaos.
He was fighting to move them along when he heard Mackenzie shout behind him.
“You’re not leaving here, Frank. You’re going to pay for what you did to Aaron.”
He turned to find Mackenzie lunging at Frank as he tried to rip open a drawer that probably contained a weapon. She shoved him away, sending him staggering to keep himself upright.
With Cordelia and Katie in his arms, Gideon could do little to intervene. He had to get them to the stairwell fastand then help Mackenzie. The room was a swirling mass of debris. He hadn’t made it halfway when a second deluge ripped inside, tearing loose one of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases. It toppled sideways, completely blocking the stairwell, books sliding off into the water.
His heart dropped as he anchored Cordelia against the other bookcase, still holding in place for the moment. Her limbs shivered so violently it was all she could do to hold on to Katie and keep from being swept away.
He shouted to Mackenzie, pivoting in time to see Frank throw a punch that she avoided.
Gideon stumbled over something and went under. He got to his feet again, spluttering.
Frank had shifted toward the back hallway to escape Mackenzie, but she seemed to have read his thoughts. She plunged her hand in the water and swept up something in her fist. It took him a moment to realize the glittering, dripping fragment was a piece of the glass sculpture that had broken into a sharp point. She held it like a dagger toward Frank. The water bubbled and gurgled around them.
“I told you, you’re not going to get away.”
Frank looked behind Gideon at the bookcase and then at Cordelia. “They’re going to drown,” he said, and Gideon saw fear play across Frank’s features for the first time.
Mackenzie looked too, finally becoming aware of Gideon’s predicament.
Gideon kept his tone firm and level. “Let him go, Zee. We have to get out of here.” He longed to rush to her, but if he didn’t unblock the stairwell, Frank would be proven correct. Cordelia and Katie wouldn’t make it. None of them would.
Mackenzie took a few steps toward Cordelia until Frank moved and she whirled to face him again.
Gideon plowed to the bookcase blockade and threw his weight against it. He strained every muscle and succeeded only in lifting one corner of the heavy oak. He could not do it alone.
Cordelia clutched Katie as the force of the water threatened to snatch the child from her numb hands. In her panic, Katie was flailing, which made it harder for her mother to hold her steady.
