Silence.A half second.Maybe less.But it sped her panic up higher until her ears heated.“All right.Can you put the car into park?Your seatbelt’s on, isn’t it?”
“Of course my seatbelt’s on.”She grabbed it, yanked it across her chest, and snapped it into place.
“I heard that,” Christian muttered.
She gripped the wheel tighter.The trees blurred past faster than they should have.Her tires caught gravel along the edge and pulled her too close to the shoulder.She jerked the wheel to correct, heart pounding in her throat.
“Christian—” Her voice cracked.She didn’t finish the sentence.The SUV gained speed.The wheel trembled under her grip.Her breath shortened until all she could feel was the weight of the vehicle and the speed and the steep drop ahead.Panic seized her lungs.“What do I do?”
“Put the vehicle in park.”
She shoved the gear lever with all her strength.It didn’t budge.“It won’t go.”
“Okay.Take a deep breath.Just breathe.”
She tried.Inhaled sharply.Her lungs didn’t want to let go of the air.Her heartbeat hammered in her ears.She jerked the wheel left, barely missing a tree, and her tires skidded sideways.“I’m going faster,” she whispered.
“It’s okay,” Christian said calmly.Too calmly.“Twist the keys.See if you can take the key out.”
Hope lit her.Her fingers scrambled for the ignition.Slipped.Scraped the metal.Blood slicked her skin and her eyes blurred.“Oh God.It’s not working.”
“Stay calm, baby,” he said.“You’re going to have to go uphill soon, but you’ve got two quick turns first.”
“I know.”She barely got the words out.Her throat was too dry.If she could just get uphill, maybe, but then what?She’d have to come down again.“I don’t know what to do.”
The SUV shuddered under her, its wheels lifting on the next turn.She could feel it, the right side coming up just enough to lose gravity.Shaking, she yanked the wheel to the left.
“Hold on.Drive like you’re in Indy.Take the curves.Hug them.Okay?”
“Okay.”She could do that.Right?Red edged in from the outside of her vision.
Another deer burst from the trees.She slammed her foot down on the brake with everything she had.
Nothing.
She jerked the wheel again in a motion of pure instinct, and the vehicle launched right.
Off the road.
Into the dark.
She flew high and landed with a hard splash in the freezing-cold river.The impact crushed her against the seatbelt as the SUV hit nose-first, metal shrieking against rocks underwater.She screamed again, but the cold ripped the breath right out of her lungs.Glass cracked and then burst.The sound of water surging into the cabin was deafening.It flooded fast, no warning, icy and ruthless.
She fought to keep her head above the rising water.Her chest heaved, teeth clattering from the sudden cold.The river was deep here.Too deep.She knew that.Locals always warned about this stretch that had an undertow that didn’t let go.
The SUV was sinking nose-down, pitching toward the dark bottom.Bubbles exploded around her face.Her hands fumbled for her seatbelt and then stopped.She still had seconds.Maybe.
Christian’s voice was gone.Static now.
She couldn’t scream again.Couldn’t spare the breath.Couldn’t afford to waste a single move.
Think.Move.Survive.
She braced one hand against the roof as the water reached her chin, reached for the belt with the other, and yanked the release.It didn’t budge.Her fingers shook.Her skin was going numb.She had to get out.
Now.
Chapter23
