“Put your hands up!” the woman shouted. Her voice shook, but it was also firm.
“Raven?” Was she dreaming? How wasRavenhere?
Blood seeped through Cox’s fingers where he still held his shoulder. “Where did you come from?”
“I said, put your hands up,” she yelled.
“Fine.” He started to lift his hands. But at the last second, he reached into his holster.
The click of Raven pulling the trigger sounded—but the pistol jammed.
“Shit!” she whispered.
Cox pulled out his own gun.
Polly lunged, slamming into his body with her own. His bullet fired into the air.
He hit the ground, and she reared back and threw a palm into his nose. He growled, the gun dropping as blood ran down his face before he rolled them. But they were too close to the edge.
They dropped into the water.
Cold blasted her body. She popped through the surface to see Raven reaching out a hand. “Polly! Grab on!”
She reached for the woman, but a big body suddenly lunged on top of her and pushed her down.
Water once again closed over her head. She hit and clawed at Cox, the river pulling them downstream, but it was only when she dug her fingers into his bullet wound that he released her.
She had to grab on to something. She had to stop herself from drifting.
A broken tree came into view just ahead. Still rooted to the bank, the trunk stretching almost to the middle of the river.
That was it. That was her out.
She waited, working hard to keep her head above water, even though exhaustion pulled at her limbs. Before she could fly past the tree, she grabbed a thick branch. Her fingers almost slipped, but she refused to let them.
She was just pulling herself onto the trunk when Cox grabbed her around the middle.
Joel sprinted through the trees,the sound of his boots hitting the dirt loud in the quiet evening air. Zac wasn’t far behind, but dammit, it felt like they were moving too slow.
He’d run through so many forests in his life. Dodged bullets and sprinted into fucking warzones. Fear had never come into the equation. Not once. But right now, fear consumed him.
He rounded a tree and leapt over a root. It felt like a million miles sat between him and Polly, and he felt every one of them.
When he reached the river, he raced along the edge. The water moved quickly, rocks bordering the shore slick and snatching his balance.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been moving. It felt like hours when he finally saw a woman up ahead. Not Polly. She was blond. Shorter. Dressed in workout gear.
She spun and raised a pistol, eyes wide with fear.
Raven Price from the community center.
It was Zac who spoke. “Whoa! We’re here to help.”
Slowly, Raven lowered the weapon. “Thank God you’re here!”
“Where is she?” Joel scanned the area, but no one else was around.
“He was holding her head under water,” Raven said frantically. “He was trying to kill her!”
