Page 108 of Every Last Breath

Chapter 31

Somewhere along the Potomac River

2:40 p.m. EDT

For the three hours they’d been in the air, with no sign of Maddox, Cole endured ten thousand hells. He was on the verge of coming unhinged.

Gideon’s steely composure never wavered. The guy was so guarded and laser focused, there was no attempt at reassuring chatter between them. Cole was grateful for the silence and the guy’s ice-cold poise lowering the temperature of the cockpit by ten degrees.

The Potomac flowed through Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, up to Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The roiling river was over four hundred miles long and as much as eleven miles wide where it flowed into the Chesapeake Bay. Some spots along the bank were shrouded by trees, forcing them to do a second pass to be certain they hadn’t missed her.

“Good news,” Castle said over the headset linked to the radio.

About time. He needed good news. “Did Harper get into the phone?”

“I’m putting her on now.”

The airwaves went dead, crackled with static, then Harper said, “I got in.”

Cole clenched his hands, heart skipping beats. “Where is she?”

“She’s moving south slowly along the Potomac, West Virginia. I’d say by foot based on the speed. Not running, and much slower than the current would be pulling her if she was in the water. I’m sending the coordinates now.”

“Moving? Are you sure?”

“Without a doubt. The watch is moving. You guys should be able to vector to her position.”

A chorus of hallelujahs blasted in his head. “Thank you, Harper. Thank you.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

Thank God. He wouldn’t need the shovel in the back to dig her out if she was above ground. His chest stayed heavy as if his lungs were made of iron, refusing to let in a full breath until he had eyes on her.

Gideon altered direction, taking a hard left turn. Cole’s stomach flipped.

He kept his hands curled into fists as they headed northwest. His nerves ran right on the edge. The coordinates were buried in a forested patch. Based on the trajectory of her signal, she was headed toward a clearing, where Gideon vectored to land.

Cole glimpsed her wending past trees adjacent to the river. Ripping off the headset, he threw open the door and jumped from the helo before Gideon touched down.

Maddox stumbled from the tree line, limping, her hair a windblown tangle of curls. He dashed across the field, unable to get to her fast enough.

A sad smile broke over her smudged face. She reached for him, and he hauled her to him so powerfully, they collided. He crushed her against his body, lifting her from the ground.

The rest of the world dissolved in a rapid rush of relief. Everything that was knotted inside him unfurled, and he held her tight, so tight.

Nothing would keep him away from her ever again. Not her anger, not her hatred, not her stubbornness. She was stuck with him. Whether she knew it or liked it.

Keeping his death grip on her, he showered her with kisses on her mouth, eyes, cheeks, his fingers curling in her hot-mess hair. He was overstepping, putting her mission on hold, and for once, she let him.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you,” he said in her ear.

“Think I’m letting you off the hook that easily?” Pulling back, she met his eyes. “No way. You’ve got some making up to do. A decade’s worth, mister.”

“Just a decade?”

“At least.”

A penitence he was eager to pay. He set her down and stroked hair from her face.