Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(82)
“I can make time,” I quipped, holding a wooden stick between my fingers. “Is this really all it takes?”
“Some wood works better than others. The smaller ones are useless unless there are a lot of them or they go deep. Good luck if they can get someone to retrieve those sticks from inside their body.”
There was a gruesome thought.
A man strode toward us from up ahead, followed by another. He looked down at the fallen Vampires and then swung his gaze up, fists clenched.
When he bared his fangs, I damn near tripped over my own feet as I spun around and took off.
Christian jogged past me. “You ever watch those animal kingdom shows about the lions chasing prey?”
I kept running, my heart pounding against my chest like a drum.
“We’re the gazelle,” he said, huffing as we weaved around people in a crowded tunnel. “Sometimes predators don’t need a reason. They just want to chase.”
“So this is for fun?” I glanced over my shoulder at the two men not far behind. “Why don’t we just kick some ass?”
“Rule number one: Always know when you’re outnumbered.”
I glanced over my shoulder again. “But there are only two.”
“Not down here, lass. They multiply like chicken pox.”
When we reached the rickety bridge, I grabbed the ropes and scuttled across the planks.
“Faster,” he shouted from behind.
I hopped over a hole. Faster, my ass.
Halfway across, I slowed down at the sight of three men guarding the other side. Maybe they were waiting to cross, but their black eyes and hair made me turn around. The two men behind us were blocking the other end of the bridge, and one of them made a slicing motion with his hand across his neck. He looked to his buddy on the other side and gave him a curt nod.
“Hurry up!” Christian snarled.
I gave him a grievous stare. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere.”
He looked both ways, and the gravity of our situation sank in. In a quiet voice, he asked, “Do you trust me?”
I frowned when he took my hand. Christian gestured toward the water below, and I vehemently shook my head. “I can’t.”
“We have no choice.”
“I’m not a good swimmer.”
A smile touched his lips. “It’s not as if you’ll drown.”
I tried to pull my hand away, but his grip shackled me to him. “I played in the kiddie pool as a child, Christian. I can’t swim for real.”
He peered at the river below. “I was never a fan of heights, but sometimes you have to tell your fears to piss off. Hold my hand, Raven. I won’t let you go.”
“Do you promise?”
He lifted my chin with the crook of his finger. “My word is my bond.”
The bridge rocked when the Vampires descended upon us from both sides.
“Turn around,” he instructed. “Put your back to the rope.”
I gripped his hand tightly when I realized we were about to flip ourselves backward over a suspension bridge. “I can’t—”
Before I finished the sentence, he leaned back and took me with him. The world turned upside down as we plummeted toward the river below.
With my heart in my throat, I tightened my grip on his hand, the rush of wind blowing my hair in front of my face.
Our feet hit the water with an explosion of sound, quickly followed by the muted roar of the river. In seconds, my entire body was encapsulated in ice water. The world of air and sky vanished, and the depths were infinite, black, and cold.
Still holding Christian’s hand, I opened my eyes. His hair floated angelically around his head, and his features were softer. A few bubbles came out of his nose as he guided my hand to his belt. When I latched on, he turned around and swam.
We remained underwater, and I tried kicking my feet to propel us even faster. I didn’t know if those men were following, and I also didn’t know what kind of Breed lived on the banks of an underground river.
The light dimmed as we distanced ourselves from the bridge. When my lungs began to hurt, I released small breaths to relieve the pressure, but it only worsened. Finally, the need to breathe gripped me like nothing else. I let go of him and panicked.
Christian appeared and cradled my head in his hands. Seconds away from gulping in air, I signaled him with my eyes that I couldn’t go on.
He suddenly put his mouth on mine, and my lungs filled with sweet oxygen.
I stared at him in disbelief as the water held us in suspension. He drew back and nodded as if to ask if I was okay. I nodded back.
Christian turned, and I gripped his belt as he swam hard, never tiring or slowing down. Determined to overcome my fear, I let go with one arm and mirrored his moves. Maybe an immortal couldn’t die from drowning, but I was certain I’d fall unconscious, and then I’d be nothing but dead weight.
Christian swam upward, and when I hit the surface, I gasped for air. I accidentally inhaled water and went into a coughing fit. His hand came about my waist, and we treaded water. Maybe I was going into hypothermia, because I wasn’t as cold as when we’d first jumped in.
I held onto his neck and looked around at the tunnel. It had a cavernous look, minus the high ceilings. “Please tell me this isn’t the sewer.”
When we reached shore, he pushed me out of the water. I rolled onto my back, heavy with exhaustion. Every breath felt like fire in my lungs, and Cristo’s light slithered its way through my body like a parasite.