Chilled (Bone Secrets, #2)(14)

She couldn’t lift her feet. The river was too loud. It was too fast. Too brown. Too everything. She saw Alex do a double take as he noticed the two of them on the bridge. His lips moved again, questioning Ryan, his eyebrows narrowing. Ryan spoke, and Alex’s face filled with concern. He stepped in their direction, but Ryan stopped him with a hand on his sleeve, speaking urgently. Alex knocked Ryan’s hand off his sleeve, but moved no farther, his gaze locked on her. Thomas stood a few feet behind the two men, his arms crossed on his chest, watching everything.

She wouldn’t make a fool of herself. The three guys had practically skipped across the tree. She was being ridiculous.

“Want me in front?” Jim met her eyes, his gaze probing deep.

“No. I’m ready.” She grasped the ropes and stepped out over the water.

She’d known it would be bad. But she’d never guessed it would be this bad. Her gaze locked on the swirling brown muck, so close to the bottom of the log. Flashes of sticks and debris flew by. From the log, the floating crud appeared to move faster than from the view on the bank. She swayed.

“For God’s sake, breathe, Brynn!”

Jim’s irate tone made her lungs inflate. She hadn’t noticed she’d been holding her breath. She moved her left foot in front of her right and repeated. The shuffle step felt steadier than regular walking and her hands slid along the rope as she awkwardly scooted her feet one after the other. The log vibrated with the power of the river.

“Good girl. Almost halfway already.”

She pulled her gaze from her feet and looked to the far end. Jim was right. She could do this. Alex had moved onto the log and was waiting, gripping the ropes, his jaw hard as he watched their progress.

She felt like a little kid under the weight of his concern.

Her shuffle continued. Her gaze back on her feet, trying to ignore the swirl of brown on both sides of the log.

“Closer. We’re getting real close, Brynn. No sweat.” Jim sounded relieved.

Someone shouted, echoed by two other sharp shouts.

She looked up. The three men at the end were staring upstream. Ryan’s jaw hung open, his eyes panicking. She followed his gaze and froze.

Up the river, a fallen tree was speeding toward the bridge. The fast current was propelling the wooden missile down the river straight toward where she stood. It was huge, and it wouldn’t fit under the bridge. Jim gasped.

“Go, Brynn! Get moving!” He shoved at her pack.

She couldn’t move. The tree would ram the bridge and knock the two of them into the water. She’d hit her head or get a foot caught in the freezing water and it’d be over.

Jim shoved again at her pack, pushing her forward. She stumbled a step and slipped, hanging on to the ropes with every ounce of her strength. She regained her footing and froze again, staring upstream.

“C’mon, Brynn!” Ryan’s desperate yell carried over the water.

She watched the tree move closer, its distance to the bridge had halved already. Her head whipped around at a rough jerk on her jacket front. Alex’s hands were on her coat, his steel eyes furious.

“Move!” He turned, hauling her behind him with one gloved hand, her feet tripping to keep up. Her hands were ripped from the ropes and they were running. She didn’t look down. She no longer heard the river. She heard only Ryan’s shouts and Alex’s curses. They reached the end of the log, and Alex hurled her into the outstretched arms of Ryan and Thomas. He and Jim leaped.

It sounded like a car crash. The log bridge shuddered from the impact of the giant projectile. The bridge held in place then shuddered again as the tree in the water turned ninety degrees and slammed parallel into it, creating a dam by plugging the small space below the bridge. The tree was almost the same length as the bridge. Water could barely get by both ends and the river’s level rapidly rose and washed over the top of the bridge. No one could cross now.

If they’d been ten minutes later, they’d be stuck on the other side. If Brynn had stalled longer at the edge, the river would have separated the two groups. Or she and Jim would be on their way downstream.

“Jesus Christ! Are you nuts? What the hell were you doing out there? You almost got the both of you killed!” Alex shouted in her face, his clenched hands shook her shoulders. Anger rolled off him.

Her throat closed as she stared at his wild eyes.

He was right. Her Achilles’ heel had nearly killed Jim.

“Back off!” Thomas yanked him away, pushing him to one side. Alex tripped over a root and went down. He swore at Thomas.

“What was she thinking?” Jim shouted at Alex. “What were you thinking, running out there? That stupid stunt could have killed all three of us!” Jim wrapped an arm around Brynn’s shaking shoulders. She couldn’t stop shivering, and her stomach felt dangerously close to losing her last protein bar.

Ryan held out a hand, pulled Alex to his feet, and turned a furious glare on Jim. “If he hadn’t run out there you’d both be downriver. I was too f*cking scared to do it.”

“Rule number one. You take care of your own safety first. Teammates second. You all know that.” Jim’s arm tightened around Brynn as he spoke. His voice was calmer but still too loud. Every few seconds Brynn felt a quake rattle through Jim’s body. Anger and testosterone hung heavily in the cold air as waves of fury and fear shot between the team members.