Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(81)

“Let’s go.” Lance kept hold of the harness as they moved into the water at the front of the cave, now more than a foot deep. The water level had risen above the top of the opening. Only three feet of air space remained in the cave. Evan shivered as the water splashed over his legs. He rolled onto his knees. His crawl was painstakingly slow with only one good hand.

Lance barked out rapid commands as the water level continued to move higher. “I’ll get you through the opening. Take a deep breath. One. Two. Three.”

The boy sucked in air. Lance submerged them both and pulled the teen out of the cave. As they surfaced, Lance grabbed for the taut rope connecting them to the other side of the river. He used a carabiner to fasten Evan’s harness to the yellow paracord. The metal would slide along the rope. Then Lance clipped a second carabiner to his belt and Evan’s harness. Now Evan’s body was suspended just above his.

The guide rope would help him combat the current. As long as it held, they wouldn’t get swept away. But it didn’t allow them to move with the flow of the water. Lance would have to fight it with brute strength. But there was no way that Lance could fireman-carry Evan across the water. Evan was not a small kid. He weighed almost as much as Lance did. Yet Lance had to get him out without help.

Who knew when the rain would end or when responders would arrive? The flood could eventually submerge the rope.

On the other side, he saw Morgan and Tina waiting.

Lance began the treacherous crossing, his arms straining to pull Evan’s weight and his against the powerful current. Evan could do nothing to help. He was deadweight. Lance’s biceps burned as he hauled them through the shallower section and onto the center boulder. Evan landed on Lance’s legs. He could feel the boy’s body shaking with pain, but he didn’t cry out. Lance paused to breathe. His arms felt rubbery from the exertion and cold water.

“You all right?” Lance shouted in Evan’s ear.

“Yes.” The boy’s words trembled. His lips were blue, and the fever flush had drained from his face. He needed a hospital—quickly. He was going to end up with hypothermia on top of an infected wound.

Lance met Morgan’s gaze across the twenty-five feet of rough water that separated them. Almost there. But the water was deeper and the current stronger in the next section. He would need help pulling Evan across.

He cupped his hand around his mouth and shouted, “I’m going to throw you the rope.”

Morgan moved to the bank, ready and waiting. Lance uncoiled the second half of the harness rope. He dug his flashlight out of the cargo pocket of his pants and tied the wrist strap to the rope. Then he let out some line and began circling the flashlight over his head, letting out the rope as the circle widened. When he let go, the flashlight soared across the water, but fell a few feet short of the bank.

Lance hauled it in and moved a few feet into the water. Bracing a foot against a boulder, he tried again. The flashlight soared, struck the bank, and bounced off. Morgan dove on it, snatching it from the shallow water at the river’s edge. She held the end and backed up to take up the tension in the line. Tina joined her, clearly waiting for a few more feet of rope so that she could get hold of it.

Lance summoned his strength. “Let’s go,” he shouted to the boy.

Evan curled around himself as they moved back into the water. Lance pulled them both along the line. The force of the water made him struggle for every inch. Twenty feet.

Come on. Pull harder.

Lance gritted his teeth against his aching arms. He pushed off a rock with a foot, using his legs to gain another foot on the rope.

Fifteen feet.

Almost.

On the bank, Morgan and Tina leaned into the effort. Using their legs to pull, they inched backward.

Something crashed upriver. Lance’s head swiveled around. A small tree shot toward them, riding on the swift water. He grabbed Evan and pulled him toward the shore. The tree struck the guideline on the cave end. The rope snapped. The release of tension sent Lance and Evan flailing into the current. Lance hung on to the rope. But the nylon was slippery and his strength was flagging.

They dangled in the current. Lance kicked, but he couldn’t get his feet back under his body. He could barely hold on.

On the bank, Tina and Morgan strained, but the combined weight of the men and the strength of the river was working against them. They were not physically strong enough.

The yellow paracord was the only thing keeping them from being washed away.





Chapter Thirty-Five

In the darkness of the trunk, Sharp felt the car moving and the body next to him trembling.

“Olivia?” Sharp said softly.

Her body jerked, then stilled. “Lincoln?” Her voice shook.

He could hear her teeth rattling.

“Are you all right?”

“Physically, yes.” But her body trembled hard.

Sharp could sense a big fat but on its way. He began feeling around for something he could use to cut their zip ties. He and Lance sometimes practiced breaking them, but he had no room to maneuver.

Her breathing came hard and fast. “I’m claustrophobic. I have to admit, I’m freaking out right now.”

“Is your head covered?” Sharp tugged at his hood. It was secured around his neck with a thin piece of nylon. He had to work at the knot for a few minutes, but he eventually loosened it. He pulled the hood off. The trunk was dark and the air stale, but he could breathe a little better.