Secrets Never Die (Morgan Dane #5)(85)

A little regular cardio wouldn’t kill you, Morgan.

She raced across the first deck and took the next set of steps to the second. Panting, lungs burning, she reached the upper parking lot. Her thigh muscles were on fire as she ran for the Jeep.

She hoped this would work. The mud was deep. The Jeep could easily get stuck. But what were her options? There was no way she and Tina could pull Lance and Evan to safety, and Lance wouldn’t be able to hang on long.

Morgan slid to a stop behind the vehicle. She’d forgotten Rylee was in the back.

Rylee lay in the cargo area with her leg elevated and the hatch raised. A silver emergency blanket covered her torso. Blood dripped from the bandage Tina had wrapped around the girl’s thigh. The tight gauze had slowed but not completely stopped the flow of blood. A wide-mouthed duffel bag filled with medical supplies was open next to her.

“I have to close this door,” Morgan said. “Hold on and try to stay still.”

Rylee nodded. Pain and shock glazed her eyes. She needed a hospital. How long would it take for the police to get here?

In the vehicle, Morgan started the engine, her hands shaking from the cold and the rush of adrenaline through her blood. She drove across the muddy ground to the riverbank and turned the Jeep around so that its bumper faced the river. She backed the vehicle until it was as close as possible to Tina and the tree that tethered Lance and Evan to the shore.

Setting the brake, she jumped out.

Before Morgan untied the rope, Tina anchored it as best she could, wrapping it under her butt and sitting low.

“Ready?” Morgan yelled.

Tina nodded.

Morgan unwound the rope from the tree. Instantly, Tina’s feet began to slide forward in the mud as Lance and Evan’s combined weight pulled at the rope. They drifted a foot farther out into the water. Morgan tied the end of the rope to the hitch on the rear of the Jeep. Once it was secured, Tina fell back, gasping.

Morgan jumped back into the vehicle and inched it forward. The wheels spun. Mud flew from under the tires as they dug into the slippery ground. Morgan braked, then tapped the gas, rocking the vehicle out of the ruts they’d created. The tires rolled over the top edge of the furrow, gained traction, and began to move forward.

Morgan eased the gas pedal down with steady pressure, not letting the tires stop rolling for fear that they would become bogged down again. She kept the tension steady. She didn’t want to break the rope. She checked the rearview mirror. Lance and Evan still dangled in the current. A wave crashed over Lance’s head.

Hold on. Another minute.

Foot by foot, she pulled Lance and Evan to the side of the river. Once they reached the bank, she set the brake again, tumbled out of the driver’s seat, and ran toward Lance.

Tina waded into the water to help them ashore. She wound her arms around her son as if she hadn’t really expected to see him alive again. Lance collapsed on the bank. Morgan dropped to her knees beside him. She touched his face, but she couldn’t form words. His blue eyes fixed on hers, and she realized she didn’t need to.

The wind eased, and the rain decreased to a steady drizzle.

Lying on his back, Lance unclipped his belt from Evan’s rope harness. Tina tried to untie the knots of the harness, but the rope was twisted. When she released the rope, it was smeared with blood. Her hands were raw from the tug-of-war with the river.

Morgan looked down at her own hands. They too were raw and bloody, with rope burns and pieces of missing skin. She wiped them on her thighs. They were the least of her problems.

Kneeling in the wet weeds, she fished in Lance’s bag for a utility tool. She used it to cut the harness off Evan and to cut the rope attaching the men to the Jeep. She tossed the rope aside. Then she found a Mylar emergency blanket and wrapped it around Evan.

The boy was white and limp, his eyes closed.

Tina placed two shaking fingers against her son’s neck. Her body sagged with relief. “He’s just unconscious.”

Lance staggered to his feet. “How long did the dispatcher tell you it would take for the emergency response?”

Tina didn’t answer. Instead she opened the back of the Jeep and dug through her duffel bag for a fleece blanket. She checked on Rylee’s bandage and gave the girl a pat on the arm. Rylee shivered. Morgan had left the Jeep running and the heat on, but the girl’s teeth were chattering.

“I’ll close this door in a minute, and it’ll get warmer in here,” Tina said to Rylee.

“Yes, ma’am.” Rylee nodded. Her wound was nasty, but she was awake and alert.

Tina removed her bag from the Jeep, closed the rear hatch, and brought the medical supplies to Evan. “Are there any more blankets?”

Morgan looked through Lance’s kit. “No.”

“Would you bring my car down here?” Tina brushed raindrops from her forehead. “We can put him in the back seat and run the heater. I have blankets and some additional medical supplies in the trunk.”

Morgan ran up to the parking lot and drove Tina’s car down. She parked it next to the Jeep. When she climbed out of the car, Tina was preparing to start an IV.

Morgan took in the volume of supplies: gauze, antiseptic and other wound-cleaning and dressing materials, bags of saline, vials of drugs. Tina’s bag was no normal first aid kit. She’d stocked it with her son’s injury in mind.

“Where did you get all this?” Morgan asked.