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The impact nearly tears us apart. My nails dig into her flesh to keep the river from stealing her away. Petra no longer screams. She’s lifeless in my arms.
I don’t have the strength to drag her toward the riverbank. My mind warns the log will break apart and toss us back into the current.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t save us both, yet I can’t let her go.
My mind snaps back to when I was a child and couldn’t get across the monkey bars. My brothers swung easily from one bar to the next. Petra seemed to be part monkey with how easy she made it look. As for me, I’d hang like a limp noodle until I fell off.
“One at a time, Natasha,” Viktor said when he found me hanging there uselessly. “You can reach for one bar, can’t you? Just move from one to the next before giving up.”
I did as he instructed. Rather than obsessing over how I couldn’t get across the entire monkey bars, I focused on moving from one bar to the next. That was doable. Once I got past the first bar, I had the confidence to try for the next.
My father never lost his temper at how pathetic I behaved. His calm demeanor helped me fixate on one task at a time.
That’s what I do now. Wrapping my left arm under my sister’s armpit and across her chest, I keep her afloat while my free arm inches us along the log. I don’t think about what’ll happen if the tree crumbles under our weight. My thoughts remain focused on moving one inch at a time.
Slowly, I make my way along the tree trunk until my toes feel muddy ground under them. Though I nearly weep with relief, I don’t dare give up yet. I still need to move Petra out of the water.
Even if she wakes up, we can’t yell for help. We don’t know if the attackers are searching for us. Hiding is our best option.
But first, I move inch by inch onto the muddy shore. My feet slip more than once. I struggle with Petra’s body several times. I nearly lose my grip and lose my sister to the current.
All through my struggle, I recall the story I heard about Viktor’s relationship with Sly Dardenne. First, my father was the just powerful man’s driver. Then, he was his bodyguard. Then, he was his confidant. Soon, he became Sly Dardenne’s second-in-command and most trusted employee.
Step by step, my father eased his way into power, all while convincing Dardenne how no one else could be trusted. By the time Banta City’s old king realized Viktor wasn’t his guard dog but a hungry wolf, my father had already moved his own people into every position of power within the organization.
“Nothing comes quickly or easily for the Kovak family,” Katja once told me. “Though we’re never lucky, we are always unrelenting.”
I dig deep into myself to find my unrelenting Kovak nature. Soon, I’m on the muddy shore. Next, I’ve gotten Petra to safety. My sister moans slightly when I drag her over rough rocks to reach the woodlands lining this part of the river.
Only after I’ve dragged her behind a line of thick bushes do I let myself break free from my single-minded goal. Now, I consider how far we are from where we went off the road. How will anyone find us? Should I leave Petra and run for help? My body doesn’t want to move. All I can do is wrap myself around my sister’s body in the bushes. Once again, I don’t know the answer.
Wet, muddy, and cold, I cradle Petra and imagine Bear is holding us both. He’s always so warm like a comfy plush blanket.
He’ll be here soon. No way did anyone hurt him. Bear O’Malley is a force of nature. I refuse to believe otherwise.
BEAR
My heart feels as dark as the night. I’m too tense to take a full breath. Everything inside me is folding into itself until I’ll disappear.
I don’t believe we’ll find Natasha. That’s why my body just stops moving. Around me, men use their phones to try to see in the starless night. The ground is muddy, sending people slipping and sliding. One security specialist nearly ends up in the water.
The river is swollen from a recent storm. The current is unrelenting.
“Bear,” Tack says when I stop moving and stare at the river. “It’s not over.”
I hear his words but reject his sentiment. The river swallowed up Natasha. She died wearing her gorgeous dress, like a princess snatched away by evil. I hate to imagine her crying for help as the end came.
My heart nearly explodes from the pain when I consider those kids back at the mansion. They were going to be mine like Natasha. But now, they’ll be raised by the Kovak family. There’ll be no reason to involve me.
Indigo says my name more than once to keep me moving. I know my family is around me. I can already hear Aunt Fred explaining how I’ll survive the pain. But I don’t think she’s right.
A helicopter flies overhead, shining a light on the impossibly dark riverbank. The men around me had been overly quiet. There was no way to know if they were passing something important. Now, the darkness feels beat back, and the Kovak brothers start barking orders at their men. They space out to search better.
“Bear,” Indigo says again and nudges me forward.
“I don’t want to see her dead.”
Tack stands at my other side and pats me on the back. “Do all you can so you won’t have any regrets.”
