AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She whipped around in confusion, but his was iron on her hips, propelling her along.
“No time,” he grunted.
“Soph.” Ty was back on the bridge, his face distraught. A few long strides and he grabbed Sophie’s arm and pulled her toward him, ushering her off the swaying bridge, leaving Jo’s exit clear.
Jo shuffled ahead, leaden legs fighting her. More shots rang out, bullets slugging rock and ice. Adrenaline flooded her veins as she dropped low, in a futile attempt at making herself smaller. Her lungs constricted, legs trembling with primal fear.
“Fuck.” Griff gritted the words out. The bridge shook and gunfire erupted behind her as Griff returned fire.
Jo’s knees hit the rope platform. Her vision blurred.
The gunfire ceased and Griff locked onto her upper arm, yanking her to her feet. “Come on, we’re almost—”
The bridge twisted violently and Jo teetered wildly, her right foot stabbing only emptiness. The shadowed gorge rose up, beckoning her to oblivion, and a scream locked in her throat.
Cut. They cut the rope bridge.
36
Griff crushed Jo to his chest as the bridge pitched wildly. The bastards had sliced through a support rope, leaving them dangling over the ravine.
Gripping the remaining rope, the bridge vibrated under the continued assault from a blade. Behind them, on the cliff edge, a man hacked ruthlessly at the strands. Griff’s gut twisted, fear and fury colliding within him.
He unleashed a primal roar, the sound ripped from his core. He would destroy anyone who dared threaten his woman. His woman. The realization strengthened his resolve, even as the rope unraveled faster and the sawing vibration increased in intensity.
“Griff!” Wyatt yelled, poised to catch Jo on the far side.
Griff drove forward, jaw set, his boots slipping on the icy slats. More rope popped free, the bridge now a swinging death-trap. He charged forward, lifting Jo off the pitching platform as he balanced them both on the fraying rope. Sweat iced his spine, blurred his vision. Agonizing pressure built in his damaged shoulder, ligaments threatening to rip apart.
Wyatt’s anxious face came into focus across the void, close enough now to see the man’s stony facade crack with apprehension. First damn emotion Griff had seen.
“Now!” Wyatt yelled.
Another step and the bridge lurched under him. Jo’s shriek pierced his eardrum.
“Trust me?” he gritted out. Her choked whimper was consent enough. The bridge reached the apex of its wild tilt and started to swing back. Summoning every ounce of strength, Griff heaved Jo’s slender body at Wyatt’s outstretched arms.
For an instant she flew, hair streaming behind her like a ribboned banner. Then she collided with Wyatt, the impact driving him to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
Jo was on solid ground and, for one blessed moment, nothing else mattered.
The remaining rope went slack, Griff’s injured fingers still clenching it tight. Air whooshed around his ears as he plummeted.
He released the rope and snatched the base of the bridge as it fell toward the opposite rock wall.
Wiry strands sliced his fingers and the rock face rushed him, smacked him hard. Griff bounced, his arms on fire from knuckle to shoulder blade. He clung to the strands of rope, his feet scrabbling on autopilot for a grip. The toe of one boot found a hole. The movement made him spin, and he skated against rough stone, shredding the skin on his forearm.
He found a second toehold, his fingertips wedged in a crevice, and he came to a bone jarring stop. Breathe. You know this. He rested his forehead on the cold rock, the air wheezing in and out of his bruised lungs.
The world stilled, and he was alive.
He opened his eyes, hardly believing it. When he looked up, he was only six feet below the gorge lip.
Wyatt’s face appeared. He thrust his arm down, fingers splayed. “Climb!”
Climb? Pain devoured his shoulders. It was taking everything he had just to hold on. To just exist. He glanced down at the rush of water below and a crazy idea blasted through him. To let go, to let the cold water set him free—wash away the darkness and pain he’d tried so hard to block out.
“Griff!” Jo hung over the edge, her hair loose, framing the fear on her face.
