Page 11 of Emily's Escape

The car lurches.

Something heavy and metallic groans.

Kylie shrieks.

For the first time since the crash, I look through the windshield.

I let out a horrified gasp.

The guardrail didn’t stop us. Not entirely, at least.

And now we’re dangling from it, with the river flowing beneath us.

“Emily?” Kylie whispers, sounding just as horrified as I am. “Is that the river?”

“Yes.” I bite the inside of my cheek hard, hoping the pain will ground me. “But it’s going to be okay. We’ll just stay still, and someone will come to rescue us.”

“Are you sure?” she asks. Before I can reply, she adds, “I’m scared. And I want my mom.”

“I’m sure,” I tell her. Because, really, what else can I say? “It’s going to be okay.”

CHAPTER 3

DEREK

“No!”

I shout a helpless denial as the car ahead of me tips even further over the bridge.

It would be horrifying on its own.

But Emily’s in it.

MyEmily.

The woman I love. The woman I’m supposed to protect.

Except I didn’t. I let her go off on her own while I talked about nothing with a guy I hadn’t seen in close to ten years. And now?—

Shit.

Shit.

With a hard wrench of the steering wheel, I pull onto the shoulder of the road and jam my foot on the brake. The tires squeal. The car rocks at the abrupt shift of motion.

Just ahead, maybe twenty feet away, the gray sedan I’ve been tracking for the last fifteen minutes dangles precariously over the river. The torn guardrail digs into the side of the car, stopping it—at least for now—from toppling over.

Somewhere behind me, the clamor of sirens swells. But it doesn’t overtake the thunderous beat of my heart.

My Emily is in there.

She needs me.

It repeats like a litany as I throw my car into park and fling open the door.

Emily is in there.

She needs me.