Page 135 of Veil of Silence

He looked at her.

For the first time since Cross had appeared from the woods, Christian’s expression was completely clear. No distance. No emptiness. No trace of the conditioning that had silenced him moments earlier.

Only fear—and determination.

“Keep him safe!” Christian yelled.

Cross struck him again. Christian staggered, and one foot broke through a rotted plank. He caught the railing before he could fall, but the sudden movement pitched the bridge sideways.

Wood cracked beneath them.

Cross lunged for the far bank. Before he reached it, Christian caught the back of his jacket.

The support cable gave way with a metallic snap.

The bridge twisted beneath them. Several planks tore loose, disappearing into the churning water as Christian and Cross crashed against the remaining railing.

Nora tightened her hold on Preston.

She had asked Christian to bring the boy home, and he had.

Now she might watch him die for it.

The center of the bridge folded toward the creek.

Cross lost his footing and grabbed the broken cable. Christian clung to what remained of the railing with one hand.

Then Cross’s grip began to slip.

Christian could have held on and let him fall.

Instead, he released the railing and caught Cross by the wrist.

For one stunned heartbeat, Nora realized he was trying to save the man who’d helped destroy his life.

Then the railing broke.

Both of them plunged into the water.

Chapter

Fifty-Five

Austin reached the creek as the center of the bridge folded into the water.

The first clear light of morning had begun filtering through the trees, turning the fog silver and giving him enough visibility to follow the bodies in the churning water.

Christian disappeared beneath the surface first. Cross hit several feet downstream. He surfaced briefly, then vanished again as the current carried both men away.

Austin shoved his weapon into his holster. “Luke, get a rope!”

He glanced back and saw Nora kneeling beside Preston. Harris stood in front of them, shielding both from the creek and any threat that might remain across it.

They were safe.

But Christian—the fake Christian—wasn’t.

Austin raced along the bank, fighting for traction in the mud as he searched the brown water. Pieces of the bridge spun through the current. A broken plank struck a boulder and splintered.