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Cyn walked toward the edge of the rise, following the very distinct tire tracks that went right off the cliff over the river embankment. Her stomach knotted as dread filled her heart. Hunt walked beside her, making sure they didn’t trample any evidence. He stopped her a mere foot from the ledge and they stared over it at the rushing river. At first, she didn’t see anything as she scanned the bank closest to them. Then Hunt’s hand squeezed hers and she glanced up at him, then followed his gaze further downriver to the barely-there hint of the back corner of a car sticking out of the water. A green car. It would have been difficult to seewithout the sunlight glinting off the red brake light. In another few minutes as the sun descended, they might have missed it.
She didn’t think. She let go of Hunt, found a somewhat negotiable path down the steep incline to the edge of the river and started ripping off her clothes.
Hunt grabbed her just as she let her shirt drop on top of her jacket and she reached for the button on her jeans. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I have to know if she’s in that car.”
“That water isn’t even fifty degrees. You’ll freeze and drown.”
Chase and Max showed up with a rope.
“Then you’ll have to pull me out, but I am going in that water.”
Hunt held her by the shoulders. “I’ll call in the search and rescue divers. They’ll check the car and we’ll hook it up and haul it out of there.”
“I’m not waiting. I have to know now.” To prove it, she pulled off her hiking boots, socks, and stripped off her jeans. Standing there in a black bra and panties, it didn’t even register that she’d stripped in front of everyone there, because the only thing that mattered was knowing if her sister and niece were in that car.
Hunt held tight to her arm. “Cyn, please. You don’t have to do this. I’ll go.”
She shook her head. “I’m a good swimmer. Captain of my swim team. State champion. I can hold my breath for three minutes. At least I used to be able to. I’m going. Besides, I’d never ask anyone to risk their life for me.”
Hunt didn’t let her go. “I’ll do it, Cyn.”
She put her hand on his chest and felt his heart racingbeneath her palm. “I trust you to hold on to me and not let me go. I need you to do that for me.”
Hunt sighed. “Damnit, Cyn. It seems I’ll do anything for you, even if it’s crazy.”
Chase and Max came to her to secure the rope around her, both of them focused on the task. She raised her arms out to the side and Chase wrapped the rope around her and tied some intricate knots so that the rope went around her shoulders and arms and waist and ended up at her back, so that when they pulled, she wouldn’t come out of the rope even if she was unconscious. She didn’t want to think about that or how cold that water was going to be.
She stood at the edge of the rushing water, her feet already burning with the cold.
Shelby gave her a hug. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes.” She didn’t take her eyes off the spot where the car had sunk.
Hunt turned her to him. “Try to go straight out toward the center here, then let the current take you downriver until you hit the car. Get some extra breaths, then go under. One tug on the rope means you need more slack. Two tugs and we’ll pull you out. If I think for one second you’ve been under too long, I’m pulling you out.”
“Okay.” She reached up and touched his face. His eyes filled with concern. “And if this goes very wrong, just know that I really wanted to find out—”
He crushed his lips to hers. “Nothing is going to go wrong. You trust me to hold on, well, I’m not letting go. So get used to it.” He kissed her again, but this timeit was soft and tempting and a promise for something more. He ended the kiss with a brush of his lips against hers. “This is crazy.”
She didn’t know if he meant her going into the freezing water or them.
“Come back to me.”
She squeezed his arm. “I will.”
Hunt growled deep in his throat, then took hold of the rope. “If you’re going to do this, be quick.”
Shelby stood nearby with a blanket she must have gotten from one of the saddlebags. “You’ve got this, Cyn. They won’t let you go.”
Cyn glanced at the three strong men, Hunt up front of his brothers, holding the rope, then turned to the river. She sucked in several deep breaths to raise the oxygen in her system, and walked out into the rushing water. She had a purpose and that helped her to ignore her body’s immediate response to the cold and do what needed to be done.
The swift current quickly grabbed hold of her. She hadn’t made it to the center of the river before it swept her under. She had to use all her strength to kick and stroke to get above water and on course. Before she knew it, she slammed into the side of the car. The water pushed against her back as she braced herself with her feet and hands on the vehicle.
She could hear someone shouting something to her, but it was too hard to hear over the rushing water. The cold was quickly sapping her energy. She needed to do this fast.
One tug for slack, two for help, she reminded herselfas she sucked in two big gasps of air, prayed for the car to be empty and dove under the water.
