Page 18 of Raven’s Watch (Raven’s Cliff #1)

She hit the far window and pain ricocheted through her skull as everything went dark for a moment. Then a hand wrapped around her sweater and yanked her back up.

She coughed, spitting out water as Chase shook his head, dragging her toward the open roof. “You’re insane. Now, get the hell out before this whole thing goes.”

“You first.” She held firm when he glared at her. “You’re gonna need a shove to squeeze out that opening and you know it. Even then, it’s gonna hurt like hell. Though, judging on how your arm is hanging, that dislocation might just save your life. So, get up there, and I’ll give you a boost.”

He stared at her, looking as if he wasn’t going to listen before he huffed, then reached for the opening. Foster appeared at the lip, blood dripping down his face from a cut across his brow. He didn’t speak just grabbed Chase’s right arm and started pulling.

Chase shifted back and forth, trying to squeeze his shoulders through. Grunting whenever the left one moved. Mac positioned herself beneath him, giving him that boost until he finally scraped free, his shirt ripping in the process.

He cleared the roof just as something impacted the rear of the Bronco, pitching it forward, again.

Burying the entire front end underwater.

The force tossed Mac against the windshield, slamming her into the stump still lodged against the frame.

Water rushed over her head, quickly filling the SUV as it slid along the riverbed.

Dead.

That’s what she’d be in another thirty seconds.

When her air ran out because she couldn’t move.

Couldn’t fight against the sheer volume of water holding her against that stump.

Like a rip tide refusing to let go. She clawed at the passenger seat, trying to wrap her hand around the side just enough to counter the raging current, when Foster’s fingers closed around her wrist.

That got her moving. Had her up and slipping through that opening then out. She crested the surface a moment later, Foster still holding her arm. All that fast-moving water rushing past them as he dragged her over to the bank, his sheer strength stopping her from continuing down the river.

Kash was on the bank, grabbing both their hands and yanking them up.

Falling back on his ass in order to get them clear.

Mac collapsed on the muddy ground, glancing at the Bronco over her shoulder, but it was already fifty feet away, the back bumper rising out of the water before tumbling over and disappearing around the next bend.

Kash grunted, moving over her. “Are you nuts? If Foster wasn’t built like a damn tank with the unrelenting persistence of one, you would have been killed.”

Mac snorted. “Never leave a teammate behind, right?”

Kash simply shook his head, looking back as sirens wailed in the distance. “Sounds like the cavalry’s finally here. You two okay? Because we’re not out of the woods, yet.”

She nodded, pushing onto her elbows. She wanted to stand, but she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her.

Foster rose beside her, offering his hand. She accepted, and he practically launched her off the ground and against his chest. He didn’t speak, just wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. As if he was worried she’d float away.

Mac rested her head against his shoulder, sharing his warmth as shivers raked through her.

He sighed, easing back then tucking a handful of wet strands behind her ear. “You’re definitely in the first stages of hypothermia.”

“I’m not the only one whose lips are blue.”

“But I wasn’t pinned underwater for a full minute.” His nostrils flared, his eyes wide — as if he was staring at a ghost instead of her. “I distinctly remember telling you to be careful.”

She sighed. “I couldn’t leave him.”

“I know. Trust me, I know.” He took a step back and grabbed her hand. “Come on. You need a blanket and someone to check you over. You’re bleeding.”

“Says the guy with a crater across his forehead.”

“I’m fine, you…” He drew her in close then started walking, heading back to where Chase, Greer and Kash were gathered on the bank as emergency personnel swarmed the area. Red and white lights illuminated the misty fog, the eerie glow sending more shivers along her spine.

They hadn’t even reached the others before some guy was handing her a blanket — whisking her away toward an ambulance. There was shouting and people running before one of the ambulances sped off, siren sounding above the storm, the lights quickly fading into the distance.

Mac brushed the medic away, moving over to Foster and Kash as they materialized out of the crowd and the fog.

Foster tsked, arching a brow when she stopped in front of him. “Have you even let an EMT look at you?”

“Have you?”

He leaned in closer. “Can you answer a question, just once, without asking another?”

“No. And yes, some guy shined a light in my eyes. I’m fine. Now, are we going to the hospital or what? Because you’re still bleeding, and I know you won’t let anyone look at you until you know your buddies are okay.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to ride in the ambulance?”

She snorted. “I’m cold, and wet, and I think I could sleep for a week. But I don’t need some guy taking my blood pressure every five minutes. So, either get behind the wheel or give me the keys.”

Foster stared at her, then shook his head as he placed the rifle in a lock box before tossing the other supplies in the flatbed and shutting the gate. “You really are something. Fine, get in.”

He walked her back to the passenger side, giving Kash some hand signal when the man drove past, following the other ambulance. The one she suspected had Zain in the back, despite the man’s protests she’d heard clear across the road.

Foster opened the door, giving her a boost up before leaning in close. “And for the record. What happened before…”

She inhaled, unsure whether to nod or just sit there, waiting.

He smiled. “Wasn’t a one-off. At least, not for me.”

Then he was clipping her seatbelt and closing the door. Leaving her there with her heart hammering against her ribs, her lungs, once again burning, as heat exploded across her skin.

Or maybe she really did have hypothermia, and she’d reached that phase where her body wanted her to strip. Where it was fooled into thinking it was burning up.

Until he jumped in and started the engine, blasting cold air through the cabin for a moment before he turned it down. That had her shivering. Tugging that blanket tighter around her shoulders as Foster checked over his shoulder then pulled onto the main road.

He picked up speed, navigating the winding road like a formula one driver. As if he saw just a few seconds into the future and knew exactly when to turn to bleed the most speed out of his truck.

The rain was still coming down when they finally pulled into the hospital, the entire trip taking less than half the usual time. He was out and at her door before she’d even unbuckled, helping her down then taking her hand.

He sighed, then leaned in. “Are you going to play nice in there and let them look at you? Or do I have to call Atticus so he can guilt you into it?”

She huffed. “You’re seriously going to call my dad instead of trying to guilt me into an examination first?”

“You just saved my best friend’s life. Laying a guilt trip on you is the last thing I’d choose to do. But I need to know you’re okay, so yeah… I’ll call your dad. Let him play the role of bad cop.”

She was definitely suffering from that last phase of hypothermia because she was melting just from the way he was staring at her. His blue-tinged lips pursed. Those turquoise eyes staring into her soul. “I’ll play nice if you will.”

He snorted then started walking. “Fine. But you first.”

“Always a counteroffer.”

“It’s the only way I might win an argument with you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I can think of one other way.”

Foster tripped a step, chuckling as he regained his balance. “Save that thought for later. Because we’re going to be here a while, and I have a very bad feeling we’re not going to like whatever Zain and Chase have to say once they’re actually coherent.”

Mac stopped as they reached the nurse’s station. “You don’t think this was an accident.”

“I think someone doesn’t want Greer passing on that intel. And I think this trouble is only going to get worse.”