The kayak rocked and swayed and bounced along on the water, icy spray pricking her face and body like little knife tips. A wave crested over the tip of the kayak, making Jane scream as she bounced down so hard her teeth knocked together.
Another flash of lightning, followed by a much-too-close thunderclap, stole what breath she had left, firing her with the strength to use the oar and remember the most basic things Adam had taught her to stay alive.
Aim the boat at the V in the rapid. Keep the paddle in water. Lean into the current. Don’t panic.
Too late.
At the pop of a gunshot, she ducked instinctively and stole a glance over her shoulder, catching sight of Lydia on the riverbank, her pistol aimed dead ahead at Jane.
The only thing keeping her alive was the wild waves, bouncing her so crazily she was a moving target. Peering through the rain, she spied the vertical jut of a distinct rock formation.
The Middle Finger. If she could just get by that, around those rocks without flipping, she’d be out of sight.
Find the V. Paddle in water. Don’t panic.
She stabbed the rapids with the oar and thrust her body forward, trying to force the kayak into the V of the two converging rapids, gasping for air as another chilling splash hit her face. Bracing for the next bullet, she stayed as low as she could, her gaze locked on that rock.
If she could just get to it, get past it. She heard a shriek, followed by another gunshot, making her duck again.
A sudden wave rose up and lifted the kayak, balancing it high, then the kayak leaned left and…more left…and then she was completely sideways, suspended in air for one split second. She opened her mouth to scream in horror, but she hit the water so hard it was like crashing onto ice, then instantly there was darkness and the roar of water and a freezing wet force that dragged her and bounced her and refused to let her go.
The water was stronger than she’d ever dreamed. More vicious and powerful than her worst nightmare. It grabbed her and flung her and choked her.
No, that wasn’t water. It was an arm, clamped around her neck, pulling her up, dragging her.
Lydia got her!
She fought wildly, kicked, and took in a lungful of water. She couldn’t get to the surface. She couldn’t breathe. The force pulling her was stronger and more determined and completely in charge. She fought with everything she had, kicking, pulling, refusing to be overpowered.
But water filled her lungs and she was absolutely no match for the strength of her attacker. Blackness closed in, dragging her into oblivion and certain death.
Chapter Twenty
Jane! Come on, damn it. Come on! Quit fighting me!
Finally, her body went limp under Adam’s rescue grip, but the rapids were relentless, pounding them both and taking them farther from shore.
He battled to keep her head above water, fully aware she’d passed out and could easily drown. And die.
She can’t die. She can’t die. She can’t die.
The mantra echoed in his head, louder than the rushing water, stronger than the brutal current. She had to live, so he could tell her that he trusted her, believed her, and fought for her. He’d heard the first scream just as he and Zane reached the top of the ridge and spied the phone wedged among the rocks of the fire pit.
Without hesitating, he’d run in the direction of the sound, hustling down the path and over the boulder to spot a woman who wasn’t Jane clawing her way back up and running down the path, gun drawn.
She beat him to the bottom and started shooting before Adam knocked her on her ass. When he looked up, he saw the kayak flip right into the icy water. That’s when he left the woman for Zane to deal with and started swimming for his life.
No, for hers.
She can’t die. She can’t die.
With each thought, he kicked and clawed, clinging to her lifeless body, bracing for the next rapid to crash over them. He knew the waves and rocks, knew what to expect, knew he could get her back to shore.
He started kicking harder and harder, one hand outstretched in anticipation of a rock. He heard it first, like thunder in his ears. And then he felt it instinctively. Just as he came up for air, he saw it. A massive wall of white water, a roller wave coming right at them.
He’d seen them here before, not uncommon with the ledge near the Middle Finger that reversed the current and gave a wild ride. Experienced rafters prayed for the adventure of this kind of wave. Someone swimming with a lifeless victim prayed to survive it.
The noise deafened, and he turned to hold Jane with both arms, bracing for the impact as the wave knocked over both of them, slamming them, crushing them, and trying to pull Jane away from him with tons of power.
Her body dragged, almost out of his arms, almost lost. But he gritted his teeth and fought for her.
She can’t die!
And then the wave was past, replaced by quieter ruffles, easy froth, and the knowledge that he hadn’t lost his grip. He swam them to the riverbank and got her on her back, ignoring the rain and lightning, but the storm was already moving on.
“Come on, Jane. Breathe!” He turned her head to drain her mouth and nose of water, his heart breaking at the sight of gashes and scrapes on her cheeks.
Clearing her airway, he put his mouth over hers, held her nose, and breathed out a lungful of air into her. He felt for a pulse, waited for the miracle.
He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. He had to tell her he believed her. He trusted her. He wanted her in his life forever.
Once again, he inhaled and transferred every molecule of air to her, holding her as he felt her slip away.
“No, Jane. Don’t. Don’t leave me. Don’t—”
She moaned. Rolled her head from side to side. And suddenly, she expelled the water from her lungs.
“Yes!” He lifted her gently. “There you go. That’s my girl.”
She groaned in agony, still limp in his arms. “Adam…”
“I’m here, Jane. I’m here.”
“Your…girl.” Her eyes barely fluttered open, closed again, and her head fell back in complete relief. “Adam.”
He wrapped her shivering, waterlogged body in his arms and squeezed so tight he could feel her shuddering bones. “You made it. You did it. You beat her.”
She managed to lift her head, her mouth still open as she gasped for air, her eyes slits under thick, wet lashes. “You be…believe me.”
“Yes,” he said simply. “I believe you.”
Quivering, she leaned into him, her teeth chattering like a jackhammer. “Where is she? That monster? She wanted to ki-ki-kill me.”
At the farthest end of the shore, well out of hearing with the rushing water, Zane held the woman in one mighty arm, a phone to his ear as he no doubt called for backup. “Zane has her.”
She opened one eye a little more. “How?”
“I told you there’s a back way by rock-climbing. We beat you there, found the phone, and heard you scream.”
“How did you know about her?”
“The FBI came to arrest you.”
She closed her eyes. “You told Noah.”
“Jane, I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting you, clearing you. She used your ID, didn’t she?”
She nodded, looking away, hurt in her eyes.
“I’m really sorry,” he said again. “I wanted to help you.”
She finally looked back at him, and with strength he’d doubted she even had, she lifted her hand and touched his cheek. “I wanted to trust you.”
He scooped her higher into his chest. “You can. I’m here for you. I’ll defend you no matter what happens.”
“There’s nothing to defend, Adam.”
“I know.” He kissed her head again. “I know.” In the distance, he heard a familiar thud of blades in the air. “Help is coming. Ryder in the rescue helicopter. And the FBI.”
Her eyes flashed.
“I’ll kill them with my bare hands before they accuse you of anything.”
<
br /> She managed a smile at his over-the-top promise. “Thanks.”
He dropped his forehead against hers. “You know this could be it for us.”
“The end?”
He lifted up and looked at her. “The beginning. It’s all up to you.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes and gave in to another shiver, holding him with weakened arms as the chopper came into sight. “And, Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for the rescue.”
But deep in his heart, he knew he should be thanking her for the same thing.
* * *
“Coleman Medical Center?” Jane read the name on the nurse’s scrubs as the woman wheeled her cart of medical supplies out of the emergency treatment room where she’d been tending to Jane. “As in Noah Coleman?”
Next to her bed, Adam stepped forward. “And Will Coleman, one of the founders of Eagle’s Ridge.”
She angled her head to see him. Someone had brought him dry clothes, and he must have changed while she was in triage. That was the only time since he’d saved her that they’d been apart. He wouldn’t leave her side.
“Noah thinks I’m some kind of criminal,” she said.
“I’ll set him straight next time I talk to him,” Adam said, leaning over the bed to kiss her on the forehead. “I’ll set anyone straight who even—”
A tap on the door made him stand, and it opened slowly as a man walked in, steely blue eyes trained on Jane. “Ms. McAllen? Special Agent Tim Bratcher. Can I talk to you?”
She recognized the name of the FBI agent Adam had told her about in the helicopter, but the details were fuzzy back then.
“Yes, come in,” she said, sitting higher and adjusting the hospital gown they’d changed her into.
The man nodded to Adam in silent recognition. “Thanks to both of you for a job well done.”
Jane felt a frown form, then glanced up at Adam. “What did we do?”
“You brought in a woman we’ve wanted for a long time, and that phone you kept with you all this time had information that will lead us to some of the top drug trafficking rings in the country.”
“Lydia Swann?” she asked.
“That’s one of her names,” he told her. “One of about twenty. Her real name is Alana Cuevas, the daughter of a Colombian drug lord killed by Valverde. She’s been planning to bring him down since she was a teenager. She worked her way into his circle, stole valuable contact information, then told Valverde you had it.”
“And I did,” she said. “At least I assume that’s why she wanted the phone.”
“Exactly. The chip was inside.”
“Why would she give it to me?” Jane asked.
“To get the information out and safe and set you up. She put a target on your back with Valverde who would know that he’d been screwed by someone. Your similar looks worked perfectly for her to arrange it all and make you look like the bad guy.”
Jane tried to take all that in, barely able to. “But she had so much information on me,” she said softly, remembering all that Lydia Swann had known when she sent Jane off to Washington. About her childhood and the homes. “How?”
“She’s a computer whiz and has a specialty for data mining. No doubt she wanted to know enough about you to be sure you didn’t have a family who’d come after you. She needed someone she knew would follow her orders.”
Sighing, Jane closed her eyes. “I was stupid.”
“You were smart,” Adam countered. “You were trying to protect yourself.”
The agent nodded as if he agreed. “She’d have let you take the fall with Valverde in a heartbeat,” he said. “If her plan hadn’t gone awry, I’m certain she’d have let him know you were the mole and told him exactly where to find you.”
She shuddered at the thought. “How did it go awry?” she asked.
“The night before she left, we moved in on his operation. She wasn’t there, but got wind of it and took off after you. When you didn’t have the phone, she panicked and obviously tried to kill you.”
Adam’s grip tightened. “We weren’t about to let that happen.”
“And you are free to go back to Miami, ma’am,” Bratcher said. “Valverde is in custody, too. Would you like us to arrange a flight for you?”
“No,” she whispered, threading her fingers through Adam’s. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while.”
Bratcher nodded and gave what she suspected was a rare smile. “If there’s anything I can do for you, then,” he said, “just ask.”
“No, I—”
“Yes, there is,” Adam said, giving her hand the lightest squeeze.
“Name it.”
“We could use some help finding someone named Susan McAllen.”
A wash of gratitude rolled over Jane as Adam uttered her mother’s name. She looked up at him and saw that tenacity on his strong features she’d come to adore. He wanted to help her, to rescue her, to offer her closure from her past, and that touched her heart.
“Your mother?” the FBI agent asked Jane. At her surprised look, he tipped his head. “We did some research on Susan McAllen when we thought you were a suspect.”
She stared at him for a moment, knowing that he probably knew exactly where her mother was. All she had to do was ask and then…
She swallowed and gave her head a quick, negative shake. “I don’t need that information,” she said, looking up at Adam, a rush of love warming her. “I have everything I need now.”
And for the first time in as long as she could remember, she meant it.
The agent shook their hands and left, closing the door with a firm click.
Adam took a step so he could look into her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back?”
“I’m sure.” She reached up and touched his cheek. “I’m right where I want to be.”
Epilogue
They waited until it was after midnight and moved like ninjas down the residential street on the outskirts of Eagle’s Ridge. Well, three of them did.
Zane clomped his big ass down the middle of the street, his arms laden with the bouquets of roses Adam had arranged to have delivered to A To Z earlier that day. Paying for the bet was the least he could do, since he hadn’t won it fair and square. And wouldn’t have won at all without Zane’s help.
Plus, the big lug had taken down a criminal to help save Jane, so at least Adam should cough up a few hundred for the stunt. He did it anonymously, of course, so Diana couldn’t ever find out which of them paid, but the cost was worth five times that to see his gambling brother lose a bet.
“They gotta be everywhere, Zane,” Adam called in a hushed whisper, holding back with Ryder and Wyatt. “Piles of those suckers all over the porch.”
“I know, I know. I came up with the idea, remember?”
“And we are not bailing you out when you get caught,” Wyatt added. “We’re just getting some evidence and then we’re out.”
Jane was waiting at the cross street in Adam’s truck with Bailey. The minute the guys had recorded evidence—and made a little noise to wake up Miss Woody—they would all hop in the truck and take off, leaving Zane to fend for himself.
“He so deserves this,” Ryder said.
“I just wish Noah, Jack, and Ford were here to see,” Wyatt said.
“I’ll have the proof on my phone,” Adam assured them.
They came to her house, a cute little Craftsman-style bungalow with a front porch and swing, and not a single light on.
“I don’t want to scare her.” Adam slowed his step, thinking of how Jane would feel hearing a strange noise in the middle of the night.
“I’ll just throw a little pebble up at her bedroom window,” Wyatt said.
“You know which room’s her bedroom?” Ryder asked.
Wyatt gave a low chuckle. “I did a few drive-bys in high school.”
“Loser,” Zane called over his shoulder, obviously hearing every word.
“Like you didn’t,�
� Wyatt shot back.
“I sure as hell didn’t,” Adam said. “Did you, Ryder?”
“Hell no. I had plenty of dates in high school. Didn’t need to stalk Miss Woody.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Of course, BMOC wouldn’t have problems getting a date.”
He shot Adam a look. “I’m done dating, unless it’s date night with my…” He just smiled. “Way more than significant other.”
Adam couldn’t help smiling back. “Bailey’s happy. I’m glad for you guys.”
“And what about you?” Ryder asked.
“He’s finished,” Zane called over his shoulder. “DOA. Jane-not-Jadyn is the one.”
Ryder eyed him. “Happens fast, right?”
“It can,” Adam agreed.
“Good,” Ryder said. “You got your ass nice and settled down and the boathouse is finished.”
Adam nodded. “All except for one thing. That offer to work reserve on your search-and-rescue team still open?”
“Hell yeah.” Ryder held up his knuckles for a congratulatory tap. “I wondered why the hell you didn’t scoop that up. I’m going to need you, man.”
“You got me.” Adam just closed his eyes for a minute, trying to let that sink in and—
“All right. Shut up. All of you.” Zane practically stomped his foot delivering the order. Wyatt, Ryder, and Adam held back, watching the big man march up a few stairs as the three of them hid like hoodlums behind some bushes.
“Everywhere!” Adam called, his phone out and recording video.
With his free hand, Zane shot him the bird, tossing roses with the other.
“The window, Wyatt,” Ryder reminded him.
“I’m on it.” Wyatt scooped up some gravel and backed up, tossing a few pebbles at an upstairs window.
The bedroom light came on instantly, and the he-man on the porch was making enough noise that it was only a few seconds until the front porch—and Zane—was bathed in light.
Adam, Wyatt, and Ryder silently guffawed and exchanged a few high fives.
“Record the shit out of this,” Wyatt said.
Adam (7 Brides for 7 Soldiers Book 2) Page 19
