by Callie Croix
Becca turned her head to stare out her window. Weak moonlight gleamed off the top of the deep, water-swollen drainage canal lining this rural stretch of road. It had rained most of the week and if they got another good storm, the roads would likely flood.
David glanced over at her. “You’re not worried, are you?”
“Uh, yeah. Aren’t you?” Only an idiot wouldn’t be.
He reached over to wrap his fingers around her hand. Feeling awkward, she squeezed once before withdrawing it from his grasp. She wasn’t looking to him for comfort. Only assurance that she wasn’t in any sort of danger.
Thankfully he took the hint and placed his hand back on the steering wheel. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Neither of us has. We were both just doing our jobs.”
Maybe so, but that wasn’t going to shield them from the fallout when this whole thing blew up. Probably sooner than later. “I’ve worked there for almost four years,” she said with a frown. “I like it there.”
“You’re not going to lose your job, Becca.”
She didn’t answer. If this thing was real, the whole firm might collapse. None of them would have jobs. Though if one or more of the partners were guilty, she didn’t want to work for them anyway.
They drove in silence for another few minutes, the only sounds the light patter of rain against the windshield and the quiet swish of the wipers across it. A few cars passed them in the other direction, their lights sweeping over the beige leather interior in brief flashes. Becca was so caught up in her inner turmoil she didn’t think anything of the dark car coming up behind them until it crossed the center lane and pulled out next to them to pass. She and David glanced over briefly as the other vehicle’s engine roared, picking up speed.
It didn’t pass them.
It drew up even with them and for a moment Becca clearly saw the passenger peering intently through the window at them, his face illuminated by a streetlight they passed. A young man with pale blue eyes and dark eyebrows, a gray hoodie covering his head. The intent way he stared gave her the creeps.
As though he was disturbed too, David frowned and began to slow down.
Before he could pull them back, the other car veered sharply toward them. Becca gasped as David swore and jerked the wheel sharply to avoid a collision. They skidded on the wet road a moment until he regained control. Her fingers were biting into the leather seat.
“Asshole,” he muttered darkly, hitting the brakes until the car shot ahead.
Heart pounding, Becca reached into her clutch for her phone to call 911. The other car slowed and veered at them again. This time it hit the driver’s side front quarter panel. Her cry was drowned out beneath the sound of metal crunching. Tires squealed as they started to slide.
“Shit!” David exclaimed.
Becca gripped the edges of her seat, mind reeling with horror as their car spun sideways, skidding across the damp pavement. David tried to wrench the vehicle around but instead sent them careening toward the edge of the road. The world outside turned in a sickening blur and then they hit the soft shoulder with a loud thud. A scream stuck in her throat. The car’s right side lifted off the ground, momentarily sending them airborne. They slammed down on her side with a jarring crunch of metal and glass. She cried out and braced a hand on the door a split second before they rolled and plunged over the side into the canal.
The hood’s sudden impact with the water set off both air bags. Becca’s punched her hard in the face, the force disorienting her even as the seatbelt cut deeply into her chest and shoulder. Above the sudden explosions of pain she heard the unmistakable sound of glass cracking. A chilling sound that raked icy needles down her spine. She blinked, fought to get her bearings. A glance out the windshield showed murky darkness.
The water. They were sinking. If the glass gave way, the car would flood.
The moment she thought it, a cold stream poured in from behind her, over her shoulder. Her hands flailed out in front of her, shoving the airbag out of the way. The dim light from the dash instruments threw barely enough illumination for her to see David’s silhouette, slumped in his seat. He didn’t appear to be moving. Outside the car, everything was black. They were well beneath the surface already and still sinking. How far down were they?
Don’t panic. You can’t panic.
“David,” she said in a rough voice, fear pushing her to move, to get out.
“I’m…okay,” he wheezed back, assuring her that at least the airbag hadn’t knocked him out.
She shoved her semi-deflated bag away, trying to get oriented. The seatbelt dug painfully into her chest and shoulder. She seemed to be hanging from it. Was the car on its side or upside down? With a thud, they finally hit the bottom and rolled slightly to the right.
Panic welled up. She forced it back. Her teeth started to chatter, from either shock or the cold water slowly filling the interior. “David, the water’s coming in. We have to get out.” She fumbled with the buckle. When it released, she fell forward and hit the dash with a grunt. Which way was up? She could barely see her hand right in front of her eyes.
No answer.
“David,” she said urgently, scrambling over to help him with his own belt. The dash lights went out, engulfing them in total blackness.
Terror squeezed her windpipe like a fist.
Shaking slightly, she worked completely by feel. Freezing cold water continued to pour into the interior from the broken windows, filling the bottom of the vehicle. She couldn’t tell how much or how fast, but it was already up to her calves. If they were completely submerged it would eventually cover their heads.
“Brace your legs on the dash,” she ordered, and he did before they got his seatbelt undone. He fell into her, crushing her against the dash and passenger door. She gasped at the jolt of pain in her back and ribs. The rising water slowly covered her hips, igniting a raw, primitive instinct to escape. She pushed at his shoulders. “We have to get out your window. Up is out your side.”
“I can’t see a fucking thing,” he snapped back, reaching over to fumble with the door handle.
She lunged up to grab his arm. “No! The window. Smash it open if you have to and once the water level is high enough, we can swim out.” He’d never get the door open against the force of the water, even if it wasn’t damaged too badly to open.
“Are you crazy? We’ll fucking drown!”
“We’re going to drown if we stay in here,” she insisted hotly, shoving at him now. Her heart was galloping, fear driving her to escape. The dark and the confined space fed the claustrophobia that threatened to engulf her, pushing her toward the brink of panic. “Do it, David!”
They didn’t have time to sit here. The assholes who ran them off the road had to have something to do with that file. It had to be connected. The road was dark and quiet, with little traffic. Even if someone were to drive past, they might be too far down for anyone to see them.
Becca forced her shaky legs beneath her, ordering her slamming heart to slow down and her mind to ignore the icy water already swirling around her waist. David wasn’t listening. Every second mattered. She wasn’t about to stay trapped in here and drown.
With a snarl, she grabbed hold of his shoulders and got right in his face. “Goddamn it, David, either kick out that window or get the hell out of the way so I can!”
Chapter Three
Reid slowed his truck when he saw all the cars stopped along the edge of the road up ahead. A half dozen people were gathered together, gesturing and talking on cell phones as they stared into what looked like a drainage canal. Not a good sign. He parked behind the last car, noting the skid marks up ahead along the edge of the road, where gravel met the grassy shoulder. Then he saw the car in the canal, its tail lights glowing a dim red in the darkness below the water line. He immediately grabbed the first aid kit from th
e back and jumped out of the truck.
“Is anyone in there?” he called to the closest bystander, a man standing at the edge.
“Yeah, driver hasn’t come out yet. Fire truck’s on the way.”
Well if the car was filling with water, the chances the first responders would get here in time to save the driver were slim to none. He stripped off his jacket, annoyed that everyone was standing around doing nothing. “How long have they been under?”
“A minute or two.” The man shook his head, peering worriedly over the edge while someone else shined a flashlight beam on the water’s surface. “Still some air bubbles coming up.”
Yeah, there were, which meant someone was still alive down there. Reid grabbed the penlight he kept in the med kit, switched it on and stuck the end in his mouth. The guy next to him gawked when Reid started climbing down the side of the steep embankment. “You seriously going in there?”
Reid didn’t bother answering. He wasn’t going to stand by and let someone drown, waiting for the firemen to arrive to haul out a corpse, when Reid might be able to save them. Ignoring the crowd of curious and useless onlookers, he slid down the slippery side of the canal until he was waist-deep in the water and dove under. It was cold, but not as cold as the Atlantic off Virginia Beach, where he trained all the time. The thin beam from his pen light cut through the murkiness, slowly revealing the vehicle. It surprised Reid how deep the water was in the middle of the canal. More than twice his height, if he had to guess.
The submerged car was stuck ass-end up, leaning on its right side on the bottom of the canal. The back window was cracked, and water would be pouring through. He couldn’t be sure how much had made it inside.
He sliced deeper through the muddy water until he came up to the rear left door, catching sight of someone through the driver’s side window. The person turned upon seeing him and banged urgently on the window. Reid moved closer and saw that the driver had a good eight-inch-high air pocket remaining, the water only up to chest level so far. The driver banged on the window again and Reid rapped his knuckles against it to let him know he’d seen him. As he prepared to surface, he made out the shape of another person moving on the passenger side.
He kicked once to surface and took a breath, yanking the penlight out of his mouth as he treaded water. “Two people in there, both still alive,” he shouted up to the stunned onlookers. No telling how much longer they had until the interior filled completely, though. The wail of sirens sounded in the distance, still too far away to save the victims. “Get some blankets ready.”
Without waiting for a response, he put the penlight back in his mouth and dove back under again.
He swam around to the driver’s side and saw that the water level inside had risen past the edge of the window now. The driver started to yank on the door handle and Reid slammed a hand on the window to get his attention. When the guy looked at him, Reid shook his head sharply and pointed to the rear window. The door was too badly damaged to open, and there wasn’t enough room to open it wide enough for an escape anyway. Not that they could try until the water pressure inside had equalized. They’d get out easier through the larger back window, though he didn’t have any way of telling them what he intended to do.
He motioned toward the rear of the car and waited to make sure the driver followed him. Just as he was about to move away, the passenger moved close enough for the thin beam of light to hit their face.
Reid’s heart stuttered when he found Becca’s terrified eyes staring back at him. What the hell? He stared back for an instant in shock then kicked back to the surface with a renewed sense of urgency. Fuck, Becca was trapped in there? She had to be cold and terrified, maybe hurt from the crash. What the hell had happened? He had to get her out.
Taking another deep breath, he plunged beneath the water again and swam to the back window. It was already partially caved in; a few well-placed kicks would open it up enough for them to get out. He had to time it carefully, smash it in fast and haul them out within a few seconds and hope to hell they’d gotten a good breath of air before the water closed over their heads. He didn’t know if he’d be able to get them both out before they panicked and sucked water into their lungs. Becca was his first priority.
The driver’s face appeared in the back window, then Becca’s. Two pairs of frightened eyes stared up at him. She and the driver were depending on him to get them out. He wasn’t sure if Becca could even see him through the cracked window, or if she’d recognized him earlier. Shining the penlight slightly to the side so he wouldn’t blind them, he tapped on the glass with his finger and pointed toward the surface then made a shooing motion, warning them to move back. Becca’s date nodded and retreated slightly, the water now lapping at his shoulders.
Reid wasn’t waiting another second to bust them out.
He gripped the edge of the trunk with his free hand to brace himself and used all his strength to slam the heels of his boots against the window. The damaged safety glass gave way with a muffled crack before he drove his feet into it a second time, punching a giant hole through it. He kicked twice more in rapid succession as the water poured in, clearing the tiny bits of glass away as fast as he could.
He’d barely pulled his feet back when the driver shoved past him through the opening in a blur of panicked limbs and thrashed toward the surface. Reid lunged forward to grab Becca, only to find that the stupid bastard had kicked her back toward the front seat in his terror to escape.
Mentally cursing the asshole for placing Becca in increased danger and leaving her behind, Reid shot his hand through the window and locked his fingers around one of her flailing arms. He closed his hand around the back of her upper arm in a tight grip as she pushed frantically toward him. In the beam of the penlight he could see the raw terror in her wide eyes. He understood her fear. Aside from the weak light in his mouth, it was pitch dark down here. She likely had no idea how far down they were and was afraid she was going to run out of air.
Unable to reassure her that the surface was only a few feet above them, Reid pulled her up and through the hole, ignoring the way she struggled as her fear tipped her into full-on panic. He couldn’t tell if she’d already inhaled water or cut herself on any of the jagged edges of glass, and right now it didn’t matter. His main concern was to get her some air.
Sliding an arm around her waist to hold her steady, he kicked hard off the back window frame, carefully avoiding her floundering limbs. A second later they broke the surface. Becca threw back her head and sucked in a strangled gasp of air, instinctively fighting his hold in an attempt to stay afloat.
Reid snatched the penlight out of his mouth with his free hand, still keeping a firm hold on Becca with the other. “You’re okay, I’ve got you,” he said as calmly as he could, already pulling her toward the sloping embankment. Why the hell did they have such deep, wide drainage canals around here?
At the sound of his voice she whipped her head around to stare at him, her eyes wide and unblinking in the bright strobe lights of the emergency vehicles that had finally arrived on site. He knew the instant she realized it was him. She went still in his arms for a split second but didn’t answer, pulling in rapid, shallow breaths that told him just how scared she was.
“I’ve got you,” he repeated in a low voice, wishing he could hold her until she calmed and knowing there wasn’t time. Again she didn’t reply, maybe due to shock or the cold, though she didn’t struggle again and her hands came up to lock onto his forearms. One more sidestroke, and Reid’s outstretched hand met the wet concrete edge of the canal.
Urgent voices sounded from above them and a second later, a firefighter appeared at the edge of the embankment in his yellow turnout coat. He braced himself on the steep side and started down in his rubber boots while Reid grasped Becca around the waist, hoisting her up. The fireman took her outstretched hands and hauled her up the side as Reid c
limbed out after them.
The crowd of onlookers had swelled during the rescue. At least a dozen people stood there staring as the fireman hurried Becca over to the waiting ambulance so the paramedics could take over. Her useless-ass date was already sitting in the back of the vehicle covered in a thick blanket, shuddering visibly. Reid shook his head in disgust. With difficulty he reined in the sudden urge to march over there and grab him by the throat and tell the guy exactly what he thought of him. If Reid hadn’t been there, the bastard might have drowned Becca in his panic to get himself out.
Something moved in his peripheral vision. Reid turned his head to find a cop coming toward him, a concerned frown on his middle-aged face. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He was only starting to notice the cold now. His sodden shirt and jeans were plastered to him, his muscles lightly shivering in an attempt to create more body heat. His feet squished in his boots, but hell, he was more than used to being wet and cold and uncomfortable. He hated that Becca was feeling it, though.
The cop appraised him with an admiring nod. “That was pretty damn impressive. You Search and Rescue?”
“No.”
The man narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Military?”
He nodded distractedly, watching Becca with the medics as they pulled out some bandages. She was bleeding? He could see she was shivering but couldn’t tell how badly she’d been hurt in the crash. She seemed to be moving okay though. “Navy.”
“You need anything looked at?”
“No, I’m good.” When the cop walked away, Reid strode toward the ambulance. Halfway there, Becca glanced over and met his gaze. Under the bright lights in the back of the ambulance, her eyes seemed even bluer with the black of her makeup smudged beneath them. She clutched the blanket around her with white-knuckled fingers, her long dark hair falling around her shoulders in wet ropes. So beautiful, and lucky to be alive. It shook him deep inside. “You okay?” he asked when he was close enough.
