Surviving the Wilderness by Maggie K. Black

Author:Maggie K. Black
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-02-11T21:35:04+00:00

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Chaos engulfed Jeff’s senses. The current spun him around in dizzying circles, making him feel like a Ping-Pong ball in the washing machine. The boat he sat in was sinking beneath him. The smell of gunfire still lingered in the air, despite the wind and rain that lashed against his body. They’d been attacked by a drone—just like the makeshift drone explosive that had killed Della and thirteen other members of his unit. That couldn’t be a coincidence. Could it?

“Quinn!” he shouted. “Where are you?”

No answer. He gritted his teeth, wedged his paddle against a rock to stop the boat from spinning then leaned overboard and grabbed on to it. The rock was slippery against his fingers and he nearly lost his grasp. But he managed to lash a rope around it, anchoring the boat in place. The rock was narrow and incredibly uneven. He jammed his paddle between his seat and the side of the boat to keep it from floating away, looked around in vain for hers, and tucked the satellite phone and walkie-talkie into a pouch under the seat. Then he climbed out of the canoe onto the rock, balanced on it and scanned the water for Quinn.

A flash of bright yellow caught his eye in the distance. It was her life jacket.

He leaped into the water. Immediately the current swept him downstream from her. But he swam hard for the side of the river to where the granite cliff rose a story tall out of the water. He grabbed for the wall, lost his grip and was tossed farther downriver. He grabbed again and got a fingerhold. So far, so good. He gritted his teeth and forced his way along the wall toward Quinn, one step at a time, reaching for footholds under his feet and crawling his hands horizontally along the rock. Water beat against him, trying to force him back. His lungs and limbs ached with every step.

“Jeff!” Quinn’s voice floated through the air toward him and he felt fresh air fill his lungs. “Help!”

“I’m coming!” he shouted back. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she called. “But I’m trapped.”

“Just hang on!” he told her. “I’m almost there.” Rain beat against his head. His ankles and knees were bashed over and over again by unseen rocks under the water. “It’s going to be okay. I promise!”

Then he saw Quinn pinned behind what looked like a fallen tree in a mass of rock and debris. Her eyes met his and a smile crossed his face.

“Hey,” she said. “You made it.”

“I did.” The grin that he felt cross his face was exhausted and weak, but it was real. How was it that, no matter how much pain his heart and his body were in, she always managed to make him feel stronger than he knew he was capable of being? He wedged his feet between two rocks, grabbed on to the tree trunk. She reached her hand for his through the debris. He grabbed it and held on tightly.

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