Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“What the fuck.” I squint involuntarily, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. “Go around, asshole!”
He doesn’t. Instead, he accelerates, getting even closer. I swallow hard, speeding up to switch to the left lane before he can make contact with my bumper, only he follows me there, too.
Shit, shit, shit. This guy is going to hit me. When he tries to hit me again, I swerve back into the right lane again, hoping by some miracle that he’ll speed off ahead of me, but I hit a patch of ice and fishtail for a few scary seconds. There’s nowhere to turn for another mile or so and nowhere to pull over. Not that pulling over anywhere near this psychopath would be a good idea. There’s nothing but woods to my left and an embankment that leads to the river on my right. If I can just make it to the next stoplight, I’ll be in a more populated area.
Suddenly, the car slows down, almost to a full stop, and I breathe a sigh of relief watching their headlights get smaller in my rearview mirror until I see nothing at all. I press a hand to my racing heart, trying to calm myself down. I’m almost to the light when I hear the car again, but this time, I can’t see him. Or her. I look out my side mirror, barely making out the form of the SUV speeding toward me without their lights on, but it’s too late.
Everything happens within a matter of seconds. I jerk forward with the impact, then I’m skidding off the road. I let out a scream as I hurdle down the embankment, toward the river. My car hits the frozen water, my face bouncing off my steering wheel, then everything goes eerily silent. I’m hyperventilating, struggling to make sense of what happened. I try to force myself to take deep breaths and gauge my surroundings, trying to figure out the best way out of this. I can’t see anything outside my windows. I’m dizzy and disoriented and I know I need to act fast, but my thoughts are in slow motion. The sound of rushing water draws my attention to the floor of the car, and only then do I realize my feet are submerged, and the car is filling with water.
Help. I need to call for help. I look around for my purse, finding it on the floor of the front passenger seat. I unbuckle my seatbelt, carefully leaning forward to reach for it. Finally, my fingers make contact with the thin, wet leather strap, and I pull it onto the seat next to me. My hands are shaking so badly that I can barely get my purse unzipped.
I finally get my hands to cooperate, pulling out my phone, only to find it at one percent battery. I squeeze my eyes shut, banging the back of my head against the seat, sending out a silent wish that it will stay on long enough to call for help. If I’m lucky, I can make one phone call, so I have to make it count. I close my eyes, hitting the name of the person I trust more than anyone else.
Holden
I frown at my phone, my hackles rising when I see Valen’s name flash across my screen. She knows I’m with Shayne and Thayer. The only reason she’d call is a butt dial or an emergency. I walk into the bathroom to take the call, telling myself I’m being paranoid for nothing.
“It’s a little early for a booty call, isn’t it?”
“Holden?”
The tone of her voice is one I’ve never heard before. Vulnerable, scared, laced with a hint of panic. It instantly sends chills up my spine.
“What’s wrong?”
She starts rambling, her words too fast and jumbled for me to make out much other than accident and river and something about being stuck in her car.
“Valen, breathe,” I tell her. I hear her take a shaky breath. “Tell me where you are.”
“In the river. Right before the light on University.”
“You’re in the water now?” I clarify.
“Yes,” she breathes. “The water is starting to get inside and I’m afraid to move.” I hear movement in the background, as if she’s shifting around. “I don’t think I’m far from the embankment. It feels like I’m tilting forward, like the back end of my car is stuck on something.”
“Listen to me,” I say, trying to sound calm when I’m feeling anything but. “I need you to roll your window down before the water gets any higher, okay?” I throw the bathroom door open, earning curious looks from my brother and Shayne. “It’s going to rush in, so I need you to move fast.”
“My car’s dead. The windows won’t go down.”
Fuck.
“Did you call for help yet?”
Shayne frowns at my words, looking over to Thayer who shrugs his shoulders.