Page 34 of Duty Bound

“What’s that for?” she asked, finally dragging her eyes from the water.

“To keep some of our stuff dry,” he said.

“Our backpacks?” He noticed she was shivering, but whether it was from the cold or the shock, he couldn’t be sure. Probably both.

“No, we’re going to wear those. They’ll help keep us afloat. This is so we can get warm on the other side.”

He took out the sleeping bag, wishing he had dry clothing to add to it, but he’d had to leave his original backpack in the damn cave. The team hadn’t given them any extra jackets or sweaters, only a down sleeping bag in one of the emergency packs. After this, keeping warm was going to be one of their biggest problems, but he didn’t mention that now.

One dilemma at a time.

Right now, getting across this river was their priority.

After tying the black bag firmly, he placed it at the top of his pack, then refastened the straps. “Okay, we’re good to go.”

Lily wrapped her arms around her, a gesture he’d come to know—she felt scared and vulnerable.

“You got this.” He forced a smile.

She bit her lip. “Is it cold?”

“Yeah.” It was going to be freezing, no way to sugarcoat that. “But we’ll be across in under ten minutes.”

She gave a little nod. “Do we get undressed?”

“Remove the body armor, and stuff it into your pack. You can keep the rest on. Wade in as far as possible. The longer you keep your feet under you, the less ground we lose. When you can’t stand anymore and have to swim, try to keep your feet up as high as you can.” That was enough of a warning without mentioning an undertow. “Don’t be alarmed when you start moving rapidly downstream. At that point, we have to let the current take us. As soon as we can stand again, we’ll be able to go straight to the other side. Got it?”

Her lip quivered, but she gave a brave nod.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I’ll pull you across if you get into trouble.”

A shaky breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Blade went first, his weapon on his back, secured to his body along with the backpack. He needed both arms free to swim. After a few steps, he felt the rope tighten around his waist, then slacken again as she followed him in.

This was it.

They had to make it across undetected.

Holy crap!

The water was freezing.

Lily gasped as a million little icicles pierced her legs, then her stomach, then her chest, threatening to squeeze all the breath out of her.

Already, her toes had gone numb.

She exhaled, long and slow, trying to keep calm.

“You okay?” Blade cast a worried glance in her direction.

I can do this.

Frigid water lapped at her shoulders. She’d caused enough bother over the last hour, so she wouldn’t bail out now no matter how much she wanted to. And boy, did she want to. Icy tentacles clawed at her, drawing her in. Teeth pressed together to stop them from chattering, she muttered, “I’m okay.”

The riverbed was slippery, and her feet felt weird under the water—heavy, but at the same time unable to grip the sandy bottom.

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