Page 32 of Flynn

“Swim?” Her voice was little more than a croak, and he realized she was already shivering. Hypothermia was already setting in.

If they didn’t get out of the lake very soon, they would die.

ChapterEight

Icy water filled the boat faster than she could bail. Taylor’s lower limbs went numb first, then she noticed her arms weren’t working properly. The water was almost up to her waist now, and the boat was sinking fast.

They were going to die.

“Swim!” Flynn’s shout managed to penetrate the icy numbness enveloping her. He tugged her along with him as they quickly abandoned the boat. “Swim!”

Desperation spurred her forward. Looking beyond Flynn’s shoulder, she could see the shoreline wasn’t far. Maybe twenty yards? Yet it seemed unattainable.

Forcing her dead limbs to move wasn’t easy. She tried to kick her legs to propel her forward. But she couldn’t feel them moving. Flynn had a tight grip on her jacket and was pulling her along.

“Stand up.” He abruptly surged from the water, taking a few stumbling steps. “The shore is right there! Come on, Taylor, you can do this!”

Understanding the water wasn’t very deep here, she struggled to stand. Her legs didn’t want to support her, but she managed to take two steps before falling back down.

“Hang on to me.” Flynn anchored his arm around her waist and hauled her forward. He must be just as cold as she was, but he had sheer strength of will on his side. He pulled her up and out of the water, collapsing on the shore.

“Wh-where are we?” The area didn’t look familiar.

“The lake house is the next one over.” Flynn pushed himself upright. “We need to move. I don’t know if he’ll come back.”

The idea of the gunman tracking them down and firing more shots sent the fight-or-flight response jolting through her. She was still cold to the bone, but she forced herself to lift up onto her hands and knees. With Flynn’s help, she managed to lever herself upright.

“This way.” Flynn guided her across the lawn at an angle. The house appeared to be empty, or maybe she just assumed that as no one rushed out to help them.

Once they were in the yard of their rental property, the trek became more difficult. Not only were her legs not working well, but they were climbing up the slope to the house. It felt like scaling Everest, her gaze focused on the warmth of the building so close yet so far away.

“You can do it,” Flynn said between grunts. “We’re almost there.”

He was doing more than his part, hauling her along with him. When they reached the house, he punched in the key code and opened the door. The blast of warm air was like a blanket. She wanted to lie down on the floor, but Flynn wouldn’t let her.

“No, Taylor. We need to keep moving.” He urged her forward. “We need to take off our wet clothes and grab some blankets for the road.”

For the road? She blinked. Stared. “We’re leaving?”

“Yes. As quickly as possible.” He dragged her to the closest bedroom and wrenched the quilted blanket off the bed. “Strip off your wet clothes and wrap up in this.”

Strip?

“If you can’t take your things off, I’ll do it for you.” Flynn was already shucking off his wet clothes. She belatedly realized he’d grabbed another blanket from the closet.

“I can do it.” Or so she hoped. The numbness was wearing off, leaving a strange tingling along her nerve endings. She began to shiver uncontrollably as she peeled off her coat and her sweater.

“Here, let me help.” Flynn draped the quilt around her shoulders. The warmth was amazing, giving her the strength she needed to toe off her shoes and begin to peel down her wet jeans.

The only thought in her mind was survival. The gunman had tried to drown them in the icy water. Flynn was right to get them out of there.

“Good job,” he said as she managed to kick the jeans off. He drew the edges of the quilt around her and looked into her eyes. “The worst is over. We’re going to get through this. Time to head out to the car.”

She nodded, ignoring the absurdity of driving away wearing nothing but wet underwear and a blanket. “Okay.”

With a reassuring smile, he drew her down the short hall to the main living area. She belatedly realized that he’d tucked his blanket under his arms so that he could hold his service weapon in one hand, carrying his wallet with the other as they made their way through the house.

He ignored the computers, grabbing the car’s key fob off the counter. He opened the garage door and peeked through, then moved into the garage.

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