Page 62 of A Rebel's Shot

Time lost all meaning as they tumbled through the watery labyrinth. Tiikâan’s limbs grew numb, his movements sluggish. Still, he clung to Merritt.

His vision began to dim, black spots dancing at the edges. The need for air became all-consuming, threatening to override his instincts. Just as he felt his grip on consciousness slipping, a larger opening appeared above them.

Tiikâan burst through the surface, gulping in air as he pulled Merritt up beside him. The roar of the river filled his ears as they were swept downstream, icy banks rushing past in ablur.

“Kick!” he shouted, his voice hoarse.

Merritt didn’t answer. He angled them toward the shore, fighting against the current with every ounce of strength he had left.

A dark shape loomed ahead. Before Tiikâan could react, they slammed into a submerged boulder. Pain exploded across his side, and he nearly lost his grip on Merritt. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his hold and pushed off the rock, propelling them closer to the bank.

His muscles screamed in protest, each movement a battle against the numbing cold. Tiikâan’s strokes became weaker, less coordinated. Just as despair began to set in, he spotted a fallen tree stretching into the river.

“There!” he gasped, using the last of his strength to maneuver them toward it.

They crashed into the branches, the impact nearly knocking the wind out of him. Tiikâan’s fingers, stiff and unresponsive, scrabbled for purchase on the slick bark. He dragged himself and Merritt along the trunk, inch by agonizing inch.

The shore was so close now, but his body threatened to betray him. His arms shook violently, muscles on the verge of giving out. Tiikâan clenched his jaw, forcing himself to keep moving. He couldn’t let go. Not now. Not when Merritt’s life depended on him.

With one final, herculean effort, Tiikâan hauled them both onto the muddy bank. He collapsed onto his side, chest heaving, the world spinning around him as exhaustion threatened to pull him under.

Tiikâan rolled to his side, his heart seizing when he saw Merritt lying motionless beside him.

“No,” he rasped, yanking his arm free from her backpack strap. He tore off his own pack, his frozen fingers fumbling with the clasps.

“Merritt!”

His voice cracked as he lifted her limp form, quickly removing her backpack. Her lips were blue, her skin deathly pale. No breath stirred from her parted lips.

Panic clawed at his throat as he positioned her, ready to start CPR. But before he could begin, Merritt’s body jerked. She sucked in a startled gasp, her eyes flying open. Relief flooded through him as she rolled to her side, violently expelling water from her lungs.

Tiikâan’s hand shook as he brushed her wet hair back from her face, his muscles trembling from a combination of exhaustion and bone-deep cold. The storm had subsided, but a biting wind whipped around them, chilling him to his core.

Merritt continued to cough and retch, her body racked with spasms as she purged the river water from her system. Tiikâan murmured soft words of encouragement, his hand never leaving her back.

When the last of her heaves subsided, Tiikâan gently pulled Merritt into his lap, cradling her against his chest. She shivered violently, her teeth chattering.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. “You’re safe now.”

He hated lying to her.

TWENTY-FOUR

Merritt was far from safe.

She was shivering in Tiikâan’s arms on the side of a river in the middle the Alaskan wilderness. Granted, the arms were nice and did give her a sense of assurance. Yet Merritt and Tiikâan were so far from safe she’d laugh at the word if she wasn’t frozen.

Tiikâan took a deep breath, his chest pushing against her back, then huffed it out with a groan. “We gotta get moving.”

“Where?”

Merritt tried to push from the comfort of his arms. She really did, but her muscles refused to move. She’d never been this weak or cold in her entire life.

Guess almost dying didn’t agree with her body.

Tiikâan lifted her, placing her on the muddy ground next to him. He groaned long and loud as he rolled to his knees and pushed to his feet. He tipped his chin to the forest that loomed over them as he pulled his pack on.

“This area is a rescue nightmare.”

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