Page 47 of Trapped

“What?”

“There’s nothing I can anchor it to.” Instead he tied one end around his waist and the other around hers, then looked down the passage where the water disappeared into the gaping darkness.

She followed his gaze and shivered.

“You know where the river comes out?” he asked.

“No.”

“In that case, we don’t want to get swept away.” He reached for her hand. “We should stay close together.”

“Okay.”

She locked her fingers with his as he waded into the water, testing the current.

The water covered his feet, then his knees, then rose to his waist.

“Is it cold?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Gritting her teeth, she came after him. The depth was one problem. The current was another, and she struggled to keep her footing. She was shorter than Cash, and the water came up to her breasts, instantly numbing her from that point downward.

When she wavered, he steadied her. “Okay to keep going?”

“Yes.”

Cash was almost to the other bank when she slipped and went down. She lost her grip on his hand, and her head dipped below the surface, immediately disorienting her. If she hadn’t been tied to Cash, she would have been swept downstream.

He pulled on the rope, reeling her in. It seemed to take hours, but she knew it could only be minutes before he clasped her hand again. She held on tightly as he helped her toward the opposite shore.

She gasped, clinging to him, trying not to drag them both to destruction.

“Steady.”

“I’m trying,” she sputtered.

Somehow, they made it to the other side. But now they were downstream where the rock walls made it difficult to climb out. Their only option was to wade upstream again, fighting against the current, aiming for the cave opening.

It was tough going. And when she slipped, she grabbed for Cash. Only her hand went to the pack, pulling it off his shoulder. It bobbed in the water, then disappeared into the darkness.

This time she was the one who cursed.

“It’s okay. All we have to do is get to the opening.”

She gritted her teeth and concentrated on pushing against the fast-flowing water, knowing the struggle would have been impossible if she were alone. But Cash stayed beside her. And finally, he threw himself onto the shore and pulled her after him.

Flopping onto dry ground, she lay panting beside him.

The cave opening was small and almost hidden by vines trailing down a rock wall. When Cash pushed the vines aside, the light hurt her eyes. He used a hand for a sunshade and peered into the early morning sunlight. They were about fifty feet in the air, on a rock outcropping. Below them, sunlight dappled on the new green leaves of tall oak and locust trees.

Cash turned back to her. “This is the middle of nowhere. But it doesn’t look much like Thailand. I’d say spring in the eastern United States.”

“Good guess.” She wrapped her arms around her wet shoulders. “It’s West Virginia.”

He gave her an accusing look. “It was easy enough for you to tell me that . . .” He stared into the forest. “Two days ago.”

“Like I said, it was safer for you not to know. It might have changed the equation with Montgomery.”

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