Page 37 of Thin Ice

She enlarged the phone screen. “Coming up on your left. There’s another road. Take it and then take the first road to your left. It should circle back to the highway.”

Nick held a tight grip on the steering wheel. He spotted the road Abby mentioned and yanked the SUV left. Floored the pedal and drove through the darkness.

Brookes watched behind them. “I don’t see the vehicle. But if they’re smart, they’ll follow.”

“There’s the second road.” Nick punched the gas pedal. “If we can get turned before they make it to this one, we might have a chance to outrun them.”

Brookes sure hoped Nick proved true, but he had no doubt the men in the vehicle would have radioed their partners. They’d be combing every square inch of the landscape to find them. They’d need to reach Devils Lake quickly and make the exchange. “Keep moving, Nick. Whatever you do, don’t slow down.”

Nick managed to keep the SUV on the road that was covered in ice and snow. “I see the intersection coming up. There’s a bridge up ahead.” He sounded uncertain. “It doesn’t look too sturdy.”

Abby brought the location up on the screen. “It doesn’t even show a body of water.”

Nick slowed the vehicle’s speed.

Brookes peered behind them. “So far, no one’s back there.”

Nick clicked the headlights on. The rickety wooden bridge didn’t appear strong enough to hold a person much less a large vehicle filled with people. “What do we do?”

“I don’t think we have a choice. We go for it.” Brookes just prayed the decision wouldn’t cost them their lives.

Chapter Ten

The SUV edged onto the bridge. It creaked under the weight. Abby glanced below. The body of water was iced over. A shiver sped down her spine as Nick continued inching across the bridge.

As Nick eased along, a board beneath the weight broke free and landed on the ice below. How thick was the ice? If they went through the ice, the freezing water would kill them in no time. She squeezed Brookes’s hand.

He squeezed it back. Silence filled the space broken only by labored breathing. And then another creak. Then a snap. More boards broke free beneath the SUV. The front tires went through. Someone screamed. The SUV shook. The front end plowed through the open space.

“We’re going in.” Abby barely got the words out before the back tires fell through and the SUV plunged through the air. Hit the thin ice and broke through immediately.

The vehicle plunged into the dark at a rapid pace.

“We have to get out. Now.” Abby shoved with all her strength and finally got the door open. Brookes had lost consciousness beside her. She unbuckled his seatbelt and dragged him from the SUV and into the frigid waters.

It scared her that he wasn’t moving. She swam toward the shore while keeping a close eye on the SUV that was sinking at a fast rate. Nick and Joe were out. Joe had his sister in his arms and was swimming toward Abby.

President Douglas freed himself from the restraints and was trying to help Snake who flayed around in the water.

“I can’t swim, man.”

“I’ve got you. Just relax,” Victor told him and grabbed him around the chest and swam toward the shore. Chris and Oliver followed close behind them.

“Is that everyone?” Abby asked once the two medics made it ashore. She looked around.

“Where’s Hannah?” Hannah had dived into the water. Several splashes next to her. She hadn’t made it. Abby swam as fast as she could toward the vehicle that was almost completely submerged.

Help Us, Lord.

All the glass had shattered under the pressure of the water. Abby went inside. Through the murky water she couldn’t see anything. Frantic, she dove into the backseat. Hannah wasn’t there.

Victor and Joe swam to the back of the SUV while she and Nick searched around for Brookes’s missing sister. She couldn’t let anything happen to Hannah.

The rest of the swimmers broke the surface. Against the bank, Abby noticed something. “There.” She pointed to the object and swam toward it with the others.

Hannah must have gotten swept from the SUV and was carried downstream.

“I got her,” Victor said and wrapped his arm around her chest. They swam to the waiting crowd. Victor laid her on the shore. She wasn’t breathing. Chris knelt beside her and started CPR. Abby held her breath as she watched.Please, be okay.

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