Page 24 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

Bridges and other infrastructures had failed in recent years because they hadn’t been fortified or replaced. They simply couldn’t last forever. Erin and Nathan had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Together they watched the river swollen with floodwater begin to slowly even out and die down, settling into its previous course. But it had left a path of destruction in its wake.

Across the landscape and his heart.

“What now?” Her voice still sounded raspy. He took her in again, concerned for her emotional state.

Shoot, he was concerned for his as well. He wasn’t likely to get over that experience anytime soon, especially since it came on the heels of his father being shot. The Grayback River would never be the same for him again.

He dug his cell out of his pocket and shook the water out of it. “Well, we’re not calling for help unless your phone is waterproof.”

“You know, I think it’s advertised as water resistant, whatever that means.” She pulled hers out. “But the screen is cracked.” Erin pressed the power button, but the cell didn’t come to life.

“You must have hit something.” Nathan studied her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

She moved her arms and shoulders around, then twisted her ankles and winced. Erin brought her right foot toward her to examine it more closely. “I feel like I got battered, but nothing’s broken.”

“What about your ankle? Is it bothering you?”

“I was almost safe, then my foot got caught between some rocks. My ankle is a little sore and bruised, that’s all. What about you?”

He had a plethora of aches and pains to go with the scratches, for sure. “I’m good.”

Good enough to get moving, because they definitely couldn’t languish next to the raging river that had almost taken their lives.

Now that they had taken a few moments to catch their breath, Nathan stood and offered his hand. “We need to get out of here.”

Erin slowly got to her feet. “Thank you, by the way, for what you did back there.” She averted her gaze, a V forming between her brows, then looked back at him. “You saved me, Nathan. I could have died. And you could have died trying to save me. You risked your life.”

Her mouth turned down as she shook her head, and her eyes welled with tears.

“Come here.” Nathan pulled her to him. She shivered and his body shook as well—adrenaline rushing out of him. That, along with the fear that had gripped him.

He closed his eyes. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for saving us.

Stepping out of his arms, Erin used the edges of her T-shirt to wipe off the mud on her face. “Better?”

He shook his head. “It’s going to take a lot more than that. I wouldn’t worry about it. After all, it’s just me here.”

“Right. And now you can truly say you’ve seen me at my worst.”

He brushed a clump of mud from her cheek. “I can say the same of you. You’ve seen me at my worst. It’ll be our secret.” He winked. “And now we should get going.”

Erin pointed. “We’re on the far side of the river. How do we get out of here? Isn’t this a wilderness area?”

She brought up a good point.

“You said that Jack and Terra were looking for me. Did you get a chance to tell them you found me?”

“I tried, but I had bad reception. I texted them and left voice mails too. I hope those messages made it through, and then maybe they will learn what’s happened and know to look for us.”

Nathan eyed the river and turned to the wilderness terrain behind them. “Our options are limited. I know I said we should get out of here and get help, but we could actually wait here for a rescue. The problem with that is we don’t know how long it will be before the dam break is reported.” He didn’t want to tell Erin what she was probably already thinking, fearing, but he doubted they would make it back to civilization before dark.

---