Alone (A Bone Secrets Novel) (33 page)

Victoria was thankful for her SUV as she blew past an eighteen-wheeler. The spray from the truck’s tires would have blinded the driver of a lower-sitting car. Her wipers sped up to double time to rid her windshield of the truck’s moisture. Her vehicle’s tires grabbed the road, breaking through the moving layer of water that coated its surface. Her GPS indicated they were close to the turnoff.

“I didn’t know the roads were going to be this bad when I begged him to let us come out tonight,” she muttered to Seth.

“Let’s just get it done. One less thing to think about. You don’t want to spend the next two weeks wondering what might be in Cecil Adams’s barn, do you?”

“No,” she admitted. She slowed and turned off the highway. “Jesus Christ, it’s dark.”

Her vehicle bumped along the rough road. She clenched the wheel and put her faith in German engineering.

“I’m glad we didn’t take my rental.” Seth grabbed at the handle above his head as the SUV rocked. “Mine wouldn’t have managed this at all.”

Victoria set her jaw and pushed forward. “This can’t be right.”

“According to the GPS, we turn again in another mile. Then it’s not much farther along that road.”

“Who lives out in the woods like this? This is nuts.”

“People who like their privacy.”

“I like my privacy. You don’t see me abandoning society and living like a hermit.”

“Maybe it just seems bad because it’s dark and wet. I bet it’s really nice out here during the summer.”

“Hmph.” Victoria’s wipers sped up to double time again. She yanked at the wheel, avoiding a boulder. “Jesus. Did you see that? Where did that come from? It was right in the middle of the road.”

“Maybe the water pushed it. Or it rolled down the hill.” He bent over to look up the steep slope. It was a solid wall of ascending firs. “It could have come from up there. Everything is soaked. Look at all the debris in the road.”

He was right. The road was a mess of tree branches and tiny streams shooting across the lane. All the rain was seeking the easiest way to the ocean level and pushing aside anything in its way. The dirt was beyond soaking in the rain. Instead, the water hit the ground and immediately searched for the lowest territory, creating lakes where there’d been meadows.

She followed the GPS’s polite directions to take the next turn. And promptly wanted the conditions of the previous road.

“Whose idea was this?” she mumbled.

“Can we blame Brody?” asked Seth.

“I’ll go with that.”

She stood on the brakes and Seth lunged forward in his seat, his seatbelt keeping him from shooting through the windshield. “Look at that!” She pointed. She’d spotted the car up ahead and off to her left. The sedan was wedged against a group of ancient firs, water flowing over its tires. Water flooded the road before her, flowing down the hillside and streaming in the direction of the sedan. Something moved.

“Someone’s inside!” Seth exclaimed.

Victoria backed up a fraction, turned her wheel, and moved forward, shining her headlights on the car. She caught her breath. “Is that Trinity’s car?”

Seth opened his door.

“Wait. You can’t go out in that!” She grabbed at his arm and looked back at the car. Hands and a face pressed against the glass of the passenger side window. The window started to lower and she could see a male teen. Trinity’s face appeared over his shoulder, both kids waving at the headlights.

Shock rocked through Victoria, but then she breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s her. I don’t think that car is going anywhere. It’s stuck against those trees. We’ve got to call Katy.”

“You call her. I’ll figure out how to get them out of that water.”

Seth stepped out into the downpour, peering at the car. Trinity drove an older sedan. The kids looked like they were okay but scared. Victoria was right that they weren’t going anywhere. He
guessed the water had lifted them off the road and carried them twenty feet into a mass of tree trunks. He looked up. The trees swayed in the growing winds.
How firmly were they rooted?
He didn’t want to think what would happen if the trees toppled.

Why in hell was Trinity way out here?

Water soaked through his shoes. He wasn’t standing in the mini-river that had moved Trinity’s car, but by Victoria’s vehicle it was at least three inches deep. The road dipped slightly where the water rushed across the choppy blacktop, acting as a funnel for all the rain landing in the steep thousand feet of elevation to his right. The rushing water looked about eighteen inches deep.
Why had she tried to cross?

She probably hadn’t seen it. Even Victoria had to stand on the brakes to keep from driving into the water. He glanced at her SUV. It could probably cross safely. He waved at the kids. There was no way they could hear him over the rush of the water. He gave a thumbs-up and a hang-on gesture and then ducked back in Victoria’s SUV.

“I think it’s raining harder up here than back in the city,” he said.

“The Coast Range always gets an insane amount of rain. Floods the coastal towns and highways with its runoff.” She was tapping her cell. “I got Katy’s voice mail. I don’t know if she’s on the phone or what. But I told her we found Trinity and she’s okay. Cell reception is horrible. I had to try three times to get the call to go through.” She glanced at him and her expression hardened. “That bad?”

“I don’t know how we’re going to get them out. The water is fast, and I can’t tell how deep it is in spots.”

“I called nine-one-one and reported it too. I told them there’s a car trapped in the water. They’ll send a fire truck with heavy rescue equipment.”

“Christ, I hope they can find us.”

“They locked on to my signal. She said she could tell where I was.”

“Good. Thank God for modern technology.”

“Yes, except I was cut off. I’ve tried to call back and can’t get reception.”

“Shit. Think they got our location clear enough?”

She took a deep breath. “I think so.” She set her phone on the console.

He took her hand, squeezing it tight as he studied the kids in the car. They’d rolled up their window partway, but he could see two sets of eyes pointed in their direction. They were scared to death. “How much water do you think is in their car?”

She was staring too. “I don’t know. It’s getting higher, isn’t it? We’ve got to do something.”

“Do you have any rope? Or anything like that in here?”

“Yes.” Her eyes lit up, and she opened her car door.

Seth hopped out and went to the back of the SUV, where she’d lifted the hatch, covering them from the pounding drops. Next to her boat paddle and life jacket, she had a coil of yellow synthetic rope. She tugged on a length. “It’s strong. Do you think it’s long enough?”

Seth took the rope. “This’ll work. I’ll take a look at the front.”

He moved into the blinding headlights and kneeled, looking for something to anchor the rope. “Perfect,” he muttered, spotting a thick metal loop that screamed for a rope to be hooked through it. He brushed the water out of his eyes and ran the
rope through the loop, yanking with his body weight to test its strength. He knotted it and stood, turning to check the kids. The water was higher on the sedan’s door. “Shit.” Victoria watched him from the driver’s seat. He moved to her lowered window. “Can you get closer?”

She nodded and inched her vehicle forward. Seth watched her front tires move into the deeper water. The rain splattered through her window, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. “I’ll go a little closer,” she said.

“Let me see how far this gets me first.” Seth looped the rope around his waist and secured it. He turned to move into the water. Reaching out, Victoria grabbed his arm.

“Be careful.” Her eyes were huge.

“I will.” He held her gaze. “Back up if you see me go under. That water is fast. I don’t want to be slammed into the trees. And keep trying to reach nine-one-one again.”

She nodded, her lips pressed together.

Seth stepped into the water, and it soaked his ankles.
Fuck, that is cold.
He pushed deeper to mid-shin, his focus on the sedan, his brain shrieking at the icy temperature. How could water feel colder than ice? The rush of the water was steady but not impossible to navigate. He felt for every foothold before shifting his weight into that step.

The ground shifted from underneath his shoe as he stepped off the road and into the softer dirt. He flung out his arms for balance and the water moved above his knee.

That was close.
He didn’t look behind him for Tori’s reaction. He could feel her gaze boring a hole in his back. The windows in the sedan were steaming up, but he saw two sets of wide eyes watching him through the barely opened window.
Maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea. Should they wait for help?
The water
was nearly lapping at the door handle. The sedan had ended up in a depression at the base of the trees, slightly lower than the roadway.

Fuck it. Going in.

He lunged through the final ten feet of water, letting the water propel him forward, and slammed against the passenger door. “Hey, guys!” The water rushed around his thighs. Trinity’s face was wet from the rain. Or was that tears? “Ready to get out of here?” The boy rolled the window completely down.

“God, yes. Get her out first,” the boy said. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Hell, no.
“I’ll tie her to me. I think we’ll be okay.”

Trinity crawled into a sitting position in the window of the door, her feet dangling over the side. Seth untied his rope and looped it around her waist, bracing his knees against the car door.

“There isn’t enough to tie to you!” Trinity shouted over the roar of the water.

Seth already knew that. “I’ll hang on tight.”

“No, I’ll go back then throw the rope to you. No one should go through that without it!”

“We’ll be fine.”

Trinity’s expression showed she didn’t believe him. But she slid down into the water, gasping at the temperature. She wasn’t tall. The cold water was nearly to her crotch. Seth gripped the rope with both hands, refusing to look at Tori. She would be throwing a fit that he wasn’t tied. “Follow me.” He pressed forward, angling for the side of the runoff river. Every step felt like he pushed through deep mud. He tightened up the rope and pulled himself forward. Trinity grabbed at the back of his belt, and he wavered. He caught his balance and plowed ahead, each step getting shallower.

They reached the SUV and Victoria jumped out, ripping the rope off Trinity. “Are you okay?”

The girl’s teeth chattered in answer, but she nodded. Seth’s teeth were chattering, too. With numb hands, he tried to tie the rope around his waist again. He felt like he’d run a marathon.

“Just throw him the rope,” Victoria suggested. “He’s a big kid. He can tie a knot.”

Seth looked at the kid. He was already outside the car in the water, hanging on to the door for balance as the water rushed around his lower thighs. He was a lot taller than Trinity. Victoria grabbed the rope out of Seth’s hands and flung it in the kid’s direction. The rope landed in the water and was instantly swept into the teen’s hands.

“Jason! Be careful!” Trinity shouted, cupping her mouth. Jason looked up and nodded, rapidly tying the rope around his waist.

Seth watched him.
Knot it again.
He gestured for Jason to tie it better, but the teen wasn’t looking at him. He let go of the car and moved forward. Shock crossed Jason’s face as he realized how difficult it was to push against the current. He tightened his grip on the rope and pulled, his legs slowly moving through the fast water.

Victoria climbed back in the driver’s seat, her gaze locked on Jason. Trinity clasped her hands together below her chin, shivering. Seth grabbed the rope at the SUV, pulling the boy closer.

Jason wobbled, lost his balance, and fell. The rope was yanked out of Seth’s hands. Jason vanished under the water, but his head bobbed up, mouth gasping for air. The water pushed up into his face as it streamed past him.

“Stand back!” Victoria shouted. Seth and Trinity jumped out of the way as she backed up the vehicle. The water formed a
wake around Jason as Victoria dragged him into shallow water. Seth pulled him up out of the cold, shivering and sputtering.

“I tripped.” Jason spit out a mouthful of water.

“We noticed,” Seth said as he inspected the teen. His jeans were ripped at the knees and fresh blood flowed, but he didn’t seem too hurt.

“Are you okay?” Trinity untied the rope with shaking hands. “You’re bleeding.”

Jason looked at his knees. “I can’t even feel it.”

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Victoria announced. She pulled off his wet coat. “Take off your shirt.” She shed her thick jacket and held it out to him. Jason stripped to his bare chest and pulled on her jacket. The teen shivered violently.

“I don’t need a hospital,” he argued. “I’m just wet.” He inspected a knee. “These are scrapes, nothing bad. My grandfather lives a hundred yards away. I can dry off there and get warm.”

“How far is the closest hospital?” Seth asked.

Victoria shrugged. “Back in town. There’s probably an emergency care center in Seaside.”

“I’m fine,” Jason insisted through blue lips. “I just need to get dry and warmed up.”

“Wait, your grandfather lives up the road?” Victoria asked.

“Yes, he was expecting us. That’s where we were headed when her car got swept off the road,” Jason added, rubbing his hands up and down his arms through Victoria’s coat. Trinity nodded in agreement.

“Does he have an old barn?” Victoria questioned.

Jason’s teeth rattled as he bobbed his head.

Seth couldn’t feel his feet, and Jason had to be colder. The sooner they warmed up the better. “Sounds like we’re headed to
the same place. Let’s go.” He eyed the water level across the road. “I think we’re good. This thing is a lot higher off the ground than Trinity’s car. The deepest part is the hollow Trinity’s car swept into. Stick to the opposite side of the road.”

They piled into her SUV, and Seth cranked up the heat to full blast. Victoria slowly drove through the rushing water. Her vehicle’s heavy weight keeping the tires securely on the road. Seth exhaled as they broke out of the water. “Christ. I don’t want to ever swim again.”