Not leaning against anything.
Standing firmly on both legs.
He reached beneath his jacket, pulled a compact emergency cutter from a waterproof pouch, and quickly removed the wire trapping my seatbelt.
I stared at him.
“Your legs…?”
“Later.”
He kicked against the rear passenger door.
By then, enough water had entered the SUV for the pressure to equalize.
The door opened.
Mason grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.
My first instinct was to rush toward the surface.
But Mason stopped me.
He pointed toward the riverbank.
Julian was still there.
Watching.
Mason guided me beneath the wooden supports of an abandoned pier.
We surfaced in a narrow space hidden between huge concrete pillars.
He handed me a small emergency breathing device from his waterproof pouch.
Then he lowered his voice.
“Julian is still watching the river. If he realizes we survived, we may still be in danger.”
My entire body was shaking.
Not only from the cold.
From everything I had just seen.
We moved deeper beneath the pier until we reached an old maintenance alcove completely hidden from the highway.
The second I could breathe normally, I pushed both hands against Mason’s chest.
“Fifteen years!”
