Page 21 of August

“Hello?” Rami’s voice cut into her spiraling wave of hysteria. They approached the bridge.

“It’s Gigi,” she said, her words coming out choppy. “We’re being run off the road right now. August said to tell you we need backup.”

Behind them the truck roared, and fresh fear drowned out Rami’s questions.

Bang!

The SUV swerved off the road inches before reaching the bridge. Gigi screamed over August’s curses. They bumped over the grass and down the slope toward the river.

“Oh my god!” Gigi screamed. She clawed at the door handle while her other hand wrapped around the seatbelt across her chest. Neither promised to free her from the fast-moving vehicle.

August spun the steering wheel, his body rigid next to hers as he tried valiantly to stop the car. The SUV hit a small cliff and became airborne.

Too terrified to utter a sound, Gigi closed her eyes and shielded her face with her hands. She felt August’s arms come around her, crushing her to the seat and securing her.

The front end of the SUV slammed into the water. Her head snapped to the side despite August’s upper body over hers. In seconds, cold water rushed in through the bottom of the vehicle, covering her legs.

“Gigi!” August yelled, as if he’d been shouting at her for a while. His hand was rough on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

Her breath shuddered through her lips. She stared into his earnest green eyes, which held more desperation than she’d ever seen in them. She forced a nod.

“We’re sinking fast...” His words came out more quickly than she could catch them, her brain unable to process that the water was closing in on them, that she felt weightless.

Shivers overtook over her body. Her teeth chattered violently. August unsnapped his seatbelt and then his hands were back on her. “Once the SUV is submerged, we’ll swim out.”

As he freed her from the buckle, her weight shifted toward the windshield. She slammed her foot on the dash to hold herself in place, but August’s hands were firm on her waist, preventing her from losing her balance.

Water swam around her hips, soaking her to the skin. In seconds, there’d be no air. “We’re going to die,” she sobbed.

August dragged her to the driver’s side. She braced herself awkwardly in the footwell and leaned against the seat, fighting the sharp angle of the SUV.

His wet palm rested on her cheek. “Honey, I won’t let you die. I promise. We’re close to shore. Just hang on to me.” His calm tone and expression made the terror firing through her brain abate.

He moved her hand to his belt. “Hold here. Don’t let go. I’ll need two hands to get the door open in case there’s a lot of pressure.”

Her fingernails bit into the leather. “O-Okay.” The water rose up to her chest and instinct made her surge higher, searching for the last pocket of air.

August gripped her wrist, and she brought her other hand to his shoulder. “The river’s not deep, baby. Okay? I’ll open the door as soon as the pressure stabilizes and we’ll swim out. Easy peasy.”

She chortled as the river lapped at her neck.

“Say it,” he commanded. Water droplets coated his skin and he, too, rose in the water for one last breath. “Easy, peasy.”

“Easy, peasy,” she parroted.

The water was nearly at her chin. Panic made her thrash. Her heart thundered in her chest. The need to get out of the sinking vehicle was almost blinding. If it weren’t for August’s biting hold on her wrist, she’d have blacked out from fear alone.

The water reached her lips.

“Almost there,” August said, spitting water as he spoke.

He tilted his head back. She did the same, sucking in rushed breaths. Her eyes locked on his. If his face was the last thing she ever saw, she’d go to Heaven happy.

“Last breath,” he yelled.

Gigi sucked in a large mouthful of air just before the water closed over their heads. A new rush of cold flooded her system.

She opened her eyes, but besides shafts of light and pockets of darkness, she couldn’t see a damn thing, not even August.

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