Page 76 of Lone Spy

“But wait,” I look back at Ash. “Why do we have to leave?” I shake my head. “Why does the queen’s death mean we need to run?”

Ash holds my gaze. The large gates part for us and we pass through, but don’t turn to cross the bridge we came in on, instead continuing straight, following the river.

“I no longer have faith in the Crown’s ability to keep you safe.”

“Do you mean theydon’twant to keep me safe?” I ask, Temperance’s warnings about Linda and her lieutenants echoing in my mind. Yet.

Ash’s eyes widen. I turn to look behind me, but before I can see anything the entire world becomes shattered glass and crunching metal as another vehicle smashes into our front end. My body tries to bend with the forces, but I can't keep up. The seatbelt burns across my body as we tumble down the river bank. Up is down, down is up, and then we hit the water.

The river surges through broken windows, ice cold and chaotic. I'm upside down, held in place by the seatbelt. Until I'm not. It releases and I fall, body crumpling into the water pooling in the roof’s interior, arms up just in time to protect my head.

I'm moving, twisting, reorienting to this upside-down world. Mouth above the roiling river. Instincts drive me, sensations dulled. An arm around my waist. Ash's voice hot on my ear. "The water isn't deep." It's climbing up my body. Waist, breast line. "They will be waiting to shoot us."

My teeth are chattering but I don't feel the cold.

"Swim out, but stay close to the side of the vehicle. Grab for the wheel well. The current is strong. Don’t let it take you. I'll be right behind you."

His arm stays around me as Ash kicks at the broken window, making the opening wider. Then he's pushing me toward it. Hands on my back, helping my momentum.

I suck in a deep breath then dive, hands grabbing at the frame. Passing through the window, I twist to keep hold of the vehicle as I pull my legs into the current. Ash won’t fit through that space. How will he get out?

My lungs burn. Kicking, my booted feet heavy, I curl my fingers into the back wheel well and my head breaches the water.

The SUV is nose down, the back end sticking out. I’m on the far side, the road we were pushed off obscured by our vehicle. It seems to be stabilized. My feet kick against a hard surface but when I seek purchase it’s a slippery boulder, not the flat bottom of the river.

Behind the tinted windows I can make out movement inside. Ash must be looking for another way out. Is Alesana okay? A strong kick at the back windshield shatters it, cubes of glass tinkling into the water.

The SUV shakes with impact as bullets smash into it. The assault pauses. Ash pops up, firing at the shore I can’t see, then ducks back into the SUV’s rear storage area as bullets rain again.

My jeans, sweater, jacket and boots drag at me as I pull myself with quickly numbing fingers toward the side of the vehicle to try to see what the fuck is going on.

Peeking around the edge, I see there is an SUV eerily similar to ours, the front smashed from when it hit us, driver and passenger doors open, two men crouched behind them.

A man pops up and fires at us again. I recognize him with a jolt.

Martin.

My heart thunders in my ears, almost as loud as the rushing water. He’s not wearing his glasses, but the dull light is glinting off his auburn hair.

Ash fires again and the men duck behind their open doors. Ash hauls himself through the back window and drops into the water with a splash. He disappears under the rushing, brown water for a brief moment before breaking the surface, water streaming off his shorn head. With one strong stroke he grabs onto the SUV.

Seeing me, he frowns. Reaching out a long arm, Ash grabs my sleeve and drags me back to the wheel well. “Stay here,” he orders, gripping the SUV with one hand, the other holding his gun above the water.

A black backpack lands in the water—it must have been thrown out by Alesana—thank god he’s okay! Ash lets go of the SUV to grab one of the handles, slipping it down his arm so he can hold on again. His body brushes mine as he maneuvers past me, heading to the vantage point I was using.

He fires off several shots and Alesana splashes into the river. His eyes meet mine and he grins at me, a dimple popping, as he joins me at the wheel well. “Your hair is messed up.”

I choke on a laugh. Alesana slips past me and takes the bag from Ash, settling it onto his back while a fresh wave of bullets shakes the half-submerged vehicle.

Ash moves back to me, his body pressing against mine—a wall of warmth in a world of cold.

“We have movement,” Alesana says. “Red is moving.”

“He’s from the ambulance,” I say, meeting Ash’s gaze.He’s the one I wanted to kill.

Bullets explode into the water. Alesana fires back. Martin has moved up the shore to gain a better vantage point. A suspension footbridge is another thirty yards away—once he crosses it we won’t have any cover. Ash’s gaze travels to the forested shore opposite our attackers. “Can you make it?” he asks me.

“Yes.” The word comes out garbled, my body already struggling to function in the cold water. My boots are laced and will have to stay on but I wriggle free of my jacket. The oilskin coat sinks as I release it.

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