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“Please. I can’t. I can’t do this without him. He’s my happy ever after. Tanner, what if he died saving me?”
“Then he was a hero.”
“No. No. No. Don’t do that. Don’t give up.”
“I’m not, Frankie, I promise. As soon as the sun is up, we’re out there looking again. How are you?”
“I don’t care about me,” she shouted. “I need you to find him. It’s dark and cold, he’s soaking wet. What if he gets too cold, Tan? What if it was Emmy out there?”
I paused before I answered. “Then I would search until my dying breath.”
“Well, I can’t search because I have to have surgery. I tore through my wound, and they’re worried about the damage I’ve done. I need you to search for me like you were searching for Em. I need you to bring him back to me.”
I thought about how I’d tear apart the world for Emmy. I wouldn’t sleep or stop until I found her. She was right. I owed her that. He deserved someone looking for him.
“Okay, Frankie. I will. I’ll hunt for him like I was looking for Emmy. I won’t stop until I find him.”
She sobbed loudly. “Thank you.”
“Let them take care of you, and I’ll find Matt.”
“Promise, Tan?”
I paused. “I promise I will do everything I can.”
She must have handed the phone back to Emmy because I heard her whisper my name. “Tanner, she’s not in a good way. Mentally or physically. If you don’t find him, I’m scared we’ll lose her. Please rock star, find him, but be careful. No heroics. Promise me.”
“I promise, Angel.”
Ending the call, I turned to my brothers. “I’m going back out there. I can’t just leave him there. He’s our friend.”
“I’m coming too,” Gray offered with a smile.
“We’ll be back in the air as soon as it’s light.” Kain declared, but I can help you search the riverbank tonight.
“Right, let’s find him.”
Matt
I’dpushedheroutof the water and sighed with relief when I saw her on solid ground. Those few minutes when I’d lost her in the river had been the worst. I could hear her cries. I knew she wasn’t a strong swimmer and for a second, I feared the worst. Finding her, being able to wrap my arm around her while I held onto that tree root, I felt like I’d saved her… that we’d both be okay. And then I lost my grip.
The water was so fast. It was hard to catch my breath. I swam against the current, desperate to get back to her. I swam until my body burned and my lungs heaved. In the end, I had no more fight left and relaxed, letting the water carry me. I thought it would carry me for a few seconds, but it kept going. Dragging me further and further away from Frankie.
My body grew heavy, my shoulders slipping lower, swallowing more and more water, coughing it up while I struggled to breathe. I didn’t see the low hanging tree until it hit me in the head, smashing into my temple, making the world go dark.
When I opened my eyes, my head throbbed and I could feel something wet sliding down from my forehead. I tried to sit up, but the world spun, forcing me to lie back down again. There were small stones under my back and what felt like sand under my fingers. I could hear the river, but it didn’t feel as close anymore. I wondered if Frankie had managed to find help for herself and I prayed she was okay.
I let my eyes close again. The effort of keeping them open was exhausting. I wanted to fight, to crawl, to search for her, but the world felt like it was slipping, and I was barely hanging on.
Time stopped making sense. One minute it was light, then dark, and then light again. I felt like I was sinking, warmth surrounding me, tempting me to go deeper, but a voice in my head screamed that once I let it take me completely, I wouldn’t be able to get back. And I wanted to get back. I wanted to get back to Frankie.
I fought it, but the warmth was persistent. It whispered for me to surrender, but Frankie’s face kept me fighting.
I knew I was hallucinating when lights appeared above me, voices sounded around me, and then I felt like I was flying. The warmth vanished, replaced by a whirling wind and pain that slammed into my body like a sledgehammer.
That’s when I crashed, conceding defeat. Whispering apologies to Frankie for not finding the strength to stay.Again.
Chapter 27
