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The car squealed as Sawyer pumped the brakes. The car skidded; the back end jerked sideways.
Sawyer’s hand left my thigh and gripped the wheel as he tried to turn. It was no use. The tires on this car weren’t meant to be driven in the rain.
I grasped the handle over my head as the seat belt bit into my shoulder.
Sawyer pulled the emergency brake in between the seats. “Come on. Stop.”
I twisted and pulled my legs up onto the seat. The car stuttered as it hydroplaned across the ground.
The bridge that went over the river was gone. In its place was raging water, deep enough to sweep our car off the road and downstream.
I tensed, a scream lodging in my throat.
We weren’t going to stop in time.
Thirteen
Everything seemed to behappening in slow motion. My pulse roared in my ears as my gaze transfixed on the raging rapids ahead.
Lincoln gripped the back of my seat as he hauled himself onto the center console. “Sawyer.”
Sawyer gritted his teeth. “I’m trying.”
He pumped the brakes again.
The car jerked to the right. Lincoln fell into my lap, his chest landing on my knees. We skidded a few more feet and then stopped.
I fought to catch my breath, my eyes focused on the wiper blades as they swished back and forth across the windshield.
Lincoln grumbled as he pushed himself off me. He turned toward me, his face right in front of mine. One hand reached up to cup my cheek. “Are you okay, Sloane?”
I gulped and met his eyes. I wiggled my fingers and my toes. “I think so.”
Sawyer gave Lincoln a shove. “Back seat. I want to get us out of here before that water gets any higher. We might still get swept away.”
I darted my gaze to the river. I couldn’t see the edge of the water. Debris floated across where I thought the bridge might’ve been, and the guardrail on the right had been obliterated by a thick tree branch.
Lincoln tugged on my headrest as he maneuvered himself into the back seat.
Sawyer put the car in reverse and looked over his shoulder as he backed us up slowly. “Look on your phone for an alternate route.”
I kept my eyes on the road in front of me. Water splashed up to my window as we reversed.
I covered my mouth with my hands. We’d been incredibly lucky. The water had been deep enough to pull us in if we’d been caught in the current. Instead, it had stopped us.
Sawyer jerked the wheel hard as he turned us around and then put the car in drive, moving us away from the water. “Any luck, Lincoln? I think we passed a few roads when we were coming down this way.”
“No. Looks like most of them go over the river. Let’s not make that mistake again.” He leaned forward, pushing his phone between the two seats so we could see it. “The only way to avoid the river will take us about three hours out of the way.”
I tugged on my sopping wet jeans. “It would take us six hours to get back?”
Sawyer rubbed his jaw. “Yeah.”
Lincoln put his elbow on the center console as he leaned farther forward. “We should stop for the night. We’ll lose daylight soon. The river runs along a lot of the roads. We can’t risk it. I won’t put Sloane in danger like this again. And Luna knows what Father will do if we wreck his car.”
Sawyer grumbled, “He’d have our heads.”
Lincoln’s fingers tapped his screen, and he held it up for us to see. “There’s a motel about twenty minutes from here. We should stop there. Hopefully, the rain will clear up, and we can get home by tomorrow afternoon.”
