She didn’t say that out loud, just took a breath, when Kash appeared in the busted rear window, the downwash from the helicopter scattering the photos across the interior.
Kash held up his fist, looking at something on the side of the RV before readying a rope. “I swear, we leave you two alone for five minutes…” He tossed in the line. “Normally, I’d say one at a time, but…”
Zain merely nodded, wrapping one harness under her arms before securing his. “No matter what happens, keep everything in tight.”
Zain twirled his finger, and the line pulled taut, slowly inching them up. They climbed as best they could, scrambling over cushions and debris. Making good time when the RV shifted. The back tipped up,nearly knocking Kash off the bumper before it surged forward, the floor dropping out beneath them.
The entire ledge gave way. Mud and rocks sloughing off — sliding down the cliff in a river of dirt and debris. Metal screeched across gravel, the engine whining in the distance. Glass shot through the interior as the windows smashed against the rocks, everything rushing past in a nauseating blur. Zain wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head into his chest as the noise rose into an ear-piercing roar before abruptly cutting off.
Everything paused, just a few branches cracking below them before the RV hit the rocks, exploding in a thunderous boom. The line twirled, spinning them a few times before Foster hauled them up and over the edge, setting them down on that bend in the dirt road.
Kash rushed over, giving them each a quick pat down after helping them out of the harnesses. “Sheesh, way to give me a freaking heart attack.”
Zain sighed. “You should have tried being inside the RV.”
“Maybe next time. You guys, okay? I need to grab Greer and Bucky before Greer shoots the guy in the ass.”
“We’re good.”
“Chase’ll be the judge of that. And you’re all getting checked out at Providence, so make peace with that now.”
Zain rolled his eyes as Kash jogged off. “Do me a favor? Don’t scare me like that, again.”
Saylor elbowed him gently in the chest. “You’re theone who insisted on staying.” She leaned in, kissed him. “Thank you. And not just for saving my ass.”
He slipped his hand behind her head. “Like I said. You’re stuck with me.”
“I suppose there could be worst fates…”
“Remember that when I’m still doing patrols in the middle of the night.” He looked up as the helicopter soared over, Greer and Bucky already onboard. “Our ride’s here.”
He helped her up, tucking her hair behind her ear. “A bobby pin. Stay close. I’m feeling unusually protective.”
She tiptoed up, brushed her lips over his. “That thought might be scarier than being trapped in the RV.”
“Probably.”
“I’ll stay close. And once your teammates stop obsessing how we almost died, again, we need to figure out what Bucky uncovered. Because this feels like it’s reaching the boiling point, and I’m not letting Watson escape, again.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I realize we’re desperate for a break, but are we sure we can trust Bucky’s findings?”
Zain glanced over at Bodie as the man paced his office, staring at the photos Greer had snapped of Bucky’s intel before the RV had gone off the ledge. A freaking Hail Mary. Zain wasn’t sure how she’d pulled it off — collected all the data while the vehicle had bounced down the dirt road like a damn pinball, but he’d take the win.
Greer crossed her arms. “Do you know how hard it was to take those photos without them looking like a wanna-be Bigfoot sighting? Buck might spend half his day yelling at shadows, but he’s thorough.”
“I’m not questioning the sheer quantity of intel, it’s just…” Bodie sighed. “He swore on his mother’s grave they’re pulling out pieces of a mother ship. And he wasn’t referring to the kind Saylor and Mac used to hunt.”
Zain chuckled. “Buck’s a bit south of normal, asJordan likes to phrase it. But that’s definitely theNexus. And Saylor swears that’s Watson.” He looked over at Saylor, smiled. “In fact, I bet my ass they found theVigilant.”
Bodie’s gaze snapped to Saylor’s. “I realize there isn’t much intel about that night. No concrete data that outlines exactly where it went down, but all accounts place theVigilanta good fifty miles south.”
Saylor nodded. “I know. But it would explain why Mac found me so far off the search grid. Why they haven’t found a trace of the wreckage.”
“The depth of the water accounts for that.”
“If it went down beyond the shelf. But if they rigged the nav systems before it sank, they could have piloted her up the coast in the hopes no one would look for her that far off course.”
