Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 116254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 388(@300wpm)
A hundred yards shy of that bridge.
His life flashed before him.
He’d never see his family again. His friends.
But what hit him hardest of all was the thought of never seeing Kai’s face again.
He wouldn’t get to tell him how sorry he was for being such an ass.
An anguished groan crawled up from his chest.
His muscles shuddered as he fought not to move.
The car shifted, slipping. Branches snapped.
His heart lurched into his throat.
Oh, fuck! Oh, please!
He wasn’t ready to die.
A roar of an engine.
An abrupt screech of tires.
Then the slam of a door and swiftly approaching feet.
Breck’s heart hammered frantically, his body shaking. Someone was coming.
“BRECK!” Kai’s alarmed shout. “Oh, Jesus, Breck! Don’t move! I’ll be right back!”
Breck’s mind spun as he fought to stay motionless.
Kai’s here? He came after me? Breck couldn’t believe it.
All around him, limbs creaked louder and louder.
His Altima shifted, pitching down a couple of inches.
Oh, God! His lungs started heaving.
Another door slam.
Hurry, Kai!
But then Breck’s car started to groan, steel straining against branches. Twigs scraped ominously against its body, against the glass.
Breck swallowed, unable to think, to move. Unable to tear his eyes away from the darkness below.
Kai’s voice was back again, sounding closer—and slightly more composed. “I’m coming, Breck. Just hold on… Almost there.”
Breck didn’t dare look up, or even brave a nod.
More branches snapped.
His backend started to slip. Which, in turn, sent the front of his car into a backward slide.
Breck shouted, sheer terror consuming him.
Strong fingers clutched his elbow. “I got you! Grab my arm!”
Survival instincts roared. Breck shoved himself toward Kai’s voice, quickly grasping hold as his ride dropped out from under him to lurch down a few more feet.
He connected with Kai’s body, his own plummet barely averted. His feet scrambled for purchase, his lungs wildly sawing for breath.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Kai grunted. “I won’t let you fall.”
For the first time since his crash, Breck lifted his head, tearing his gaze from impending doom to lock instead on salvation.
Kai’s face was obscured, a silhouette in the darkness, his Camaro’s bright headlights a brilliant halo behind his upper body. A makeshift harness was tied around his chest. Breck stole a glance past him to assess their position. A half dozen feet below the rocky shoulder’s ledge. Meaning Kai had scaled down the muddy mountainside with nothing more than a rope.
“Hold on!” Kai repeated more urgently.
Breck forced himself to focus and resecured his grip on Kai’s slippery arm. Kai hauled him against his body. “Got you,” he grated. “Now wrap yourself around me and don’t let go.”
Breck obeyed without a second’s hesitation, locking his arms securely around Kai’s chest. Kai twisted around and started back up the incline. Hand over hand along that rope, hauling them higher. When they reached the top, Breck tracked that rope to somewhere under Kai’s bumper.
Kai rose to his feet, chest heaving, body soaked, then heaved Breck up, too. Without any warning, he yanked Breck close for a brutal hug.
Amidst the chaos in Breck’s mind, he registered Kai’s trembling. He was shaking nearly as badly as Breck. What’s more, he could feel Kai’s heart thundering against his chest.
“You’re okay,” Kai rasped against his ear. The way he said it though, made it sound as if he were trying to reassure them both. Abruptly, he jerked back and looked Breck over. “Are you injured?” he asked anxiously. “Does anything hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Breck croaked, even as his legs threatened to buckle.
“You probably have whiplash—”
“I’m fine!” Breck shouted. I’m not fucking fine. He launched himself back into Kai’s arms. Now that the danger had been averted, his emotional floodgates were gearing up to burst.
“Okay,” Kai murmured, holding him tight.
“Thought I was going to—”
“But you didn’t,” Kai interrupted, his heart still hammering against Breck’s chest. Restlessly, his hands rubbed Breck’s back, as if, again, he was trying to comfort them both.
Breck groaned, face buried in Kai’s neck, his lungs still sawing, his body still quaking against Kai’s wall of strength.
“Slow your breathing,” Kai muttered.
Breck held him closer, steadied his inhalations, the idling of Kai’s engine skirting the perimeter of his awareness. More raindrops fell. His heartrate stabilized. His lungs regulated.
Until Kai shoved him away and started yelling.
“I can’t believe you fucking did this!” His expression was livid. He yanked off his harness. “How could you be so fucking reckless? So fucking stupid?”
“I know!” Breck shouted back. “I wasn’t thinking! I was upset! And I couldn’t go back to the party, so I came here instead!” He gestured to the bridge, feeling like an asshole. “But then that deer came outta fuckin’ nowhere!”
Kai seethed, eyes pinning him with contempt, then broke into stalking tersely back and forth. “Right, blame the fucking deer. You could’ve killed yourself, Breck! Or someone else! You’re lucky I got here when I did! Jesus Christ!”
Breck floundered, stressed out and, honestly, kind of speechless. He’d never seen Kai so outwardly upset. Calm, cool, and collected were his middle names. Even when Breck had punched him in the face, he’d kept it steady.