Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Dana Mentink (e books free to read TXT) 📖

could drain.” Perry took a deep breath before continuing. “Zach has a head injury—he didn’t latch his helmet on and lost it in the water—but will be fine. I’ve already got Dispatch sending a car to the closest ranch nearby. We’ll hide and watch till help comes.”

“They’re okay?” Nora asked.

Henry nodded as Perry’s voice filled the line. “Someone doesn’t want us on the river today, McKnight. Get the package, keep an eye out, and get the drugs to evidence. You’re the last chance for the town, Henry. The FBI will be notified tonight. The media will catch on within hours of that.”

“Just get Zach patched up and stay safe yourself.” The waters picked up speed, and Nora worked the paddle without him to turn them face-forward.

“Over and out.”

“Over and out.” Henry returned the radio to his holster belt. No easy feat given the life jacket in the way.

“Stick to the plan?” Nora asked. He simply nodded and Nora shouted as much to Bobby and Carl. She guided them in the waters in relative silence for the next few minutes until Henry picked up his paddle to join her.

She moved to join him in the middle of the boat. Side by side, they could only take their respective positions to paddle, not to mention the space was a bit tight. That could only mean one thing. She wanted to talk without the others overhearing. “What’s up?” Henry asked.

“You were keeping Perry and Zach together because, even though you didn’t want to admit it, you thought it would be easiest to keep an eye on them that way, right?”

He sighed. “Nothing gets past you, Radley.” The use of her last name was something they used to joke about when she’d first interned as river patrol. He’d said that’s how they would keep their work and personal lives separate. Last name at work, first name when off duty. “I wasn’t so much worried about Perry anymore as I was Zach. But neither one of them would risk getting in a raft they had sabotaged themselves, especially in The Killer.”

“You’re forgetting that Bobby was a surprise addition. Maybe they thought they were riding with us instead and had no choice but to stick it out and hope for the best.”

“By your way of thinking that makes Carl a suspect, as well.”

“He has no motive, though,” she said. “And he didn’t seem to care where he was placed.” She pointed ahead. “Remember how we used to think the site where Tommy was killed had been closed off to us as a mercy?”

“I never thought that.” There had been many times if he could’ve easily accessed the site, he would have.

“Other guides did. We didn’t want the constant memory. But you said no one looked at Tommy’s case from a guide’s perspective. It wouldn’t be easy… I would need you to follow every single direction I call out and be ready for anything, but—”

“You think you can get us to the site of Tommy’s murder?”

She nodded. “I think Bobby has the skills to, as well. I don’t know about Carl, but he worked as a guide for years—for my uncle’s company—but still, he seems to have kept up basic skills from what I can tell.”

Unlike him. She didn’t say it, but she didn’t need to.

His chin jutted. “It’s all coming back to me. I maneuvered the high side. It just took me an extra moment to understand what was happening. Tell me and I’ll do it.”

“Aye, aye, captain?” she asked with a laugh.

“Aye, aye.” He gave a nod.

“It’s not going to be easy, but if you do exactly as I say I think we can do it.” She scooted out of the middle and resumed her post, repeating her plan to Bobby. He enthusiastically shook his paddle in the air to indicate he understood.

The rapids up ahead appeared extra foreboding compared to yesterday. Boulders seemed stacked up like blocks in front of the site Nora had referenced. Henry’s throat went dry despite the humidity.

“We’re going to get as close to those boulders as we can and let the current whip us around. Then we paddle like our lives depend on it.”

Her reassuring tone did nothing to calm his nerves. She began shouting out commands rapidly. The strain in her voice made the hairs on his neck stand straight. He kept his eyes on the front of the raft, not allowing his focus to veer to the water or to the rocks they were rushing toward. The scone he’d eaten at the bakery while he’d waited for the cashier to bag the to-go order for Nora threatened to make a reappearance. But he could trust Nora. She knew her stuff. He could let her take the lead.

“I said left!”

Henry slid across the seat and paddled intensely on the other side, determined. She’d asked for help and he was going to prove he still had what it took. That he’d conquered the fear. His arms began to burn after only a couple minutes.

“Stop!” Nora cried out.

He pulled up the oar and felt the current roar underneath his feet. The waters swirled and the raft spun and kicked them out toward the bank. Nora dove past him, her feet barely hitting the bow as she bent and snagged the rope on the D-line. She launched herself in the air like a soaring ballerina, except with water shoes and her favorite neon-pink life jacket and helmet. Her foot barely touched the sandy bank and she crumpled, rolling on the ground.

“Nora!” He jumped to his feet, letting the paddle fall to the bottom of the raft.

Suddenly, the raft tugged toward land and Henry almost fell backward. Nora struggled to her feet, tugging on the rope with fierce determination lining her forehead. “The undertow is strong and wants to pull it back into a hydraulic. We need to hurry. Then be ready to help Bobby.”

Henry ignored the vibration in his chest that told him to hunker down and wait for land. He