The momentum shifted me from the current, and when I broke through the top of the water, I sucked in a breath. My head was still foggy, and I spun around, looking for the assholes who’d put me in this situation, to begin with. A large tree branch floated beside me, so I threw my arms over it, no longer strong enough to stay afloat on my own.
My eyes grew heavy with exhaustion. Fighting for awareness, I craned my neck around but didn’t see the douchebags.
I was safe for now, so I propped my head and body on the branch as best I could and closed my eyes to rest for a moment.
AN ARM WRAPPED around my waist, causing my heart to race and my breathing to quicken. I opened my eyes and realized that my dumb ass had fallen asleep. I had no clue for how long, but it was obviously long enough for them to catch up to me.
I kept hold of the branch and slammed my elbow into the prick’s stomach. “Let go of me!”
“Whoa,” a deep voice exclaimed and then groaned. “You’re going to drown. I’m trying to save you.” His hold around my waist slackened.
Did he think I’d actually fall for that? He didn’t smell of a lie, but that didn’t mean he had good intentions.
Since he was distracted by his stomach ailment, I head-butted him with the back of my head. A sickening crack informed me that I broke something.
“Fuck!” he complained as he pushed the log toward the embankment.
My legs made contact with the riverbed, and I put weight on them before falling back into the water with a large splash.
“Hey, wait,” the guy said as he swam over to me.
“Stay back.” With trembling hands, I pulled my knife from the sheath and held it in front of me as I glared. “I will hurt you.”
“Obviously.” He gestured to the blood pouring from his nose. “You already have.” Drops of water fell from his short, dark hair and dripped onto a once sky-blue shirt and jeans. The warmth of dark chocolate eyes caused me to lose focus, and my hand dropped a couple of inches. He had the musky scent of a shifter, but he was in human form.
He wasn’t wearing black, but he could still be one of them, messing with me. I had no clue how long I’d been out, and he could’ve changed into a different outfit and jumped in after me.
I lifted my chin and raised the knife. “Who are you?” I had no clue how I was going to get out of here. I didn’t have the strength to stand, for God’s sake.
“I’m Killian.” He moved his hand slowly to his nose and pinched the bridge. “Killian Green. I saw you floating on a tree limb and thought you might be in trouble.”
“Why would you think that?” I kept my body facing forward as I scanned for other possible attackers. They were probably hiding in the woods, waiting for the sign.
“Did you not hear what I said?” The corners of his mouth tipped upward. “You were passed out, floating on a tree limb in the middle of the river. It’s dangerous to be swimming right now after the heavy storms that passed through.”
“And you happened to be out here?” I had a hard time buying it.
He pointed toward a tree at the edge of the water. “Fishing.”
Against my better judgment, my gaze followed where he motioned. And sure enough, a rod was propped against a tree with a worm dangling on the hook. The poor worm wiggled like it might have a chance to survive.
“So you aren’t trying to capture me?” The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them.
His brows furrowed, and he released his hold on his nose and wiped off the blood. “No, but now I understand why you beat the shit out of me.” He chuckled.
“You find that humorous?” He had to be some sort of sick asshole to find the fact that I was almost kidnapped amusing.
He grimaced. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just, there’s only one girl who has ever kicked my ass like you did.” He tilted his head as he examined me. “And funnily enough, you remind me of her.” He frowned like he was remembering someone he didn’t want to.
This was getting uncomfortable, and for me, staying close to the water wasn’t smart. They’d be combing the area, looking for me. “Look, I’ve got to go. It’s not safe here for me.” I placed both hands in front of me to bear some of my weight as I stood. Slowly, I climbed to my feet even though my legs wanted to buckle again. I took one step and dropped.
Before I could make impact, a strong arm caught me around the waist.
“Let me help you.” He glanced around the area. “You’re not going to make it far in this condition.”
I hated that he was right. “Fine.” I kept a strong hold on my knife, ready to use it at any given moment.
We slowly made it out of the water and to the tree line. But I wouldn’t feel better until I was hidden. After a few steps on land, I stumbled into the woods.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Killian asked. “You can’t leave like that.” And there it was. He hadn’t been helping me after all.
spun on my heel and tried not to fall over. Almost drowning had taken a hell of a lot out of me, but I had to push through and get to safety before I could fall apart.
My arm shook as I lifted the knife in his direction again. “So, you are working with them?”
“With who?” His forehead creased, and he lifted a hand. “You can barely walk.”