Page 21 of Marc
Thankfully, these ones weren’t big enough to penetrate my armor.
She looked back over my shoulder. “They’re coming,” she rasped.
I swiveled my head. In a second, I took in my squad rushing toward us, Zeke in the lead. He was wading through the river while still firing his carbine. The large monster was scuttling closer, trampling some of the smaller ones.
The guys wouldn’t reach us in time.
I wasn’t letting these monsters hurt Colbie.
I looked down at the rush of the waterfall beneath us. I sucked in a breath. “Colbie, do you trust me?”
Her gaze met mine and she swallowed. “Yes.”
I wrapped my arms tightly around her, then jumped.
Colbie’s scream echoed in my ears as water hit us.
Then we fell into the darkness.
CHAPTER FIVE
Colbie
Iscreamed.
We plummeted downward, water splashing in my face.
Marc’s arms were locked around me, and all I could do was clamp on to him and pray we didn’t die.
Then, without warning, we hit the pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall with a wild splash.
Water engulfed me and I kicked, swallowing a mouthful. The next thing I knew, I was coughing and spluttering as Marc pulled me onto my back, and swam toward the edge. He scooped me up and carried me out of the water.
He dropped down on the grassy bank and I flopped down beside him, coughing up water. The light on his shoulder illuminated a circle around us. He grabbed the back plate of his armor and pulled it off. I saw all the small bony projectiles sticking out of it like quills. Then, he dropped flat on his back beside me.
Heaving in some calming breaths, I swiped the wet hair out of my face. Then I turned and whacked his shoulder. “Are you insane?”
He cracked open his eyes. He was lying there like he didn’t have a single problem in the world.
“You’re welcome,” he gritted out. “For saving you.”
“For nearly drowning me. What if we’d landed on the rocks?”
The enormity of everything hit me. A choking sound that was half sob, half hiccup escaped me. I looked at the waterfall. It was probably beautiful, but all I saw was the fact that we were separated from the others. In the middle of a forest full of monsters.
“Come here.”
He sat up and I let him pull me against his body. God, he put off a lot of heat.
I clung to him. The embarrassing disaster of a kiss tried to rear its head, but I was too wet, too scared, and too cold to care right now.
No one ever died of embarrassment. We had bigger problems to deal with.
Like getting out of here alive.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe, birdie. I’ll fight monsters, jump off waterfalls?—”
A watery laugh escaped me.
