Peekaboo Baby

She blew out a long breath, probably not from relief. By now, she was probably kicking herself for even coming to the estate.

He understood how she felt.

There was another flash of lightning, and as the white-hot spear sliced through the darkness, Ryan thought he saw something on the road just ahead. A shadow, maybe. Maybe one of the horses had gotten out of the pasture. He automatically leaned in closer to the windshield, trying to look through the rain and the murky night to determine what it was.

But it was too late.

The dark-colored car came out of the thick curtain of rain. Not on the other side of the road, either.

Right at them.

Ryan heard Delaney scream. A sound of terror that he was sure he would remember for the rest of his life.

If he had a rest of his life, that is.

As he swerved to the right, it occurred to him that this could turn out to be a fatal accident. He knew what was out there.

A deep, six-foot-wide irrigation ditch.

Almost certainly overflowing with rainwater.

A second later, Ryan took out the almost certainly. Even though he tried to keep the car on the road, he wasn’t successful. They hit the narrow shoulder of soggy, slick gravel, skidded and then plunged right into the watery ditch.

Chapter Four

One second Delaney was breathing.

Then, she wasn’t.

The air bag hit her face and chest. The impact of the collision into the ditch, coupled with that slam, knocked the breath right out of her. Before she could react, she felt the icy cold water begin to gush into the car, spilling onto her feet and legs.

Reality quickly set in.

They were no longer on the road. The car was on its side, her side, harshly angled into a gaping ditch. The collision had crushed in her door, so much so that it vised against her right shoulder.

Trapping her.

If she didn’t do something fast, she was going to die.

She forced herself not to panic. No easy feat. Her heart was already pounding, and adrenaline was pumping through her.

Frantically, Delaney batted back the milky-white air bag so she’d have some room to maneuver and so she could see. Beside her, she felt Ryan do the same. She wasn’t successful. With each jab of her fist, each slam of her hands, the air bag shifted, but there was no place for it to go. And along with the crushed-in interior, it was literally holding her in place.

The water didn’t cooperate, either. It got deeper. Fast. It came in not as a trickle but a flood. Rushing into the car through the edges of the windows. The doors. And from the floor. Filling it. It rose past her knees. To her waist.

And it just kept on coming.

Along with it came the panic. The fear. She had to get out of there.

She felt Ryan’s hand bump against her left hip. Because Delaney was still battling the air bag, she didn’t immediately realize what he was doing. She quickly became aware that he was unlatching her seat belt.

“Come on,” he said.

It wasn’t a shout, but a calmly spoken statement as if this weren’t the life-and-death situation it had quickly become.

Ryan didn’t wait for her to comply. He caught on to her shoulder. Pulling. Tugging. Delaney did some maneuvering of her own. She rammed her forearm into the air bag, shoving it aside, and she slipped through the opening and into Ryan’s waiting arms.

It wasn’t an easy fit.

Even though his side of the car wasn’t bashed in, there was an air bag in the way, and he hauled her onto his seat, sandwiching her between the air bag, the steering wheel and his solid body.

He didn’t waste any time. With the exception of headlights that were buried beneath the water, it was pitch-dark and she couldn’t see much, but Delaney heard the soft grind of his window. It seemed to take an eternity to lower.

With each passing second, her heart beat faster. She prayed, while the water got deeper. Rushing into the car and rising until it swirled around her chest.

Then the soft grinding sound stopped.

The window stopped.

The headlights vanished.

Ryan cursed. Still not with much emotion. The stalled window and lack of light didn’t deter him. He slammed his shoulder against his door.

It didn’t budge.

Another slam. So hard that it shook the entire car and sent a wave of water careening right into her face. Delaney gasped. Nearly panicked. But then she thought of her son. Of Patrick. If she panicked, she’d die.

Because of him, she had to stay alive.

Somehow.

Delaney pulled in a long breath, holding it in her lungs. It wasn’t a moment too soon. The muddy water surged and rose. Racing in all around them, swirling and coiling, smothering, until it covered her throat. Her chin. And finally, her entire face.

God, she couldn’t breathe.

Even though there wasn’t nearly enough space for her to escape, she scrambled toward the narrow opening of the window, but Ryan held on to her. That didn’t do much to steady her heart or ease the overwhelming feeling of terror building inside her.

She lost the battle she’d been fighting with the panic. She had to have air. She had to breathe. She had to get out of there now.

Still, Ryan held on to her.

Why?

She forced herself to think, to calm down so she could conserve what little oxygen she had left in her lungs. It worked. After only a few seconds, it occurred to her what he might be doing. He was probably waiting for the car to be totally immersed so the pressure would be equal on both the inside and outside. Only then could they open the door and get out.

It was their one chance at surviving.

Ryan made another sway of movement. Not a battering motion as before. Delaney did some moving of her own, trying to find the door handle so she could try to open it.