Celtic Empire (Dirk Pitt 25)

Stroking harder, her arm slapped into something. Someone else was in the water with her. For an instant, she hoped she had reached Rondi and the line. One look above the surface told her it wasn’t so. Instead, she found the dark-haired man from the survey boat next to her.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. Confused, she continued to kick and stroke. Then she heard his calm voice. She stopped and looked up into his face.

“Hang on tight to me and take a deep breath.” He winked at her through the greenest eyes she’d ever seen.

Adrenaline overtook analysis, and she did as he said. There was nothing else she could do, as they’d reached the edge of the falls.

He raised a finger in the air and twirled it as she wrapped her arms around him and took a last breath.

Then gravity took command and carried them over the falls.

3

Elise felt the sensation of free-falling in the river’s flow. With her eyes shut tight and her breath held, she clung in a bear hug to Pitt. His arms were wrapped around her, his legs bent and squeezed together. Amid the rushing water, Elise could feel something slipping across her legs and back.

They seemed to fall forever. She tensed for the anticipated collision with the rocks at the base of the dam. The impact didn’t arrive. Instead, she felt a jolt from Pitt that nearly ripped her from his arms. Something had stopped their descent.

She caught a fistful of his shirt and pulled herself back to him. It took a herculean effort against the water’s battering. She felt like the Empire State Building was falling on her, one floor at a time.

Pitt again pulled her close, and she clung tight against the relentless pressure.

She opened her eyes for an instant, saw only a violent froth of white water rushing past. As her racing heart slowed a beat, Elise realized she needed to breathe. It had been only seconds since they were drawn over the top, yet the exertion had been intense.

Her mind raced. What would become of them, suspended in the falls? She told herself she wasn’t going to inhale the water no matter what. She’d hold her breath until she passed out, then accept her fate.

The force of the water tore at her limbs, taking her mind off the fear of drowning. Her arms ached, but losing her grip on Pitt would mean instant death. Yet she felt no such fatigue from the sinewy man who clutched her. He felt like a statue, his arms firm around her, despite the weight of the water on them.

The water pressure jostled them about, banging them against the dam. During one collision, Elise’s leg slid against its surface. Oddly, she felt the wall fall away from her. Somehow, they seemed to be sliding up the face of the dam.

Again, she needed to breathe. Her head was pounding and her lungs ached for air. Elise began to have thoughts of simply letting go. Then her legs scuffed over the jagged top of the dam, and the tumult from the rushing water lessened.

She opened her eyes, surprised to encounter a few feet of visibility. The current was still strong, but not as heavy and not as frothy. She could now see that Pitt was grasping a small blue cable coiled around his leg, ending at a yellow tube-shaped device beneath his feet. The nose of the object had stopped their descent, and he had wedged his feet against it.

Elise’s lungs felt like they would explode. She looked up to her rescuer. He had a hardened yet handsome face that had seen many hours in the sun. His eyes were open, and he looked at her with confidence and intelligence. Once more, the green orbs winked at her, telling her to hang on, they would soon be safe.

The force of the water diminished, and Pitt freed his legs from the towfish and kicked upward until they broke the surface. Elise gasped, filling her lungs with deep breaths as the pounding in her head slowly lessened. The current still pulled at their bodies, and she kept a firm hold on Pitt, whose arms were outstretched gripping the cable.

Elise looked ahead and saw the survey boat. On its stern deck a curly-haired man with Mediterranean features quickly pulled in the blue cable with his thick hands and arms. In the water nearby, Rondi grasped the taut rescue line tied to the survey boat’s stern.

“That was a shower for the ages,” Pitt said. He turned to her and grinned. “You okay?”

Still gasping, Elise nodded and gave a weak smile.

Giordino pulled them alongside the corner transom, keeping them away from the churning outboards that held the survey boat in place. He reached over and lifted Elise onto the deck with an effortless grab. Pitt climbed aboard on his own and waved to the old fisherman who was manning the helm. Then he pulled in the remaining cable and towfish.

Giordino offered Pitt a crooked grin. “I suggest you consider using a barrel next time you decide to jump over some falls.”

“Barrels are for sissies,” Pitt said. “But thanks for the lift.”

Giordino stepped to the opposite corner of the stern and began pulling in Rondi. “I was hoping you wouldn’t slip to the end. Glad the towfish held its bite on the cable.”

“You and me both,” Pitt replied. “I’m afraid that cable might be stretched a bit longer than it was when we started.”

“I think our survey work is done for the day.” Giordino nodded toward Elise and the old man, then yanked Rondi aboard.

The teen stood there, shivering, and stammered, “Miss Elise . . . I thought you were gone . . . over the dam . . . for good.”

“So did I.” Elise turned to Pitt. “I don’t know how to thank you.”