NATASHA

A jolt brings me back to my senses. A panicked Petra is sobbing my name and shaking me. I reach for her and call for the driver in the front seat. My words are met with silence. Switching on the overhead light, I lean between the front seats to find him slumped over and unresponsive.

The SUV bounces in the current, shifting and tilting. My frantic heart insists I shut down and give up. I don't know what to do. The man in the front seat was supposed to protect us, but he might be dead.

Thoughts of Bear and the kids steal my panic. My brain suddenly hatches a plan of action. As clarity takes over, I visualize every step.

Still hunched on the floor, Petra fumbles with her phone to call for help. I grab my purse where my switchblade is always stashed. When Siobhan bought the weapon for me to deal with perverts, I swore I'd never have the will to harm someone with it. She still insisted I keep it with me as a good luck charm. Now, I retrieve it and try to think like Siobhan.

"What are you doing?" Petra asks when I slash the side airbags.

"The engine is still running," I explain calmly. "We need to roll down our windows at the same time and jump out. The water will come in quickly. We can't hesitate. We need to get out of the SUV before it's dragged underwater."

"Our gowns are too heavy," Petra says and starts tearing at her dress's many buttons and hooks.

I slice down the front of my gown, nicking flesh in my haste. My breathing is too quick. I'm panicking, yet we need to get out of the SUV immediately.

Petra sees what I've done and tugs her dress away from her skin to make it easier for me to cut through the fabric.

Once we're stripped down to our underwear and dress slips, we climb onto the seats.

"On the count of three," I tell Petra, "we roll down the windows and jump out."

"Then what?"

"I don't know," I admit as the SUV starts tipping forward.

"We're going to flip. One!" I cry and reach for the window button.

Praying my plan will work, I hurry through the next two numbers and press. Petra does the same, and the windows fortunately ease downward. Water splashes inward immediately. The only reason the interior isn't quickly flooded is the river's current drags the vehicle's nose downward. The back seat is slightly upward as we leap into the water.

I'm unprepared for the icy water or violent current. My entire thought process was on getting out of the vehicle. Once I'm in the river, I feel like a ragdoll shaken by an unruly child. As the vehicle flips, the momentum tosses me toward Petra. I reach for her hand, making contact yet unable to hold on.

Petra struggles to stay above the water. The swollen river's current slams us together twice before I'm finally able to grab hold of my sister. We try to steady ourselves and swim toward the shore.

A fallen tree in the river brings our momentum to a violent halt. With too much force, we slam into the soggy trunk. Petra goes limp. I can't catch my breath. My lungs scream, and my muscles refuse to obey.

The impact nearly tears us apart. My nails dig into her flesh to keep the river from stealing her away. Petra no longer screams. She's lifeless in my arms.

I don't have the strength to drag her toward the riverbank. My mind warns the log will break apart and toss us back into the current.

I don't know what to do. I can't save us both, yet I can't let her go.

My mind snaps back to when I was a child and couldn't get across the monkey bars. My brothers swung easily from one bar to the next. Petra seemed to be part monkey with how easy she made it look. As for me, I'd hang like a limp noodle until I fell off.

"One at a time, Natasha," Viktor said when he found me hanging there uselessly. "You can reach for one bar, can't you? Just move from one to the next before giving up."

I did as he instructed. Rather than obsessing over how I couldn't get across the entire monkey bars, I focused on moving from one bar to the next. That was doable. Once I got past the first bar, I had the confidence to try for the next.

My father never lost his temper at how pathetic I behaved. His calm demeanor helped me fixate on one task at a time.

That's what I do now. Wrapping my left arm under my sister's armpit and across her chest, I keep her afloat while my free arm inches us along the log. I don't think about what'll happen if the tree crumbles under our weight. My thoughts remain focused on moving one inch at a time.

Slowly, I make my way along the tree trunk until my toes feel muddy ground under them. Though I nearly weep with relief, I don't dare give up yet. I still need to move Petra out of the water.

Even if she wakes up, we can't yell for help. We don't know if the attackers are searching for us. Hiding is our best option.

But first, I move inch by inch onto the muddy shore. My feet slip more than once. I struggle with Petra's body several times. I nearly lose my grip and lose my sister to the current.

All through my struggle, I recall the story I heard about Viktor's relationship with Sly Dardenne. First, my father was the just powerful man's driver. Then, he was his bodyguard. Then, he was his confidant. Soon, he became Sly Dardenne's second-in-command and most trusted employee.

Step by step, my father eased his way into power, all while convincing Dardenne how no one else could be trusted. By the time Banta City's old king realized Viktor wasn't his guard dog but a hungry wolf, my father had already moved his own people into every position of power within the organization.

"Nothing comes quickly or easily for the Kovak family," Katja once told me. "Though we're never lucky, we are always unrelenting."

I dig deep into myself to find my unrelenting Kovak nature. Soon, I'm on the muddy shore. Next, I've gotten Petra to safety. My sister moans slightly when I drag her over rough rocks to reach the woodlands lining this part of the river.

Only after I've dragged her behind a line of thick bushes do I let myself break free from my single-minded goal. Now, I consider how far we are from where we went off the road. How will anyone find us? Should I leave Petra and run for help? My body doesn't want to move. All I can do is wrap myself around my sister's body in the bushes. Once again, I don't know the answer.

Wet, muddy, and cold, I cradle Petra and imagine Bear is holding us both. He's always so warm like a comfy plush blanket.

He'll be here soon. No way did anyone hurt him. Bear O'Malley is a force of nature. I refuse to believe otherwise.