Julian’s POV:
The engine dies completely.
The silence that follows is not peaceful. It’s the kind of silence that arrives just before impact. The river keeps moving beneath us, dark and restless, pushing the boat sideways as the current takes control.
I grip the edge of the boat to steady myself. Pain flares through my shoulder, hot and sharp, but I lock it down. There’s no room for weakness right now. Not with headlights tracking us along the bank and another engine growing louder behind us.
The driver curses under his breath and kneels near the console.
“They hit the fuel line,” he says. “We’re leaking.”
Ava shifts closer to me instinctively. I feel her warmth through the cold air. Her hand is still pressed against my shoulder where the blood has soaked through fabric. She has torn
