Relief leaves me dizzy, my body folds toward him, desperate to reach the one familiar thing in this nightmare.
River's face is completely calm as his eyes lock onto the scene over my shoulder, every muscle in his body engaged.
"River?" I barely get his name out.
He connects with me without slowing down. One enormous arm wraps round my waist, with a grunt he lifts me off my feet and spins us. We’re sliding sideways through freezing air, and I’m deposited behind a parked car, the breath knocked from my lungs.
"Stay down." The order is calm, almost gentle.
River disappears, and all hell breaks loose.
A deafening boom echoes between buildings, a bomb detonating. The car shudders beside me. Metal groans, glass rattles, snarls and screams. I drop into a crouch, press my back against the r
