Chapter 34 · Severed Line

The winch drum screamed.

Cable zinged off it so fast it smoked. Out past the pier rail, Mia's iron chair was dropping into the dark, and I heard my sister scream my name.

I didn't think. I ran.

The pier planks were slick with diesel and sea spray. My bare feet skidded. I hit the winch housing hip-first and grabbed the cable with both hands.

Big mistake.

It tore through my palms like a cheese wire. I felt skin go. I held on anyway.

"Brake!" I screamed. "Where's the damn brake?"

"Left side!" Lucian's voice came out of nowhere, ragged and wet. "Red lever. Bia, let go of the cable!"

"No!"

He didn't argue. He hit the housing next to me, and I smelled copper on him, thick and fresh. His shirt was black from the ribs down. He shouldn't have been standing, let alone sprinting.

He slammed his bloody hand on the red lever and leaned his whole weight on it.

The drum shuddered. Metal bit metal. The cable jerked in my fists so hard my shoulders cracked.

Then it stopped.

I hung there, panting, my hands burning.