“According to the GPS, we turn again in another mile. Then it’s not much farther along that road.”

“Who lives out in the woods like this? This is nuts.”

“People who like their privacy.”

“I like my privacy. You don’t see me abandoning society and living like a hermit.”

“Maybe it just seems bad because it’s dark and wet. I bet it’s really nice out here during the summer.”

“Hmph.” Victoria’s wipers sped up to double time again. She yanked at the wheel, avoiding a boulder. “Jesus. Did you see that? Where did that come from? It was right in the middle of the road.”

“Maybe the water pushed it. Or it rolled down the hill.” He bent over to look up the steep slope. It was a solid wall of ascending firs. “It could have come from up there. Everything is soaked. Look at all the debris in the road.”

He was right. The road was a mess of tree branches and tiny streams shooting across the lane. All the rain was seeking the easiest way to the ocean level and pushing aside anything in its way. The dirt was beyond soaking in the rain. Instead, the water hit the ground and immediately searched for the lowest territory, creating lakes where there’d been meadows.

She followed the GPS’s polite directions to take the next turn. And promptly wanted the conditions of the previous road.

“Whose idea was this?” she mumbled.

“Can we blame Brody?” asked Seth.

“I’ll go with that.”

She stood on the brakes and Seth lunged forward in his seat, his seatbelt keeping him from shooting through the windshield. “Look at that!” She pointed. She’d spotted the car up ahead and off to her left. The sedan was wedged against a group of ancient firs, water flowing over its tires. Water flooded the road before her, flowing down the hillside and streaming in the direction of the sedan. Something moved.

“Someone’s inside!” Seth exclaimed.

Victoria backed up a fraction, turned her wheel, and moved forward, shining her headlights on the car. She caught her breath. “Is that Trinity’s car?”

Seth opened his door.

“Wait. You can’t go out in that!” She grabbed at his arm and looked back at the car. Hands and a face pressed against the glass of the passenger side window. The window started to lower and she could see a male teen. Trinity’s face appeared over his shoulder, both kids waving at the headlights.

Shock rocked through Victoria, but then she breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s her. I don’t think that car is going anywhere. It’s stuck against those trees. We’ve got to call Katy.”

“You call her. I’ll figure out how to get them out of that water.”

Seth stepped out into the downpour, peering at the car. Trinity drove an older sedan. The kids looked like they were okay but scared. Victoria was right that they weren’t going anywhere. He guessed the water had lifted them off the road and carried them twenty feet into a mass of tree trunks. He looked up. The trees swayed in the growing winds. How firmly were they rooted? He didn’t want to think what would happen if the trees toppled.

Why in hell was Trinity way out here?

Water soaked through his shoes. He wasn’t standing in the mini-river that had moved Trinity’s car, but by Victoria’s vehicle it was at least three inches deep. The road dipped slightly where the water rushed across the choppy blacktop, acting as a funnel for all the rain landing in the steep thousand feet of elevation to his right. The rushing water looked about eighteen inches deep. Why had she tried to cross?

She probably hadn’t seen it. Even Victoria had to stand on the brakes to keep from driving into the water. He glanced at her SUV. It could probably cross safely. He waved at the kids. There was no way they could hear him over the rush of the water. He gave a thumbs-up and a hang-on gesture and then ducked back in Victoria’s SUV.

“I think it’s raining harder up here than back in the city,” he said.

“The Coast Range always gets an insane amount of rain. Floods the coastal towns and highways with its runoff.” She was tapping her cell. “I got Katy’s voice mail. I don’t know if she’s on the phone or what. But I told her we found Trinity and she’s okay. Cell reception is horrible. I had to try three times to get the call to go through.” She glanced at him and her expression hardened. “That bad?”

“I don’t know how we’re going to get them out. The water is fast, and I can’t tell how deep it is in spots.”

“I called nine-one-one and reported it too. I told them there’s a car trapped in the water. They’ll send a fire truck with heavy rescue equipment.”

“Christ, I hope they can find us.”

“They locked on to my signal. She said she could tell where I was.”

“Good. Thank God for modern technology.”

“Yes, except I was cut off. I’ve tried to call back and can’t get reception.”

“Shit. Think they got our location clear enough?”

She took a deep breath. “I think so.” She set her phone on the console.

He took her hand, squeezing it tight as he studied the kids in the car. They’d rolled up their window partway, but he could see two sets of eyes pointed in their direction. They were scared to death. “How much water do you think is in their car?”

She was staring too. “I don’t know. It’s getting higher, isn’t it? We’ve got to do something.”