the other side.
His heart sank when he saw her clinging with both hands to the other half of the bridge as it dangled against the sheer cliff face. He wanted to help her, but there was nothing he could do. She was a hundred feet away. Only air between them.
The Cobra executed a tight turn within the gorge, arching upward, then began another run their way.
“Can you climb?” he screamed over the noise.
Her head shook.
“Do it,” he yelled.
She craned her neck his way. “Get out of here.”
“Not without you.”
The Cobra was less than a mile away. Its cannon would start firing any second.
“Climb,” he screamed.
One hand reached up.
Then she fell fifty feet into the rushing river.
How deep it flowed he did not know, but the boulders that protruded along its path did not offer him any solace.
She disappeared into the churning water, which had to be nearly freezing, considering its source was mountain snow.
He waited for her to surface. Somewhere.
But she never did.
He stared down at the roaring gray gush, which carried silt and rock along with a swish of foam in a formidable current. He wanted to leap after her, but realized that was impossible. He wouldn’t survive the fall, either.
He stood and watched, disbelieving.
After all they’d been through the past three days.
Cassiopeia Vitt was gone.
A BOUT THE A UTHOR
S TEVE B ERRY is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, The Amber Room
, and the short story “The Balkan Escape.” His books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold in fifty countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida, and is at work on his next novel. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve Berry and the foundation, visit www.steveberry.org .
CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF COTTON MALONE?
Read all the Steve Berry novels in the Cotton Malone series:
THE TEMPLAR LEGACY
THE ALEXANDRIA LINK
THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL
THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT
THE PARIS VENDETTA
THE EMPEROR’S TOMB
And don’t miss Steve Berry’s other novels of suspense:
THE AMBER ROOM
THE ROMANOV PROPHECY
THE THIRD SECRET
Visit Steve Berry’s official website to sign up for his mailing list. You’ll receive updates on his books and tour schedule, get exclusive material, and much more!
www.SteveBerry.org
Check out the free Steve Berry iPhone App.
You can download it straight from iTunes .
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Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler