He was greedy for all of it. And losing all of that now…
The ache in his chest deepened. He pressed his palm against his sternum, willing it to ease.
Nimue shifted and started shivering. They were still maybe an hour from the sun finding them down here. Liam turned and wrapped his arm around her. She went rigid for half a heartbeat, and he almost let go—then she melted into him like she belonged there.
Maybe she did.
The warmth seeping through his jacket grounded him. Reminded him why he was here. Why he’d risk everything—his job, his life, whatever it took—to keep her safe.
She was worth it.
And not just because of how perfectly she fit against him, small but fierce, like she could take on the world and still need him to hold her steady. Her voice—raw, unguarded—when she’d talked about those sketches had revealed glimpses of the pain she carried. Something bitter had edged her tone when she’d mentioned drawing in color. As if joy were some foreign concept.
Every fiber of him wanted to be the one to change that. To show her that happiness wasn’t just for other people.
But the gaps in her story gnawed at him. She’d mentioned that her sister was a Black Swan. He’d nodded like it madeperfect sense, but the term meant nothing to him. Yesterday, before talking to said sister, he’d have guessed it was some ballet thing. Now he knew it was tangled up in whatever danger was hunting her.
And that ignorance could get them both killed.
Nimue stirred, her breath catching as she woke. He eased back, cold air rushing between them as she sat up. The sky above them arched black, with only the faintest hint of gray touching the canyon rim.
“We need to move.” His voice came out rougher than intended. “Phantom Ranch is our best bet. It’s closed for renovations, but they have an emergency phone line. We can reach Emberly, tell her about the sat phone…”
Nimue’s gaze flicked to her pack, where the tampered device waited like a ticking bomb.
“You think they’d actually come down here?” he said. “Into the canyon?”
She shook her head, already shoving gear into her pack. “I don’t know. But I doubt it. They’re killers, not backcountry hikers. Smarter play would be tracking where we come out. Set up an ambush and take us out there.”
He stilled at her words.
She glanced at him. “Sorry. I need coffee.” She’d taken out the phone and set it on the ground with the battery case still off, the little green light still taunting them.
“Any ideas yet on what to do with this thing?” He nodded toward the phone.
“Can’t we just get rid of it?”
“We talked about this last night. If we destroy it, then they’d know we’re onto them. Leave it here, same problem. We need to?—”
“Lead them the wrong way.” Her eyes lit up as she glanced at the creek flowing past their shelter. “Send it downstream. Thiswater flows opposite from where we’re headed. Dumps into the Colorado eventually.”
“Hold up.” One eyebrow climbed toward his hairline. “You’re asking a ranger to intentionally litter? That’s like asking a chef to burn dinner on purpose.”
“Even if your life depends on it?”
He hesitated.
“Ifmylife depends on it?”
Direct hit.
He’d pollute the entire park system if it meant keeping her safe.
Liam dug through his pack—past the MREs and half-empty water bottle—until his fingers found a crumpled Ziploc bag. He clicked the battery cover back on and slipped the phone inside, leaving room to inflate the bag before sealing it tight.
He put it into a second bag, added more air to inflate it like a small balloon to add more buoyancy. Then he wrapped it in duct tape, silver strips overlapping until the whole thing looked like some deranged balloon animal, a bulky, shimmering puff. But hopefully it would keep the electronics dry and shield the wildlife from ingesting anything.
He set it into the stream. “With luck, they’ll think we’re hiking that direction.” The makeshift float bobbed, riding the water’s surface as it disappeared around the bend in the quiet flow. “I hope I can find that later.”