The kids scrambled back just before Liam’s face appeared—pale, tense. The day’s light was near gone, but she could still make out his eyes and the way they locked on hers with an intensity that made her chest flutter despite everything. Oh, she was a disaster.
In seconds, he was over the edge. Half climbing, half controlled sliding down the loose soil, boots finding purchase with the confidence of someone who’d done this before.
The girl with glasses started crying.
Perfect.These kids were terrified enough without her dramatic cliff dive adding to their panic.
Liam crouched beside her, hands gentle but methodical as he checked her head and neck, fingers probing for injuries. “Where does it hurt?” His voice was even, but his eyes held fear that twisted something deep in her chest. He still cared for her.
So maybe her fall wasn’t all tragic. Heat crept up her neck. Even through the pain, his touch felt too good. Made her want things she had no business wanting after her lies.
“My ribs are probably bruised. And this ankle…” She tested it slightly, winced. “Not happening.” She looked up at him. “Liam. About the gold—I should’ve told you immediately. I wanted to. I was planning?—”
“Not important right now.” His hands moved down her spine, applying light pressure, checking for spinal damage. “No apparent head, neck, or spine injuries, but we need a C-collar and a backboard.”
“You have some hidden EMT certification?”
“Boy Scout badge. First aid.” A hint of humor colored his tone.
And there he was. She grinned at him.
He gave her a wry smile, but then his gaze drifted past her, and though the light was almost gone now, she could have sworn his face went ashen. She followed his look.
The ledge ended three feet away. Fifty-foot drop into black nothing.
Her stomach plummeted all over again.Three feet.She’d missed death by three feet.
She pressed her hand over his, her fingers ice cold against his warmth. “I’m okay.”
He nodded—curt, jaw tight—then examined her ankle. “Can you move it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Can I try?”
“Anything to get me off this ledge.”
When he straightened it, lightning shot up her leg. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she bit her lip, held her breath.
“That ankle’s not walking anywhere.” He helped her shift against a rock, leaned close to brush hair from her face.
“Stay put. Back in a minute.”
Like she had a choice.
He climbed back up, soil shifting under his boots, but he made it look easy. Moments later, Noel—the girl with the messy French braid—scrambled down clutching a half-empty water bottle. She seemed to be the leader of the group, along with Brian.
“Where’s Liam? You shouldn’t be here.”
“He doesn’t know—he took off. I’m not sure where. But I got trained as a first responder at my high school’s EVIT program. You need water and a blanket to keep you from going into shock.”
Brave.But her nervous eyes kept flicking to that drop three feet away.
“Thanks.” Nimue accepted the bottle but only sipped. This was probably their last water. “You don’t have to babysit me.”
“Another first-responder rule—don’t leave the patient alone.”
Nimue closed her eyes, head falling back against stone. Pain pulsed with every heartbeat. If those flashlights belonged to Teresa’s people, she was finished. Trapped on a ledge while killers closed in.