“I’m not leaving you.Final.” His hand settled on her shoulder—warm but firm. “Drop that thought. Right now.”
“I should’ve told you about the gold immediately. I was going to tell you when we got interrupted.” The words tumbled out. “I found it in that cave. I’m sorry. I just didn’t know if?—”
“It’s okay.” His eyes met hers.
And though it was now fully dark, the full moon had begun to rise like a silver line along his features. And even in the dim light, she saw forgiveness there. Or at least the start of forgiveness, and that softness in his face eased some of her guilt.
But also distance. Wariness.
He no longer fully trusted her.
And that cut deeper than any pain in her broken body.
“Now we’re going to get creative,” he said. “Brian, bring me that deflated backpack.”
Brian handed her not her own but one of the teens’ camping backpacks. In fact, J.J. appeared wearing her pack.
Liam opened the arm straps as far as they would go and then fitted her legs through the straps, rolling her so that the backpack was behind her. He then put the straps over her shoulders.
“How are you?—”
And then he crouched in front of her, put the shoulder straps over his shoulders so she was sandwiched next to his back, and stood up.
The straps held her legs, her arms around his chest. She leaned her head against the back of his neck.
“This is cozy.”
He grunted as he adjusted the straps. “You okay?”
Yes. No…“Thank you, Liam.”
“Let’s go,” he said, his voice tight.
“Liam. You can’t walk all the way back carrying me.”
“Watch me,” he said, and started hiking.
FOURTEEN
Three times.
Three times in his life, terror had grabbed Liam by the throat and squeezed until he couldn’t breathe. Logan’s fall from those rocks when they were kids. Christiana’s scream echoing off alpine peaks. And thirty minutes ago when Nimue vanished over that ledge as if the earth had swallowed her whole.
His heart still hammered against his ribs as if it were trying to break free.
Her faint “I’m okay” from the darkness below had been the only thing keeping him from complete meltdown. But seeing her sprawled on that ledge—that half grin cutting through obvious pain—that’s when he’d finally managed to drag air into his lungs.
If she hadn’t needed him to figure out how to get her off that ledge, he might’ve collapsed right there. Relief could be just as brutal as fear.
Crying.The urge had been real, raw, rising in his chest like a tide. He hadn’t cried in probably ten years, but watching her disappear had cracked something fundamental inside him.
Instead, he’d shoved everything down. Gone full ranger mode.Check injuries. Move patient to safety.
And she was safe. Finally.
But his need to protect her now burned hotter than ever.
They’d hiked a good half mile, maybe more, from their position, and he’d found them a section of large boulders just off the end of one of the switchbacks. There was a sort of cave, like their earlier spot when they’d waited out the rain. This one, however, was wider but not deep. A light layer of stratus clouds had moved in and was being lit by the full moon that had climbed high in the sky. They provided a dome of light that would aid in keeping them safe and yet make them more vulnerable to being seen. He could only hope that the clouds didn’t mean another storm come morning.