High Risk (32 page)

She laughed when she realized he was doing the same thing in return.

His gaze snapped to hers. “Ready to go again?”

Becki nodded.

This was when the team walked the fine line between being primed or falling over the
limit into enough adrenaline to make them crash. The hard labour of the run helped
as Becki followed Devon this time. He had his compass out, all of them alert for the
steady stream of whistles drawing them closer to the wall.

Suddenly they were there, the base of the cliffs appearing out of the grey like a
curtain being pulled aside at a theater.

“Colin,” Becki shouted.

Instant response. “Yes. God, you guys are fast.”

Devon and Marcus had their packs off, ropes being arranged in loops, helmets snapped
into position.

“You ordered the best,” Becki answered. That was as much as she could get out before
her throat closed.

Nearly there. Nearly safe. She removed her pack and placed it with the others, the
sweat on her back cooling in the lower temperatures.

“Colin, I’ve got a climber coming up. How’s Rob?” Devon asked.

“Stable.”

“I hope you guys brought beer with you. I’m thirsty,” a second voice joined in, far
softer than Colin’s robust shouts.

“Beer is for wimps. Xavier’s got way better stuff once we get you in position.” Devon
motioned Alisha forward. She was into her harness and rigged in less than a minute.
“Tell us about your platform. Room for more up there, or cozy?”

“Cozy. I’ll need to get out of the way for anyone else to visit Rob.”

“Got it. Stay put for now, okay?” Devon ordered.

Becki tipped her head back and still couldn’t see a thing much higher than she could
reach. Marcus joined her, and she slipped her fingers into his hand. She didn’t care
who saw the motion. “How far up are they?” she asked.

“Far enough, I’d imagine. Guessing fifty feet from his volume.”

She nodded. “That’s about the right height for a second lead to start.”

Marcus twisted her until he could stare into her face. “You did incredibly back there.
Never a moment’s hesitation. You were what got us here so fast.”

“It’s a relief to be done. I want Colin on his feet where I can hug him.”

“Will I do for now?” Marcus asked, and she slipped into his embrace, turning to face
the wall. Leaning back against his body and accepting his support. “I’m very glad
I’m not going up this time, though.” Alisha stepped to the rocks and began her ascent.
It took an incredibly short time before the young woman had disappeared into the clouds,
Devon working her safety line. “Damn, she is good.”

“I don’t often get to observe the team in action like this,” Marcus said. “I’m back
at base, or in the chopper. I’m proud of them—they’ve got the teamwork part down damn
well.”

“And the rest of your rules.”

Xavier waited for his turn, assembling supplies and working efficiently with Anders.
Devon had a steady stream of banter going back and forth between him and Alisha, the
dialogue vital now that she was invisible to them.

Becki rested her head on Marcus’s chest and worked to slow her breathing. There was
nothing they could do at this point but wait.

Waiting. Story of her life lately.

“Take,” Alisha ordered.

Devon responded, securing the rope as somewhere above them in the unseen grey, Alisha
reached the ledge.

“Try not to hold your breath,” Marcus warned. “You want to be able to hug your brother
when he gets down, not be sitting on your backside with your head between your knees.”

“Bastard,” Becki muttered.

Marcus chuckled and adjusted her position, wrapping his arm around her until his mouth
was directly by her ear. “This is what you were made to do. Nothing is going to stop
you, understand? You will not have to give up doing rescues. Trust me.”

His complete and utter conviction cocooned her and gave her the strength to wait as
she peered upward and waited for Colin to appear.

CHAPTER
35

It was something Marcus thought he’d never get used to—a person suddenly appearing
out of nowhere, parting the clouds. Colin twisted into sight, lowered on a fixed rope.
Marcus intended to stay aside, out of the way of his team and the reunion about to
take place. Becki had different ideas as she dragged him with her as she rushed forward,
only letting his hand free when her brother’s feet hit the ground.

“You stupid, stupid, stupid fool.” Becki nearly leapt on Colin in her need to make
sure he was okay. “I have no idea why you thought climbing out of season was a good
idea.”

Marcus grinned as Colin glanced around sheepishly, accepting his sister’s clutch and
her condemnation. “Well. The mountain was there. It had to be climbed, you know?”

“Sorry to intrude. I need your rope, dude.” Xavier shouldered between the siblings
without a qualm to work the safety knot from Colin’s belt. “So, until hell broke loose,
was it a good climb?”

“Awesome.” Colin grinned, streaks of dirt and blood on his face, the hours of waiting
in the cold forgotten. “I can’t wait to come back and do it again. Well, without the
Rob-hurting-himself part.”

Xavier nodded. “Sounds like a plan. You let Becki look you over for a minute, okay?
I think you’re all right, though.”

Marcus approved of it all as his team slipped easily into action around him. Alisha
had dropped another rope from the anchor she’d set on the ledge. Anders worked to
attach the stretcher and medical supplies. Devon was already belaying Xavier as he
headed up to work his magic on the injured climber.

Becki had taken her brother aside and was assessing him, her training crystal clear
in every move. This was what she was meant to do, and if she was willing to work with
Marcus’s team, he’d feel privileged.

He wasn’t going to lie, either, and pretend her skills were the only reason he wanted
her.

Becki waved him over, and he responded quickly. “What’s up?”

“He’s good, as far as I can tell. You have any heating pads in the supplies before
I go digging through everything?”

“I don’t need to be babied,” Colin complained, glaring at his sister. He glanced at
Marcus. “Tell her I don’t need heating pads.”

“You expect me to argue with your sister? Not likely,” Marcus said, stepping aside
to grab what she’d asked for out of the medic bag.

“She’s not that scary,” Colin insisted. “And she’s a total wimp when it comes to ridge
running.”

Yeah, this kid was going to be interesting to watch. Marcus caught Becki’s eye, doing
his own assessment of her now that her brother was safely on the ground. Dark shadows
under her eyes, weary body positioning. She was headed for a crash, the adrenaline
rush wearing off, leaving room for everything else she’d been dealing with to surface.
“Becki, grab some food and drink. You need a sit-down before we head out. I’ll take
over checking Colin.”

“I don’t need . . .” She snapped her mouth closed on the near-mirror complaint to
the one her brother had just uttered. After one final scruff of Colin’s hair, she
scrambled to her feet and marched past Marcus, bumping him with her shoulder and whispering
as she went by. “Bastard. I’ll get even with you for that one.”

He chuckled. “I hope you try.”

She stopped unexpectedly, cupping his face tenderly before moving to follow his directions.

Marcus wanted to grab hold of her and squeeze her tight. To pick her up and swing
her around in celebration of all the successes she’d had that day. The quiet dignity
she showed, though, was exactly right. Totally Becki.

Whatever life was going be like in the coming days, it was never going to be boring.

* * *

Becki found a spot to the side where she could lean on a rock, see everything and
not be underfoot. The granola bar and drink she’d grabbed did help—Marcus had been
right.

The setting remained otherworldly, people at the edges of the working space shifting
in and out of her vision as the clouds rolled through. Sometimes higher, sometimes
lower. A thick layer of condensation coated everything.

She tugged her jacket tighter against the cold. Colin moved to the right a couple
of steps and vanished, and her heart jolted until she realized he was fine, just hidden
in the mist.

The stretcher came into view, and she rose to her feet as Marcus rushed forward to
help Devon guide the solid platform. The tired and pain-filled face of a young man
barely out of his teens appeared as the flat surface lowered to the ground.

“You enjoy your roller-coaster ride?” Marcus asked.

Rob nodded. “You guys are like angels.”

A snort escaped Marcus. “Well, that’s a new one. I’m usually called the opposite.”

“Relax, Rob. We’ve got a ways to go, but you shouldn’t have to spend the night on
the mountain.” Devon squatted beside the stretcher, adjusting straps.

“Thanks to Colin. He was awesome.” Rob’s words slurred as he closed his eyes. “I thought
I was fucked. Of course, the mountains wouldn’t be a bad place to die. I wouldn’t
mind it, you know, being buried here, but not for another eighty years or so. . . .”

Xavier landed beside them, unknotting and moving back into position to check Rob.
“You aren’t dead, you aren’t dying. Please, my artistry is so underrated.”

He glanced at Becki and winked, lowering his voice. “He’ll be either out in a few
minutes or singing to the forest elves. I gave him a painkiller to take the edge off.”

Becki nodded, stepping away as Anders and Xavier relocated the stretcher to the side
of the clearing to rig a carrying system. She swayed, the euphoria of having made
it this far making her light-headed.

Marcus brushed her cheek with his fingers. “I’m going to gather gear with Alisha and
Devon. We’ll be heading out in less than ten. Take a rest. You did great.”

She smiled and nodded, but there was something not quite right with her legs as she
returned to her place against the wall. The torn-up sections of her palms burned,
and her fingertips were cold, so she sat and tucked her hands under her arms.

. . . wouldn’t be a bad place to die.

Rob’s words echoed in her head. Becki’s heart gave a giant thump, and she jerked upright,
searching the scene frantically. Anders and Xavier were barely visible now, hidden
by the trees. The only thing visible in that direction looked like a body lying flat
out on its back.

. . . the mountains wouldn’t be a bad place to die.

Her breathing sped up. Blood rushed to her head. Becki pressed against the rock and
fought to stay alert, but a rush of blackness swept over her and everything went dark.

* * *

She was nearing the edge. The point of no return. Becki clung to her knife blade even
as she scrambled frantically to find a way to avoid sliding toward the cliff.

As suddenly as it started, everything stopped, the heavy weight of Dane’s body at
the other end of her rope no longer dragging her.

She wanted to scream in delight. To cry and laugh and celebrate that she’d survived.
Only there was no way to know exactly why they were no longer moving. If Dane was
tangled on an unsteady rock, their reprieve could be short-lived.

She scrambled to set a real anchor, using her hammer to pound in a long screw. She
set a quick emergency rope before taking the time to make a bombproof one. Only then
did she stop to breathe and rejoice a tiny bit.

“Dane,” she shouted. “Can you hear me? We’re going to be okay. We made it. I’m coming
to get you.”

A quick sip of water, a bite of an energy bar to get some strength into her shaking
limbs. She sucked back a power gel, set a rappelling rope, and willingly went over
the edge that had nearly killed her.

She was strong. It had been the most frightening experience yet in her climbing career,
but they’d avoided fate. They were going to make it.

The clouds were still there. The wind, the moisture. A few drops of rain hit, and
the idea of a downpour made her happy. It would make things miserably cold, but the
cloud patterns would change.

They were going to make it.

Over her right shoulder she spotted him. “Dane, I’m coming.”

He didn’t move, his body a long line collapsed on the brink of the ledge. The platform
was wide enough to be safe, and he was roped to her safety rope, so she wasn’t worried
about him rolling away before she reached him. Becki down-climbed cautiously, her
fingers and arms protesting. She didn’t give a damn how much she hurt. They were both
alive.

She could put up with a few aches and pains.

Another base. Another anchor. Becki wasn’t leaving anything to chance. She rearranged
ropes to make sure she was attached to the wall, Dane still attached to her, before
she even moved to his side.

She stroked Dane’s hair from his face. “Hey, wake up. Nap later—it’s your turn to
carry me.”

His eyes fluttered open, and he groaned. Pulled himself up on one elbow. “Crap, I
thought I was dead.”

“Rock fall.” She wouldn’t bother to tell him right now what else had nearly happened.
That was a story to share over beers in a warm bar once they were completely off the
mountain. “How you doing? Any injuries?”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. Fuck. How did that happen?”

She helped him up and stabilized him until he was no longer rocking on his feet. “This
all happened because you were supposed to go first. I’m sure of it. Hey, where you
going?”

He’d stepped to the edge to peer over. She joined him, a rush of nausea hitting at
how close a call they’d had. If the three-foot-wide ledge hadn’t been there, the steep
cavern at their feet would have been their grave.

“It’s so unfair,” Dane whispered, turning back to her, staring at the wall behind
her as if he weren’t seeing anything. “People come out here all the time. To the mountains.
They drive past in their cars, and they point up and say, ‘Look how beautiful. I’m
so glad we came.’”

Becki caught Dane by the arm, pulling him farther from the cliff edge. He sounded . . .
confused. “We do get a better view from here, don’t we? Although their cars seldom
fall off cliffs.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad place to die.” Dane breathed the words slowly, and Becki’s gut
tightened.

“Dane? What’s wrong?”

He pulled off his helmet and tossed it aside, the streaks of dirt on his cheeks and
his tangled hair making him look a little mad. “Nothing. Everything.”

Shit. He’d gone into shock. “Come on, I’ll make us something warm to drink; then we
can—”

“I’m dying, Becki,” Dane blurted out. “Some weird-ass form of muscular dystrophy.
A stupid genetic thing that isn’t any fault of mine, but it’s going to take me away
from here. Put me in a car until all I can do is look up and say, ‘Oh, aren’t they
beautiful’ from there. Never climb again.”

Nothing made sense. “You’re dying?”

“Found out when I met my birth mom. Did some tests.” He shook his head in frustration.
“All my muscles will shrivel up. Until I can’t breathe on my own. And it’ll happen
so slowly, I’ll know what I’m losing.”

“Oh God, Dane, I’m sorry.” Becki caught him against her. The time for talking this
through was once they were away from the mountain, but now she understood why he’d
been acting strangely.

Dane held her tight, like he was never going to let go. When he finally released her
it was to lift his fingers to gently stroke her cheek. “It sucks. Not your fault.
You’ve been great.”

“Let’s go. Get out of these cold wet things. We’ll talk, okay?” Something jerked her
waist harness, and she glanced down to discover he’d taken his knife and cut the rope
between them. “Dane? Let me untie you. You don’t need to cut it.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want you rescuing me. I will choose where I die. And it
won’t be in some hospital bed after months or years of not really living.”

Oh my God.
A flash of understanding hit too late. Becki reached for him to drag him to safety,
but he shoved her back violently. She staggered away, fighting to keep her balance.

Dane turned and stepped off the cliff.

Becki screamed.

The world went dark.