and I could see the sheer panic. “What happened? Any chance you can tell me why you’re up here?” I coaxed. A tear slipped out, and she swallowed hard.
“Bad luck just seems to follow me these days.”
I wanted to question her, but now wasn’t the time. If her emotions were this raw, things could go south very quickly. I needed to keep her calm.
“Okay, let’s get you down from here.”
“I…” She squeezed her eyes shut once more. “I think my muscles are frozen.”
“That happens when you’re scared, but you’ve done this with Mike before, yes?” She nodded. “Then you know how to go back down from here.”
“Yes, but about thirty feet ago. I’ve never gone this high.”
I let out a frustrated sigh and focused on getting her down. I heard Mike’s whistle and the sound of the rope as it scraped against the rock and hit my side. I grabbed the cleat that was fastened to the end of it and secured myself then inched closer and carefully attached the rope to secure her to me.
“Okay, we’re both fastened tight. Now lean into me. We’re going to rappel down together.” I could tell by her lack of reaction that my words weren’t getting through. She was like a layer of ice frozen to the mountain.
Having been in this type of situation before, I understood what was happening in her head. Slowly, I slid my hand over her back and my foot across her legs until I was completely covering her with my body.
With my lips close to her ear, I whispered, “Fear is the enemy, and courage is your weapon. Dig deep and look for your strength.” She gave a tiny nod, but her eyes were still squeezed shut. “What do you see?”
“You.” Her breath shot out fast, and I smiled before I covered her hands with mine and pried her fingers lose from the rock. She gasped but allowed herself to fall with me.
“Mike has us, Sloane. It’s okay. He won’t let us fall. Just move with my body, follow my lead. I’ve got you.”
I continued to talk to her until the moment our feet touched the ground. She sagged against me, and I turned her around and pressed my mouth to her icy lips. I devoured her mouth, needing her to ground me. The desire to have my way with her was consuming, so I pulled away.
“I’ve jumped from planes, I’ve been shot, I’ve come face to face with cartel, but that,” I pointed up the mountain, “just scared the living shit out of me. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I wanted…I just wanted to feel free!”
“Then take a hike!” I was fuming. “Not scale the side of a mountain!”
“I never expected them to be there,” she blurted. “I never would have put her in danger if I’d known, but one minute we were fine and having fun, and the next we weren’t.” Her hand flew to her stomach. “He hit so hard, I couldn’t catch my breath.”
I blinked at her. “Who hit you? What are you talking about?”
“Then I made her lie. I made her lie!” She hiccupped through a sob. “Every time I try to do something nice, it backfires. I’m like a black cat on the thirteenth floor.”
I started to speak, but she burst into tears, and I just held her in confusion.
Mike appeared at a run, looking fit to kill, but when he saw Sloane, his expression changed. I waved him off, giving him the thumbs up that she was okay. I let her cry for a few minutes, knowing whatever was bothering her was big. As the clouds grew heavier, I felt her shiver with the cold, and I knew snow wasn’t far away.
“Let’s get you inside.” I took her by the shoulders and slid my hands down her arms and tucked her close to my side as I led her back along the path to the Tin House.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off her while I moved about the kitchen. She stopped crying, but she seemed to be back in that fog that held her trapped the last time something bad happened.
She was curled up on the couch in dry clothes under a warm blanket. Tripper was in his usual spot, nuzzled up to her. I handed her a hot cup of coffee and sat on the chair across from her, sipping my own brew.
“Okay, Sloane, let’s start from the beginning. Tell me what’s going on.”
She brushed a tear away and took