Massive silvery beasts with long trunks and sharp teeth, they loved to leave the water and soak up the sun while lying on the rocks. But they also loved to eat. She bolted up and, skirting around the boulder, broke into a run. Walrhinots were slow and stupid, their flippers making them clumsy. She could easily outrun one as long as they weren’t in heat and there was not more than—
Something hard slammed into her from the side. Her weapon slipped from her grasp.
24
Grif hurried down the sharp incline of the cliff, droplets of water slicing off him with every stride.
It had taken him all of three heartbeats to put two and two together and figure out what Nayla had done. With the single exit blocked and every ceiling hole too high to reach, it had been the only alternative.
One that had filled him with horror.
He’d dove after her. Terrified he’d find her lifeless body at the bottom of the pool. Only to realize that the fucking pool kept going, narrowing into a long tunnel that twisted downward.
He’d made it less than a hundred painful heartbeats before the crushing pressure on his head and lungs had been too much. He’d had to turn back, fighting the growing current, nearly blacking out, before he made it back to the bathing pool and pulled himself out.
I’m sorry, baby.
He’d strapped her down and pushed her to the edge. He’d torn her up like the monster he was and left her bleeding. He’d run his hands along every crack in her defenses and promised he’d be there when she’d shattered. He’d vowed to protect her and swore she could trust him.
Then he’d left her alone to deal with the fallout and failed to realize she had a way to escape.
Now she was out there, vulnerable and reeling. Unguarded.
He’d fucking failed her.
Help me. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that to someone he’d promised to care for.
“What’s going on?” Ryker sprinted around the bend, ax raised high, gaze darting left and right as he searched for the threat. “We heard your shout and circled back. Malin and the others are close behind.”
Grif beat back his impatience. “She escaped.”
“Escaped? Dragath hells. You said she was neutralized.” His friend’s axe dropped. “How?”
“A water-filled tunnel that snaked beneath the cave. I’m heading to the bottom of the cliff to see if I can tell where it might have spit her out.”
“Shit, Grif. I’m sorry. I know you’d gotten attached. I know you thought you could help her.”
“She’s not dead.” His teammate had jumped to the same wrong conclusion he had.
“Grif—”
“No.” He ignored the flicker of pity in the male’s gaze. “I couldn’t make it, but her kind is not exactly like ours. I’ve been thinking a lot about how she was able to disappear before and I’m pretty sure she’s been using tunnels like this one all along. It would explain how she and the missing females seemed to just vanish before. It would also explain how come the scent of fresh water clung to her skin. She knew to use such a route to escape. She’s smart and cunning—and not suicidal. She cares too much about her pack.” He hoped to the Goddess that he wasn’t just trying to convince himself. “She made it out.”
She was a survivor. She’d proven that to him more than once.
The crunch of boots signaled the others’ arrival.
“What’s wrong?’ Malin stood in front of Lana, his big body serving as a shield. Behind them, coming up fast was a crowd of tense faces that included his teammates, Cam, and Britta, another civilian Grif recognized from camp.
Grif braced himself for what was coming. Thanks to her disappearance, they would perceive Nayla as more of a threat than ever.
Ryker filled them in.
“I knew it.” Malin’s curse echoed through the canyon. “The commander was right. You should have let me fucking break the bitch while I could. Now, she’ll warn the pack and we’ll lose the element of surprise.”
Every muscle in Grif’s body went tight. “Stop running your mouth before I close it permanently.”
“Is she going to get our people killed?” Surprisingly, it was Cam who spoke, but it was clear she was only voicing what everyone else was thinking.
“She won’t.” Grif tightened the strap of his pack over his shoulder and started forward. “I’ll bring her back.”
“Bullshit.” Malin stepped into his path. “You had your chance and failed. You’re not fit to run this mission.”
“Enough.” Ryker’s roar had them all freezing in place.