Vivian Arend - High Risk

Dane hesitated, then grudgingly asked, “You want me to go first?”

Yes, as a matter of fact. And I as much as told you that before stepping over the ledge. “You couldn’t have said something fifteen minutes ago? Jerk.”

“Yeah, but I’m your jerk, right?”

He laughed. The sound echoed off the rocks, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the rope. His amusement at her expense wasn’t welcome right now, not after the weekend they’d spent together. The weekend that had fit in perfectly with the painfully selfish way he’d been acting over the past weeks.

Something had changed, and she wasn’t sure she liked where their relationship seemed headed. Still, she pulled herself together and responded as plainly as possible. “Yes, Dane, you’re my jerk.”

Because saying anything else at this moment would be monumentally stupid.

“Bec? Love you.”

She leaned back, staring up the hillside. What was going on? That confession was the last thing she expected to hear. “Dane?”

All hell broke loose . . .

“Becki.”

She was more than halfway up the wall, climbing well, when she froze. Both hands in position, feet squarely set. Marcus waited for the next move.

It never came. She just . . . stopped.

“Becki.” He took up the extra slack, pulling her slightly as the rope he had locked in place passed over the anchor at the roofline and descended to her waist belt. If he wanted to, he could pry her free by dragging her upward, but that was a last-ditch rescue move.

If he could get her to move, he could avoid jerking her free and risk smashing her into the wall.

He shouted again, and when there was no response, he shifted to plan B.

“Alisha. Drop.”

“Dropping.” She had already let go of the wall, the self-belayer jerking into action like a modified seat belt security strap. The attachment connected to her belt lowered her slowly to the floor. She was in position, the second anchor rope loose, the fastener held in her fingers toward the wall. The instant the hook came within reach, she slammed the metal buckle of the carabiner through the cam, grabbed the vertical rope, and gave herself enough slack to remove the clip from her harness.

The line snapped tight to the wall as she released it to race to his side. “What do you need?”

No questions. No hesitation. Becki had been right, his team was good. “Take over belaying. I’m going to go secure her.”

Alisha nodded. “Hold the ropes tight.” She waited until he proved he had a solid grasp. She caught hold of the carabiner attached to his harness, twirled the lock open, then transferred the hook to her own belt. One more move and she’d snagged above where he had the rope in a death grip. “On belay. You climb.”

He allowed her to pull the weight from his grasp, not trusting until she actually took it from him.

Alisha twirled a foot into the loose rope on the floor, turning her body into a backup anchor. He didn’t have time to rope up himself. Didn’t have time for anything but to step to the wall and climb.

God, he should have done more of this over the past year. Not only his lack of training frustrated him as he climbed, but the mostly useless claw tool also hindered him. Only the portion directly at the base functioned as a small hook. Didn’t matter. He’d do what he had to.

“To your right, and up about three inches. Nice big jug for your foot. Good. Now the blue ribbon on the left, there’s enough ledge for your forearm.” Alisha continued to talk him through the ascent as he scrambled mostly one-handed up the wall. He crawled over Becki, guarding her with his body, planting his feet solidly, his torso leaning against her as he caught hold of the safety rope with his right hand.

Only then did he slip his left arm around her waist and pull her to him. “I got you, Becki. You’re okay.”

Alisha called from below. “Got you both. Ready for lower?”

“One second.” He squeezed Becki. “Come on, you with me?”

A slow stuttering gasp escaped her.

Good, someone was still home. “Becki, I need you to let go of the wall. I’m right here, and I’ve got you, but we want Alisha to lower us. You ready for that?”

She didn’t move. Her fingers were still white-knuckling the holds. Dammit.

He tucked his face right beside hers and nudged her cheek with his.

Her body went slack, her weight increasing.

“Alisha, hold tight.” Becki’s collapse put two full body weights on the rope, and his belayer was totally fatigued. This could be a quick trip down.

He should have let Alisha climb, but logic hadn’t been a part of his thought process. It was Becki in trouble, dammit. He took a deep breath and braced himself.

“I’m going to peel her off the wall. She’s passed out. You ready?”

He felt it, the slight change of pressure as Alisha managed to lift their weight an inch or so. “No problem. Pull her off. I’ve got you solid.”

“Come on, Becki, I’ve got you. Trust me, okay?” The words were unneeded, at least for her sake, but he had to say it. Had to reassure himself as he leaned back and took her with him. He settled her into his lap, his arm around her an iron bar securing her in place. If Alisha did lose control of the ropes, they’d hit the crash mats, not the floor. He’d protect Becki from being slammed too hard with his body.

Still wasn’t his idea of a good time, crashing.

The instant Becki was clear from the wall, he snapped out his order. “Lower.”

“Lowering. Walk your way to the left a little, if possible.”

Alisha released the line smoothly, and Marcus breathed a sigh of relief as they passed the fifteen-foot marker. The ten. When they reached the floor, his ass coming to a nice easy landing, he glanced to the side to discover why Alisha had issued her strange warning to move to the left. She lay flat on her back, butt to the wall and legs extended toward the ceiling. She’d jammed her feet against a couple of larger holds and slipped the rope under her body to get enough leverage to counter the double weight.

He’d praise her ingenuity later. Now his attention was on the woman in his arms.

“Becki, we’re down. Come on.”

He was ready to lay her out and check her over when she sat up and blinked in confusion. “Marcus?”

“Yeah.”

She frowned, a crease appearing between her brows as she looked around them, at the tangle of ropes, their positioning on the mat. She glanced at the wall, then back at him.

“Why are you—?” Her eyes widened in panic. “Oh, no.”

Her struggles to stand were hindered by the ropes still connecting them. “It’s okay. You’re fine. No one got hurt.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she scrambled at the knot securing the rope to her waist belt.

Alisha stepped over, helping to straighten the tangled mess. “You want a hand with the knot, Marcus?”

“No, but thank you.” He tapped her on the shoulder. “Get yourself a massage at the hot springs if you want one. On my tab.”

Her face lit up. “Deal.” She glanced at the other woman, her concern clear. “Becki, you need anything?”

“She’ll be okay,” Marcus cut in. “Grab your stuff, and you’re free to go.”

Alisha slid her gaze off Becki as she nodded. “See you tomorrow at seven. Becki, I’ll call.”

The young woman fled the gym, pretty much as Marcus hoped she would. This next part would be better done without any witnesses. He covered Becki’s fingers and stilled her attempt at the rope. “Slow down. We need to talk.”

“No, I need to get the hell out of here.”

“Because you had a panic attack?” Marcus circled her wrists with his fingers and pinned her in position. “Nothing happened. It worked out fine.”

“Nothing happened?” she shouted. Becki jerked her hands back, but he refused to release her. She set her jaw and glared. “I don’t know what happened, Marcus, that’s the trouble. My God, I did it again. I blacked out. What—”

She closed her eyes and stiffened, trembling shaking her limbs. Marcus loosened his grip, instead stepping in closer to catch hold of her neck and pull her tight against his body. She stood stiffly, her head tucked under his chin, arms rigid at her sides. At least until he’d held her for a couple of minutes, breathing slowly, willing her to relax. Willing her to put it behind her.

When she snuck her arms around him and squeezed him tight, it was his turn to finally take a real breath.

Becki lifted her hands to his chest and pushed them apart. “I’m sorry. Panic doesn’t help. Neither does shouting. Thank you. I assume you had to rescue my ass.”

He nodded. “Alisha helped. You’ll want to thank her as well.”

“Great, there goes my hero status.” Becki shook her head. “Well, I wasn’t that keen on being the climbing goddess anyway.”

She pulled the rope end from the figure eight and loosened herself in short order now that she wasn’t shaking.

“You’ve still got a lot to offer the team. This doesn’t change anything.”

Becki looked at him like he’d grown another head. “It changes everything. You can’t be serious. You’re not still thinking about trusting me with your team?”

“You thinking of giving up? Quitting completely and finding a new job?”

Her head dropped, but only for a second. Then she stared at him intently. “Never. I will get over this. I don’t know when—”

“And if I offer to train you, like you offered me, you think you can find anyone or any place better to help you take those steps? Or a better time than right now to start?”