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Rio squeezed a shot off The round and turned in the direction of the gunfire
"Hell," Terrence ?"
"Coverin," Rio bit out
Before Terrence could protest, Rio scrae and rapidly worked his way down until he reached bottom Above hi harshly in the night
They had a liate all the gunfire He turned and iain To his horror, he found her just as the edge gave way under her feet and she pluunfire erupted This ti to scare them They dropped like flies as Terrence put thee
Trusting histo see how far down Grace had fallen or if the worst had occurred and she’d gone the entire distance to the riverbed
He dug a flashlight out of his pack and dropped to his belly He pointed the light down and made a sloeep As he pulled it closer to the side of the cliff, the light bounced over a tattered sneaker He yanked the light up to see Grace lying liled over the side and her slie But she hadn’t fallenradio silence, he called for immediate assistance His men would have to lower him over by rope, and he’d have to haul Grace up over his shoulder Provided she was still alive He wouldn’t consider any alternative, though She hadn’tto his knees, Terrence dropped down beside hio and Browning have our sixes Decker and Alton are scraet here," Terrence said "I’ll lower you over with rope so you can get Grace"
"All dead?"
"All dead," Terrence confir the mess they’d et the hell out of here before everything went to shit
Terrence yanked out a coil of rope with a rappel hook on the end and quickly fastened it around his waist He took several steps back, dug his heels into the soil and then wrapped the extra length around the base of an aspen and set the hook into the bark He tossed the other end to Rio
Rio secured the flashlight to his leg, pointing doard so his descent would be illuminated Then he secured the end of the rope around his waist, yanked to ed backward until his heels hung over the side
Just before he started doard, Decker and Alton hit the scene They rushed past Diego and Browning, ere standing watch, and each grabbed one of Rio’s hands to help him over the side
They leaned down as heon to his wrist until he had sure footing and he was certain that Terrence could support his weight
The light bounced crazily as he continued doard He glanced over his shoulder to see Grace still lying on the shts
He pushed off the side of the cliff when he reached her and lowered hi I for her pulse, and was reassured by the steady thud
"Grace Wake up I’ve coet you out of here but I need your help"
When he didn’t receive a response, his lips tightened in frustration At the top, Decker and Alton shone their lights down He dug his feet into the side, finding purchase, and then he carefully let go of the rope to slide his ar to three, he hoisted her up and then arranged her over one shoulder so he could hold the rope with a free hand He held her tightly, his ars
"Pull us up," he called up to his tea into the side as the rope inched higher His hts The rope cut into his skin and his fingers were nurip
Let ht she’d said it aloud It startled hied as they hoistse,s they ed hi and assist the way
He was suddenly swamped with desolation so acute that he couldn’t breathe Pain Fear Regret Hopelessness And weariness that went soul deep
He knew then that he’d heard Grace’s inner what she felt And her sorroas so great that it staggered him
Her tears were locked inside her, but he felt each one Meh hissenses
I won’t go back
Her voice whispered through his e He wanted to crawl up over the side of this daes who’d pursued her so relentlessly and kill theain The men who’d broken her spirit and made her even noant to die rather than endure more
He knew that Nathan Kelly had been able to communicate with Grace’s sister, Shea, telepathically, but he hadn’t considered how or that he and Grace ht be able to communicate the saripped by the urgency to find her and keep her safe Nothing else had mattered at that moment
Tentatively, he reached out with his ly to her
You’ll never go back to those bastards, Grace You’re safe now I’h this
There was nothing but silence, and he clenched his jaw in frustration How the hell did you communicate with your mind? How did he even know if he was able to talk to her the same way she’d just spoken to hinizant of the fact that he’d picked up on those desperate thoughts
His teae Their expressions were tense as they hauled hio pushed forhile Decker and Browning held tight to the rope and he took Grace froht, Rio hoisted himself over the side and he rolled to his feet Terrence let out a light huff, his only indication of the toll the rescue had taken on him Rio quickly untied the rope and issued orders for hisout
They were in the middle of nowhere, no backup, no helo, their vehicles at least two o had laid Grace carefully on the ground and he dropped to his knees beside her
He pushed the hair out of her face with gentle fingers and frowned at the deep shadows under her eyes, the paleness of her features and the deep lines of fatigue etched into her forehead Her expression was gri what possessed hi down to press his lips to her forehead
You don’t give up, Grace You’re safe noon’t hurt you and I won’t allow anyone else to do so eit
her I’ to take you home
CHAPTER 2