CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ididn’t know how long we’d slept. It must have at least been a couple of hours, because there was a faint grey light shining down the Devil’s Chimney when I finally awoke, stiff and cold. Lucas was still asleep, wearing a peaceful expression on his face that seemed strange on him, but it warmed my heart to see it. I might have discovered that my treasure hunt was over, and had all been for nothing, but if being down here had brought Lucas some inner peace after all these years, then I would do it all over again if given the choice.
I blinked sleepily, needing to move, and more importantly, really needing to pee. Gingerly, I extracted myself from Lucas’s arms without waking him. I was surprised when he slept on, his head tilted to one side, but I guessed the emotional strain of the last twenty-four hours would exhaust even him. I stood up and stretched, smiling as the little one inside me wriggled. He was always awake this time in the morning. I figured he was practising for early morning wake ups when he was finally here. It was sweet for about thirty seconds, until a foot or something hard pressed against my bladder, and I grimaced.
Stumbling as quietly as I could to the edge of the water, I managed to relieve myself into the sea water, sighing in relief as I straightened up. I had to use the wall to steady myself, and it occurred to me that whatever I did next, anything physical was going to get progressively harder as time went on.
A rattling noise startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked up as a small stone clattered down through the chimney, bouncing over the rocks below before finally landing in the shallow water with a small splash.
Lucas’s eyes flew open, and for a moment, he glanced around wildly, looking for me.
“I’m here,” I assured him, crossing over to him.
He got to his feet and wrapped his arms around me. “I thought you were gone for a moment,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine.
“I’m still here,” I murmured.
“Promise me you won’t ever leave me, Nova. Promise me you’ll stay with me always.”
I sighed. “I can’t promise that, Lucas. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Lucas opened his mouth, but another voice sounded before he could say anything.
“Lucas? Lucas, it’s Asher. Are you down there?”
Asher? I looked at Lucas, and relief swept through my body. Lucas smiled down at me, then tilted his head up.
“We’re here, Ash. You’re a sight for sore eyes, figuratively speaking.”
Another stone rattled down, and we moved sideways out of the danger zone. “What do you mean, we?”
I looked at Lucas nervously, and he smiled reassuringly at me. “Nova’s with me.”
“Nova? How the hell did she get there? I thought Ethan had taken her back to the mainland,” Asher called.
“It’s a long story, which we’d be happy to divulge after a hot shower, dry clothes, and a gallon of coffee,” Lucas yelled.
There was a brief pause, and then a quieter, “Yeah, fair enough. Hold on, we’re securing the ropes up here, and then we’ll be lowering them down. Make sure the harnesses are secure before we pull you up.”
More voices came from above, and I felt Lucas shiver a little. “Maverick told me they have a special coastal team now, trained in dangerous rescues,” I commented conversationally, though he knew what I was doing.
He pressed his lips gently to my forehead. “Yes, my sunshine, we do. Asher is one of them, and I trust that boy with my life and yours,” he added pointedly.
“Yes,” I murmured, looking up. “So do I.”
It only took ten minutes or so for them to get the harnesses and safety ropes rigged up, and Asher was there the whole time, issuing commands and occasionally calling down to ask if either of us were injured and how badly. We informed him that Lucas had a bump on the head, but nothing serious, and we were just cold and wet. After checking that we were well out of the way, Asher threw down a couple of glowsticks, and suddenly, the cave was lit up, the strange green light making it feel much smaller than it had before. I could see Lucas clearly for the first time, and my face dropped at the sight of the gash on his head.
“It’s fine, I don’t even feel dizzy anymore,” he reassured me. “A bit of a headache is all.”
“You’ll go get checked out though, won’t you? When we get back?”
“Anything for you,” he said.
“Everything okay?” Asher called down.
“We’re good, just hankering for breakfast. Get a move on, would you?”
“Dick,” came Asher’s voice, though there was a smile in it. “Is Nova okay?”
It was hard to tell with him shouting down a rock chute, but his voice was calm and clear with no hint of warmth beyond general concern, and my heart ached for some indication of how he was feeling, even though I knew there was no way he’d bring it up in front of his team. I was nervous about what kind of reception I was going to get when we finally got up there. Suddenly, the dark solitude of the cave seemed more welcoming than it had previously. Desolation indeed.
After a glance at me, Lucas looked back up. “She’s okay.”
I stayed quiet, not trusting myself to speak in case I broke down.
With more rattling, a harness finally came into view as it was slowly lowered down to us. Lucas reached out and grabbed it, pulling it down farther to make it easier for me to step into it.
“You should go first,” I said, both out of concern but also out of reticence.
“Not a chance, sunshine.”
I reluctantly allowed him to strap me securely into the harness. He tested every strap and fastening twice, and I remembered his father had been teaching him about ropes and climbing before he died. Lucas’s eyes met mine as he finished up, and he must have seen my fear of facing Asher, because he brushed his lips over mine.
“He’ll be fine, and if not, I’m his big brother, I’ll just beat him up if he’s mean to you.”
I gave a choked laugh as Lucas stepped back and pulled on the rope. “She’s ready.”
I gripped the rope tightly, feeling sick as my feet left the ground and I swayed over the pile of sharp rocks and sea debris below. Lucas held onto my legs and then feet, steadying me before letting go as I neared the cave ceiling. Then I stopped moving.
“Nova? You’ll need to steer yourself with your hands to stop your head from cracking against the rock,” Asher called.
“I can’t,” I replied, looking down and seeing that floor of rock below me as I swung over it. “I can’t let go!”
“Yes, you can, and you need to, or you could end up getting hurt badly,” Asher stated firmly. “Let go of the rope.”
“I really can’t,” I wheezed, my chest straining against the tight harness as my breathing grew faster.
“Nova, look up.”
“No...”
“Nova, look up and look at me!” Asher demanded. The shock of his tone startled me, and I glanced up before I realised what I was doing. I couldn’t really make out more than his outline, but he was there.
“Nova, do you trust me?”
I took a deeper breath. “Yes...”
“Then trust me. I’ve got you, and I won’t let you fall. Take your hands off the rope and guide yourself up the chute. I don’t want to hurt you.”
I nodded, even though he probably couldn’t see it. Keeping my face tilted up, I slowly tore one hand away from the rope, reached up, and flattened my hand against the ceiling. After another couple of breaths, I finally let go with my other hand, trusting all my weight to the harness and reminding myself that both Asher and Lucas had checked it. I was safe with them, I trusted them.
With both hands on the ceiling above me, I looked back up at Asher. “Okay,” I called, my voice shaking slightly.
“Good girl,” he said, and a small spark of warmth bloomed in my chest. The rope began to move again, and I guided myself through the opening. It became harder as I got closer to the surface. The chute was narrow and seemed to press in on all sides, even though I wasn’t actually touching the walls, but then I was squeezing my eyes shut against the blinding grey light, and hands were slipping under my arms, and then I was feeling coarse grass under my fingers and the wind on my face.
“Nova? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I forced my eyes open, blinking at the brightness, and Asher’s face slowly swam into focus.
“I’m okay, I’m okay. Have you got Lucas? He hurt his head. He needs a healer.”
“We’ll get him now,” Asher assured me. He helped me out of the harness, working quickly and efficiently, then turned to help lower it back down into the chimney.
I looked around. Another four people were positioned around the mouth of the chimney, checking ropes, and one was even unpacking a first aid kit.
A red-haired woman looked at me and smiled. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to check you over? I don’t want you to try to be brave, not in your condition.”
I glanced down at my middle, realising how it strained against the jacket, and then back up at her. There was no guile in her eyes, and she honestly seemed to want to help, so I nodded.
I let her check me over. She was friendly and chatty the whole time, not even raising an eyebrow at my ripped top or my lack of bra. I’d been unable to locate that last piece of clothing, even with the torch. As she finished, a shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see Lucas standing in front of me. He offered me his hand and gently tugged me up into his arms.
Lucas pressed his lips against mine, kissing me soundly in front of everyone, then leaned his forehead against mine. “You saved me, Nova. Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything. It was Asher and—”
“You know what I mean,” he murmured. “You saved me, and I’ll never forget it. I’ll spend my whole life saving you right back.”
I gave him a small smile, but I could see Asher behind him, directing the other rescuers to pack up.
Lucas let me go and turned around. “Hey, Ash. Want to do me a quick favour?”
Asher had been utterly confused at Lucas’s request, but he’d simply shrugged his shoulders and strapped himself into the harness. Lucas had offered to go instead, but Asher had been adamant that with his head wound, there was no way he was going to be allowed to go back underground. Instead, it was Asher who the rescuers lowered back into the cave, armed with his phone and a bright flashlight.
He must have been down there ten minutes at the most, but I still let out a breath of relief when I saw his hands grip the top of the chute, pulling himself out of the hole. He unbuckled himself then came over to where we were sitting as his team dismantled the equipment.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked Lucas, holding his phone out. Lucas took it and nodded, then passed the phone to me. I looked down at a clear photo of the cave ceiling and the etching of the map fragment.
I looked at Lucas. “What’s the point?” I asked, handing Asher the phone. “It doesn’t matter now.” I turned away.
“What’s this about?” Asher asked.
“It’s a long story, and like I said, I’ll be happy to tell you after a hot shower and over breakfast. Her too.”
“About her,” Asher began, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the recriminations.
“No,” Lucas stated firmly. “She comes back with us, secretly, and Ethan won’t hear about it from you or your team. We need to talk first, and you’re going to keep it civil until you’ve heard what she’s got to say. We should have given her that already, and we didn’t. We were too angry to hear it, but we will now. Understand, little brother?”
I waited for the retort I was sure would come from Asher, but instead, I was astonished to hear him agree.
“Nova’s in no danger from me, and I certainly won’t be running to Ethan, and neither will my team. They have been told to keep this between us.”
“Do you trust them?” Lucas asked.
“With my life,” Asher replied. “And clearly with yours as well. We’ll get back to the cabin and talk.”
“Not the cabin. Maverick could be there, and Ethan could be waiting for us. We’ll go to mine. Once they know Nova hasn’t returned...”
“They’ll check there too,” Asher finished. “I have a place. It’s in town, but if we can get there without being seen, no one knows I have it.”
“Since when did you have a place?” Lucas asked.
“Since I decided I should give you three some privacy.”
“Idiot.” Lucas snorted. “We’re a family.”
“You guys are family. I’m on the outside, Lucas. It’s okay. I’m starting to accept it, and we’re still blood. I’ll protect the four of you with my life.”
“How did you find us anyway? We didn’t exactly leave a note.”
“Last known location of your phone.”
I opened my eyes and subtly watched Asher as he carried on talking to Lucas. Four? Did he mean me and the baby too? I looked over at them, barely daring to hope there might be some tiny chance for forgiveness, especially from Asher. I stood there and watched him as he talked to his team. He led so easily, with a quiet assurance and confidence that I’d never seen when he was home with his brothers, and my heart ached for the way he clearly felt so overshadowed by them. I wanted to go straight over to him, wrap my arms around him, and tell him how much I loved him. I wanted him to know how much I loved the quiet way he cared so strongly and deeply for his family, for the way he was so loyal and trustworthy, for the way he could have easily stepped up and become the leader but chose to support his older brother wholeheartedly. Asher was a good man through and through, and I knew the world didn’t always reward good men.
In that moment, I cursed fate with all my heart. Why couldn’t I have marked Asher too? I wanted him and loved him so deeply, and yet he refused to be mine, even before he’d found out about the lies. I’d tattoo the bloody mark on him if that was what it took. I didn’t deserve a man as good as him, I knew that. I’d lied and cheated and stolen, and maybe I had my reasons, but Asher was just good through and through. He looked up and glanced at me, his eyes catching mine. He gave me a brief nod, and my heart jumped in my chest. After what I did to him, he could have hated me, but here he was, protecting me and agreeing to give me a chance to defend myself. Maybe, if there was a chance, he could forgive me, and maybe, one day, he might even learn to love me again. It was a fool’s hope, but like a chink in the dark storm clouds that were starting to clear overhead, it was there.
As we stood there on the cliffs, the storm clouds rolling away in the distance while the wind whipped my hair around my head, I tipped my face to the sky and swore to whatever gods were out there that I wouldn’t give up. If there was even the slightest chance I could have a life with these three men, then by the moon, I was going to fight like hell for it. I was going to find Maverick, I was going to tell them everything I knew, and together, we would find a way to stop Ethan and my father. I knew it was going to be hard, and I knew there was a good chance it could bring the two packs to war, but I had so much worth fighting for now, and maybe, just maybe, after the dust had settled, I would find what I’d always wanted—a home with safety and love.