Chapter 13
DEVLIN
The slope wasn’t quite as gentle as he’d hoped, and the thick carpet of snow hid countless loose rocks and craters, but he took it one step at a time, testing the ground before committing himself. He kept the pace slow for safety, but also for Darcy. He felt bad for what had happened as they’d been leaving the cabin, and for marching off and leaving her behind. She had been right, it was the kind of thing a child did, not a grown man.
Glancing back, he saw her just behind him. She was still putting her feet exactly where his had been, like it was a game. It was a sensible move, though, and once again he found himself impressed at how smart she was. Her makeshift shoes were a stroke of genius — her feet were most certainly warmer and drier than his were.
He was impressed with how she had stood up to him, too. Darcy Wainwright was proving herself to be more of a firecracker than she gave herself credit for. Devlin could count on one hand the number of people who would dare to talk to him the way she had back there, and the memory of it made his stomach somersault. He also didn’t know a single other person who would be that kind and magnanimous while also flying into a rage at him. It was obvious she disliked him, understandably given the way he’d treated her back at the research hut, but she still offered to help him and he hadn’t needed to bribe her with more money in order to do so. Devlin scrunched up his forehead. That was what he was finding most difficult, he realised. Accepting help when he wasn’t paying for or demanding it.
He turned back to the plateau, working his way around a shark’s fin of snow-covered rock. The ground dropped away sharply to the side, and he could see the line of their footsteps leading down to the distant cabin. It was almost invisible in the snow, but anyone flying overhead would probably see them, and see their prints too — unless another storm hit, of course.
That thought concerned him. He’d spent enough time in the mountains to know that bad weather could hit any time. Usually he had his phone and his sat nav on hand, so that he would get plenty of warning. But all he had to go on now was his own senses and experience. The sky was clear, though, perfectly blue in every direction.
Please stay like this , he pleaded, silently.
If it didn’t, if it turned, then he and Darcy would be in serious trouble.
He glanced back over his shoulder again, slowing down to let Darcy catch up. He felt a strange and unexpected feeling of protectiveness over the young woman, and a huge pang of regret for what he’d said to her. The thought of anything bad happening to her out here was painful. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that way about anyone — even with Claudia he’d kept his distance.
Although that hadn’t always been the case, had it? It was almost too hurtful to think about, but he forced himself to — if only to get a grip on the feelings that ran through his head, and his heart. He remembered one night he and Claudia had been dining out on the terrace of his villa in Tuscany. It had been an incredible evening, and he’d been so relaxed that he’d started telling Claudia about his childhood, about what it had been like growing up in a poor and unhappy family. It had felt great to be able to open up to her, to anyone .
Claudia had held his hand across the table, nodding as he spoke, her eyes soft with understanding.
But when he ended things months later, that very story was the first thing she sold to the press.
Her betrayal had cut way deeper than the breakup ever did and he’d never spoken to anyone about his private life after that.
Devlin Storm the island , he thought to himself. Devlin Storm the mountain .
Darcy hadn’t been too far off when she had joked about the first rule of the billionaire club being do not display any weaknesses . Only, it wasn’t the rule for any club he was a member of, especially not the APEX Club. It was a rule Devlin had built around himself like a protective forcefield.
He turned to Darcy again, and she smiled up at him with the same fierce determination.
“Are you okay?” she asked, and he nodded. “The offer’s still there if your arm’s getting tired.”
A good listener, she’d said. A good person. Darcy wouldn’t have sold his story. Would she?
“I’m good for the moment, thanks,” he said, slowing more and letting Darcy walk beside him.
The snow was hardened here, their footsteps not so deep and draining. They walked on in companionable silence, punctured by the occasional wheezy groan from Darcy.
“I wouldn’t have left you behind,” he offered, cautiously.
“What?” Darcy’s voice came in a breathless whisper.
“Back there, you said I’d left you to die.” Devlin went on. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that. I sometimes act without thinking—”
“No shit,” Darcy interrupted.
Devlin ignored the pop, but a smile grew on his lips.
“I could see you at all times — I knew where you were.”
He left the words hanging in the air. They were true.
“Thank you,” Darcy said, so quietly her words were whipped away by a flurry of windy snow.
Devlin smiled, ducked his chin down, and pushed forward up the steep slope. His arm throbbed, a new burning sensation was trickling down his skin and he knew that wasn’t a good sign. A break he could deal with, infection was a whole other ball game. He really needed to get a look at it, but they had a long way to go to the ranger’s station yet.
“Devlin,” Darcy’s voice was a welcome distraction from the pain. “I know you said you’d never leave me behind, but what would happen if a mountain lion started running for us? Would you run off and leave me then? That would be exceptional circumstances, so I’m not saying I’d mind, but—”
“The Alps doesn’t have mountain lions,” he interrupted.
Darcy seemed to ponder that fact for a moment, as she trudged silently through the snow.
“That’s a bit of a cop-out answer,” she said, eventually. “What if it was a bear then?”
“Nope,” Devlin replied, steering them around a crop of large boulders.
“Nope you wouldn’t run, or nope there’s no bears?”
Devlin laughed, feeling a bubble of happiness burst unexpectedly in his chest.
“There are bears, but they’re not this high up. Not this time of year.”
“Hmm,” muttered Darcy, scratching the top of her hat with her gloves. Devlin remembered the way she’d pushed at his chest, and the heat that had been radiating from her cheeks had set his insides alight. “That’s still a bit of a cop-out. So I’m taking from your lack of answer, you’d run. That’s okay. It’s important we have a bit of survival instinct in us all.”
“Darcy, I don’t know if I’d jump in front of a bear if it was lumbering towards us. I might do. But maybe trust me enough to know I’d not take you where the bears could be . . . if I could help it.”
The look she gave him froze his heart. In the same way she’d asked him to trust her, that look said she wouldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him.
“Do you not feel safe with me?” he asked quickly, the idea burning hot like the infection growing in his arm.
Darcy’s eyes widened. “Oh no,” she said. “It’s not that I don’t feel safe with you. I’m just trying to picture you jumping in front of a bear to save me.”
Her lips lifted in a smile that defrosted the panic at the thought that he scared her.
“You seem to have forgotten quite quickly how I protected you in the helicopter crash.”
Darcy scoffed, adjusting the scarf around her neck to cover her chin and lips too. Devlin was sad not to be able to watch them moving anymore.
“Protecting the controls, weren’t you?” she asked, eyes glinting.
The mountain path narrowed again, a steep drop off giving way to the tips of snow-covered trees. Devlin took the lead, slowly navigating the terrain, each step being tested before he put his weight through his feet. He could feel sweat trickling down his neck by the time they got to a solid, wide section of snow again. And he was pleased to feel Darcy catch up and walk alongside him.
“Do you know what animals we’re most likely to see here?” he asked, noticing how pale she’d gone and the way her was brow knitted between her soft eyes.
She shook her head.
“Hares.”
“Really?” She gazed up at him. “Hares as in giant rabbits? Up here?”
“The very same,” he said. “They’re mountain hares, and they live up here in the snowy climes. They change colour throughout the year. White in winter, brown in the summer. I’d definitely throw myself in front of you if one of those charged at us.”
Darcy laughed, the sound like melting ice.
“I’d be elbowing you out of the way if you did. I love rabbits,” she said.
“Hares.”
“Whatever,” she replied, grinning. “I always wanted a pet rabbit growing up. Used to be on my birthday and Christmas list every single year. And every year I was disappointed. Mum said we couldn’t afford to keep a pet because they always get broken and vets bills are higher than our medical bills. We didn’t have insurance. So if we see a snowy hare up here, I’m grabbing it and taking it home with me. I’ll keep it in the reception desk at work if I have to.”
Devlin didn’t doubt for a second that Darcy would race after a hare if she saw one. He was enjoying hearing about her life. Enjoying being in the quieter moments of their conversation and slowly realising that not everything had to be fireworks and raise blood pressure in order to be meaningful.
Darcy was teaching him a lot about himself and he wanted to show her he was learning.