Chapter 29
DARCY
Darcy may as well have been carried down that last stretch of slope by the wind. She felt weightless, as if she was a flurry of snow. Only Devlin’s hand in hers kept her grounded. He needed her as much as she needed him — more, maybe.
“Just think,” she said, “if I hadn’t been on reception that day you demanded your helicopter, you might be walking down this mountain hand in hand with Clive, the guy who does my off shifts.”
Devlin laughed and doubled up, wincing.
“Please don’t be funny,” he said. “My body is broken and laughing hurts.”
Darcy zipped her fingers across her mouth, but a few seconds later she had forgotten. Being with Devlin was a new high.
“Actually, you’d probably both be at the bottom of the hill in the helicopter wreckage. There’s no way you’d have thrown your body over Clive to keep him safe. Butterfly wings and hurricanes and all.”
“I was going for the controls,” Devlin said, grinning. “Just the controls. Not at all distracted by the gorgeous woman who had talked my ear off the whole flight because she was so nervous.”
“I tend to do that,” said Darcy, treading carefully as they rounded the mound of rocks. “You’ll have to get used to my noise.”
“Good, because I tend to like it,” Devlin replied. “It felt quiet when you were sleeping.”
They walked in silence for a beat, neither of them saying it, but both of them thinking.
“So, elephant in the mountain,” Darcy was the first to break. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Devlin dropped his chin, blowing out air between his teeth.
“Mainly, because I’m an idiot,” he said, squeezing Darcy’s gloved hand in his. “But also because I thought I needed to do that alone. You know, the whole Devlin is a mountain thing.”
“Well, do that again and I’ll push you off the mountain,” Darcy joked. The rangers came into view as they got halfway back to the outpost.
“Oh, no,” Devlin said. “They’re going to be so mad at me.”
“Yeah,” Darcy agreed. “But I explained what I thought you were doing, and they seemed less likely to leave when they heard. Besides, look at you. They’ll be able to see by the exhaustion on your face just how much you have been through. Let’s go and find out.”
Darcy reluctantly let go of him so that the man could take Devlin’s good arm. Together, both rangers helped Devlin down to the helicopter. Its rotors spun lazily, a third ranger sitting in the pilot’s seat and giving them a thumbs up. The two rangers walked Devlin to the steps, but he shook his head and looked back at Darcy.
“Ladies first,” he said, and she smiled. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the outpost and thinking once again about the amazing time they’d shared inside it. She wondered if they would ever be back. And if they were, if they could arrive in style as well as leaving in style.
“Thank you,” she said, walking up the steps and sitting down on one of the seats. Devlin followed her, then one of the rangers strapped them both in before taking a seat opposite.
“We’ll be back at base camp in twenty minutes,” the woman said. “But I want to check you both over on the way, if that’s okay?”
Darcy nodded, sitting back. She felt a sudden rush of nerves as the helicopter wobbled up from the landing pad, but soon they were high above the slopes and riding smoothly back down the mountain. It felt like a lifetime ago that she and Devlin had taken off from the resort and headed into the storm, and in many ways it was a lifetime, because so much had changed. She felt like a new person, and for the first time in a long time the future looked bright.
She turned to share a smile with Devlin, to reach out and hold his hand. But the day had already been too much for him. His eyes were closed, his chest gently rising and falling as he gave in to sleep.
Despite the terror of flying in a helicopter again, Darcy was almost asleep, too, by the time they dropped into the ranger station at the base of the mountain. When the helicopter rocked still, and the mind-numbing throb of the rotors began to fade, Darcy took a deep breath of relief.
Thank you , she thought.
“That was some adventure,” said the male ranger, his eyes twinkling. “We’ll have you back to normal in no time. How are you feeling?”
Darcy glanced at Devlin, who was still fast asleep.
“I’m good,” she said. “Thanks to him. Is he okay?”
“The arm is broken,” replied the female ranger, who was sitting beside him. “Badly, I think. He’s also got some severe contusions, and he’s suffering the effects of hypothermia. I gave him a sedative to help him relax and heal, but it’ll take time.”
“He had it worse than me,” admitted Darcy, thinking about the crash, and the crevasse. “He gave me his coat.”
“Devlin Storm gave up his coat?” the woman said. “Now that’s a headline for you.”
Darcy opened her mouth to argue, but she was too tired, and the rangers had risked a lot coming to rescue them. Anyway, if Darcy had heard the same thing four days ago, she would have been surprised too. Most people would have expected Devlin to put himself before anyone else. She really couldn’t wait until he was awake and they got to share their story. The world would see how much he had changed, and actually what a good man he really was.
“I’ll take you down to the infirmary while we wait for Mr Storm’s stretcher,” said the man.
“That’s okay, I can wait,” Darcy argued, looking again at Devlin. “We can go together.”
“That’s impossible,” said the woman.
“What?” asked Darcy. “Why?”
“We’ve been given our orders,” she explained. “Devlin’s insurance policy states that he is to be taken to a private clinic for treatment.”
“But . . .” Darcy started, shaking her head. “Orders from who? That’s not right, we should stay together. I’ll go with him. I can walk, so I don’t need a stretcher.”
“If you’ve got a spare 5,000 euro a night in the pocket of your coat, I’ll gladly take you,” said the woman. “It’s not right, but it’s the way it is. We have the papers, and somebody has already signed for his care.”
“What do you mean? Who has signed for his care?” Darcy asked, but nobody was listening to her anymore, they were too busy fussing over Devlin.
She wondered if she should wake him. He would surely stick up for her, ask them to bring her as well. Wouldn’t he? But she didn’t have the heart to disturb him. He looked so peaceful, and so tranquil, and besides, she’d be fighting against the results of a sedative and didn’t fancy her chances.
“Come on, miss,” said the male ranger, offering her his hand. “Are you sure you don’t need a stretcher?”
“No,” Darcy said. “I can walk. What’s the name of the clinic? Can you at least tell me that?”
The female ranger shook her head.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
The male ranger was steering her towards the open door of the helicopter and she followed him, numb with uncertainty. After everything she’d been through in the last few days, this felt like the most painful experience to date.
“Watch your head,” said the man, even though the spinning rotors were far above her. She ducked, walking swiftly off the landing pad. It wasn’t exactly tropical down here, but it was so much warmer than the mountain face. The ranger led her towards a large, two-floor building that was surprisingly busy. A group of people who could only be journalists stood outside the main door, a security guard holding them back. Even from here Darcy could hear them clamouring at her, looking for a story. She ignored them, turning back to the helicopter.
“Will they tell Devlin where I am?” she said. “When he wakes up?”
The ranger shrugged.
“Do you really want them to?” he asked, brow raised.
Darcy glared at him.
“Of course I do,” she said. “He might be worried about me.”
“Sure,” said the ranger. “Devlin Storm, the guy who only worries about himself.”
He laughed, walking towards the building. Darcy waited for the helicopter to take off, but it stayed where it was, the rotors spinning.
Please let him wake up , she said. Please let him run after me, pick me up, hold me tight .
But there was no sign of Devlin. She turned, following the ranger to the base station. There might be somebody she could talk to inside, somebody who could give her more information.
“Miss Wainwright!” yelled one of the reporters as she passed them. “How are you doing? How did it feel to almost die?”
“Darcy!” called another. “How is Devlin? Is he seriously ill?”
“How was it being locked in a cabin with Mr. Storm?” shouted a third. “Most women would pay for that kind of experience!”
The reporters laughed, and Darcy felt her blood boil. She ignored them, walking through a door into the building. A medical team was waiting for her there, complete with a stretcher. A doctor stepped forward, smoothing back his slick, black hair.
“Miss Wainwright,” he said in a strong accent. “We’re here to take you to the hospital. After an experience like the one you have just had, you will most certainly need a check-up and medical care.”
She didn’t need medical care, she needed Devlin.
“Look, I . . .”
She stopped speaking when she heard a surge of excited shouts from outside. For a wonderful moment she thought it was Devlin, stepping out of the helicopter so that he could embrace her. But when she turned to the big glass door she saw that a sleek, black limousine had pulled up alongside the helicopter.
“Miss Wainwright, please,” said the doctor, but Darcy ignored him.
Somebody was climbing out of the car, a stunning blonde wearing a fur coat and sunglasses. The helicopter door opened and she walked up the steps and climbed inside. Moments later, it lifted off the landing pad and soared into the perfect blue sky. The reporters were still calling out the woman’s name, as if they expected her to answer from up in the air. Darcy didn’t need them to tell her who it was, though. She didn’t need anyone to tell her who had climbed into the helicopter beside Devlin. She had recognised the woman instantly.
It was Claudia Romano.