Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Declan
I stared down into the black water below. This could be the dumbest decision I'd ever made.
The ragged ends of the makeshift ladder swayed slightly as if they were warning me to back off. Sixty-year-old rope. Rotted timber. A drop into water of unknown depth. And once we went down, there was no coming back up.
But what choice did we have?
Stay here and wait for a miracle rescue that was never coming? Go back through that death trap of a crawl space and hope to find a way up that sheer mine shaft?
No. This was our only shot.
I looked at Bella. Her face was pale in the candlelight, but her jaw was set. Determined.
Christ, she was brave. Braver than she had any right to be, trapped down here with the black sheep of the family.
“Right,” I said, the decision settling heavily in my chest. “There’s only one way out of here. Let's get this over with.”
“How do we get down there? Jump?” Bella peered over the edge.
“No, we can't. We don't know how deep it is. If it’s too shallow, we'll break our legs.”
“Right. Bad idea. So, what then?”
I tested the first rung again. The rope around the ancient hammer handle groaned like a bloody warning.
I leaned further over, squinting into the darkness. “Look. There are some timber planks down there.”
About four feet below was a jumble of broken planks and twisted metal, possibly tunnel supports swept away in a flood decades ago.
She shifted closer, her shoulder brushing mine. “I see them.”
“I can lower you down to that.”
“What? How? And what about you?”
“Give me your wrists.”
“Declan—”
“Trust me.”
“I do trust you, you lug.” She slapped my shoulder, eyes flashing with that fire I was starting to love.
She trusts me.
I caught her face in my hands and kissed her. Hard. Desperately. Like I needed her more than my next breath.
A soft sound escaped her throat as she melted against me, and my cock pulsed to attention.
I pulled back but kept one hand pressed to her cheek. “We'll be okay, Bella.”
She covered my hand with hers, leaning into my palm. “I know.”
Those blue eyes … I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing her in. “We've gotten this far.”
“Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to us.” I kissed her forehead, then forced myself to pull back. Focus, Declan. Get her out of here alive, then you can repeat that kiss.
“Okay. I'll keep this candle to see what I'm doing. You take the lighter.” I pressed it into her hand. “Light yours once you're down.”
She nodded and tucked the lighter into her pocket.
I moved to the edge and lay flat, leaning over. “See those timber planks, the ones directly below us, about four feet down?”
Resting beside me, Bella peered over the edge. “Yes. I see them.”
“I'll lower you down to them. Turn around, sit at the edge, and give me your wrists.”
She adjusted her position and dangled her legs into the void.
I gripped her wrists so tightly her pulse hammered under my thumbs. “Ready?”
“Ready.” She pushed off.
My arms burned as I slowly lowered her down, shoulders straining to keep her steady.
“I'm down.” The timber groaned beneath her weight. “Let me go.”
Every instinct I had screamed at me to hold onto her. If that timber slips into the water—
But I had no choice.
I released her.
A heartbeat later, candlelight flared below. Bella's face turned up toward me, relief and fear tangled in her expression.
“You okay?” I called down.
“Still breathing.” She gave me a thumbs-up. “Your turn.”
“Stand back,” I called. “I'm coming down.”
I blew out my candle and shoved it into my pocket, then I turned around and gripped the frayed end of the ladder. The coarse rope was slick under my hands as I lowered my body over the edge.
I stretched as far as I could, toes searching for the timber below.
“A little more,” Bella said. “Nearly there.” Her hand touched my boot, guiding me.
“How far?”
“Another four feet.”
“Shit. I have to let go.”
“Okay, I've got you.”
“No. Stand back.”
When her hand released from my jeans, I dropped.
The whole platform shuddered as I landed with a thud, and the ancient timber groaned in protest.
I let out a breath. “Ha. Told you that would work.”
“Of course it did.” She studied me like she was trying to figure me out. Good luck with that. I was so screwed up that even I didn't know who I was anymore.
Beyond the weathered timber, black water rushed past damn fast. No way to tell how deep it was. No way to know where the hell it went.
I just hoped this current didn't lead us deeper underground.
We sat on the edge of the platform, legs dangling. Cool water filled my boots as the current tugged at my feet.
“Can we drink it? I’m so thirsty,” she said.
“Absolutely, water doesn’t get much fresher than this.”
“Great. So, do you know where this river goes?” Bella asked, holding her candle out.
The glow reflected off the water, showing just how fast the current was. Once we got in, we'd have no control.
“No. I studied this area for months before reopening the mine. Koolaroo has several underground streams. It was one of the reasons my ancestors settled on this land.”
“Well, hopefully it takes us out of here. I'm getting tired of this underground tour.”
“Me, too.” I grinned at her, amazed she was still cracking jokes. She won't be laughing in a minute.
I set the candle on the ground beside us. “Listen. Once we blow this candle out, it'll be pitch black.”
“How will we know where we're going?”
“We won't.” I reached for her. “Give me your hand. I won't let go of you. I promise.”
She offered her left hand, and even in the dim candlelight, the blisters across her palm and fingers looked angry and raw.
“What about your other hand?” I asked gently. “Is it any better?”
“No.” Her jaw set. “I'll be fine.”
Christ, she was amazing.
I threaded my fingers carefully between hers, avoiding the worst of the blisters. She winced but didn't pull away.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess.”
We shuffled to the edge of the timber, still clutching the candle between us.
The platform lurched.
“Shit!” The timber collapsed beneath us, and we plunged into the water.
The cold knocked the breath out of me, and I gasped as water filled my mouth. My boots hit bottom, and I tried to stand, but the current slammed into me like a fist, yanking my legs out from under me.
The candle vanished into the water, and suffocating darkness crashed down on us.
“Declan!” Bella's scream cut through the rush of water.
I couldn't see her. Couldn't see anything. The current dragged at me, pulling me forward, spinning me. I crushed her fingers in mine, desperate not to lose her.
She screamed in pain. “I can't stand!”
“I've got you.” I yanked her toward me, fighting the current, and caught her body against mine. “Get behind me. Wrap your arms around my neck.”
She scrambled behind me, arms locking around my throat, legs wrapping around my waist. Her grip was tight, and I could barely breathe. But I didn't care.
The current pulled harder, relentlessly. My feet scraped bottom, then lost contact entirely. We were being dragged downstream in absolute blackout.
I tried to fight it, kicking hard, but it was like fighting a stampede.
“I have to swim!” I shouted, and my voice echoed back at me. “Hold on!”
“I am!” Her ragged breaths came hot against my ear, and the terror in her gasps ripped my heart out.
I stopped kicking, and as I let the current take us into the dark, I drank a few mouthfuls. The water was so fresh it tasted sweet. “Did you have a drink? Tastes good.”
She let go with one arm. “Oh, you’re right, it’s so fresh.”
The water bubbled and splashed against the walls, it was almost peaceful, except for Bella's ragged breathing. Each breath she sucked in was a reminder of how scared she was.
“You okay?” I brushed my hand over her arm.
“Yes. You?”
“Yep.”
“At least we're getting a good bath,” she said. “I was beginning to stink.”
“You smelled fine to me.”
She went quiet, like she was trying to process a reply that wouldn't hurt my feelings.
I'm a bloody idiot. Yes, we'd shared a couple of amazing kisses, but my growing feelings for her were insane.
Bella was way out of my league. We came from different worlds.
I was a country bloke, and she was from Europe.
Whatever we had going on down here in this failed mine, this was where it ended.
I shoved that depressing thought aside. Getting her out was all that mattered.
The air smelled like minerals and rocks. My feet occasionally touched bottom, but mostly it was too deep to stand. I scooped my hands through the cool water, guiding us forward. When my hands brushed rocks, I kicked to steer us away from the edges.
I felt rather than saw the tunnel ceiling drop lower. When the current picked up, my pulse kicked up with it as my stupid brain pictured us heading for a waterfall.
“Hey, Declan,” Bella whispered in my ear.
“Yeah.” A rock scraped across my shoulder, and I twisted us away from the wall.
“I'm glad I'm stuck down here with you.”
Heat rushed through my veins, lighting up parts of me that had been dead for way too long. “Well, let's hope we're not stuck down here much longer.”
“We won't be. You'll find a way out. I just know it.”
Her confidence in me was both amazing and terrifying. What if I failed as I had with everything else? My track record was a train wreck.
Focusing on the warmth of her body against my back, I stared into the blackness, hoping for a sign that this nightmare was ending.
My foot hit a rock, and as I kicked to get away, I realized it was shallow enough to touch the bottom.
“Hey, look.” Bella pointed over my shoulder, and I could see her hand. “There's light up ahead! Is that daylight?”
“I hope so.” My pulse kicked up.
But as the light grew brighter, revealing more of the ragged natural tunnel carved through ancient rock, my hope withered. It wasn't daylight. The yellow glow came from a narrow shaft breaking off to the right, and we were hurtling toward it like we were on a goddamn water slide.