Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Declan
A thumping sound echoed down the shaft, and I glanced up at the dim light at the very top. “They're here,” I hollered, unable to stop the grin spreading across my face.
“They were quick.” Bella watched me with those stunning eyes that made my chest go tight.
“Cassidy's probably chomping at the bit to hear what happened. And their timing is perfect, that generator is on its last legs.” As if to prove a point, the lights flickered again. The damn things had been doing that for what seemed like hours.
“It's more than that,” Bella said, her voice going soft and serious in a way that made me look at her more closely.
Before I could ask what she meant, something rattled against the shaft wall. A small pack tied to a thin line tumbled down, bouncing off rocks until it hit the ground with a metallic clang.
I grabbed it and yanked the zipper open to find two heavy-duty flashlights, two two-way radios, a water bottle, and a small Tupperware container.
Leave it to Cassidy to think of everything.
I handed the water and container to Bella, then pressed the button on one of the radios. “Can you hear me?”
“Declan, how you doin', man?” Kayden's voice crackled through, and hell if it wasn't good to hear.
“Looking forward to getting out of this hole.”
Bella popped open the container, and four Anzac biscuits were nestled inside—my sister's favorite snack. We munched on them and drank the water while Cassidy's voice barked through the radio, all business. “Mitch is rigging the rope to the winch now. We had to tie a couple of lengths together.”
“Figured you might.” I ate the biscuit in two bites. “I hope he knows what he's doing.”
“I could do it with my eyes closed,” Mitch shot back.
I grinned despite everything. “We'll pass on that demo, thanks.”
“Rope's coming down now. It's a long drop, so give us a minute.”
“Roger that.”
I handed Bella one of the flashlights and then hooked the strap attached to the second radio around her neck. “Just press this button if you need to talk to them.” I showed her the mechanism.
She nodded, taking another long drink.
The main rope came tumbling down the shaft, thick and sturdy, slapping against rock with heavy thuds until it pooled on the ground.
I keyed the radio. “Got it.”
“Okay. Let us know when you're ready,” Mitch said.
At the end of the rope was a small harness like the ones we used to rescue calves from muddy swamps or the sinkholes they fell into with surprising frequency out here. I opened it up and held it low in front of Bella. “In you hop.”
“Oh.” Bella's face fell. “We can't go up together.”
“You first. I'll be right behind you.”
“You just want to look up my dress again.” She gave me a sassy grin.
“Now, there's a bonus I hadn't thought of.” I steadied the harness while she stepped in then pulled it up, and as I tightened it around her waist, she winced.
“Oh shit, Bella. I'm sorry, I forgot—”
She touched her hand to my cheek. “It's okay. You can kiss it better later.”
The world narrowed to just her face, those blue eyes, that sexy smile. I kissed her forehead, carefully and deliberately. “I'm holding you to that.”
“I look forward to it.” She wriggled her eyebrows.
My lips twitched. “Will you stop it? I'm trying to concentrate on saving you.”
“You've already done that, Declan.”
I stared at her for a long moment, fierce protection surging through my chest. My throat went tight.
I couldn't find words, so I did the next best thing.
I kissed her gorgeous lips, softly and quickly, mindful of everything that hurt.
When I pulled back, I had to clear my throat. “Let's get you topside.”
I checked the clips and knots twice. No way in hell was I sending her up without being absolutely sure everything was secure.
I stepped behind her, hands bracing her sides, and keyed the radio. “Bella's ready. Take her up slowly. She's hurt.”
“Roger that.” Cassidy's eager voice came through. “Come on up, Bella. Us girls have got some catching up to do.”
I rolled my eyes at Bella and keyed the radio. “Not without me, you're not.”
Bella smiled, tired but real.
I leaned close, my mouth near her ear. “See? You're already family.”
She sucked her lips into her mouth, like she was holding back a cheeky comment. Then the rope went taut.
“If you get too close to the wall, you can walk up it, okay? Watch your knees.”
“I'll be fine.”
The rope uncoiled off the ground, and I walked with her for the first few meters, one hand steadying the rope, eyes locked on hers.
“Don't look down,” I ordered.
“See you at the top.” She reached for my hand.
I caught her fingers and kissed them, careful of the blisters. “You betcha.”
Then her feet left the ground.
“Are you looking up my dress?”
“Of course.”
Her giggle danced around the chasm, making my heart swell to bursting.
I watched until she was nothing but a shadow rising toward the distant opening, the rope creaking with each pull from above. Her radio crackled with Cassidy's reassurances, Kayden's instructions, and Mitch telling her she was doing great.
My chest felt tight, like a vise was wrapped around my ribs and squeezing.
She was out. She was safe. I’d done it. I’d saved her.
But reality rushed back in waves.
The bloody knives in the kitchen. The shattered gate. The dead cows.
My siblings wouldn't stop until they had answers. And we couldn't give them without mentioning Rocco and Pike. Not without unraveling the whole tangled mess that had led us down here in the first place.
I'd told Bella we could contain this.
Standing alone in the flickering generator lights, surrounded by the wreckage of the lift and all the other evidence I’d found, I knew that was impossible.
My family didn't let things go. They kept digging until they got answers, and they sure as hell wouldn't accept half-truths when our cows had been shot up, and their brother nearly killed.
Cassidy's voice crackled through my radio. “Bella's safe! Your turn, bro.”
The rope dropped back down, slapping against the wall.
I grabbed it, stepped into the harness, tested the knot, and pulled hard to make sure it would hold.
I keyed the radio. “Ready.”
The rope jerked taut, and I left the ground.
The ascent felt longer than Bella's, probably because I had time to think. Time to catalog every bruise, every scratch, every moment where everything had gone spectacularly wrong.
But also time to realize I had changed. I'd gone into that mine second-guessing myself, wondering what the hell I was doing. Now I knew. I'd stared down killers and kept us both breathing when it should've been impossible.
And somewhere in that darkness, Bella had become more than just someone to save.
She'd become someone I wanted to know. Really know.
Not the terrified woman running for her life, but the incredible woman who had cracked jokes even when her blistered hands had hurt like hell and kissed me like the world wasn't ending.
I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
I'd do absolutely anything for Bella.
As I broke the surface, hands grabbed me. “About time,” Cassidy yelled as Mitch hauled me over the edge with a grip that hurt, and Kayden steadied me from the other side.
The second my boots hit solid ground, Kayden turned off the winch, and all three of them crashed into me.
But something was off. The sky above was streaked with pink and orange. The sun was setting.
“What time is it?” I asked, confused.
Mitch grabbed me in a crushing hug, thumping my back so hard I grunted. “Five in the afternoon,” he muttered. “Good to see you, brother.”
Five P.M.? “Huh, is that all? Feels like we've been down there for days.”
“You have been, you bloody idiot,” Kayden said, clapping my shoulder, then grabbing me again like he needed proof I was alive. “Two days, Dec. You've been gone two days.”
The world tilted. “Two days?” I still couldn't wrap my head around it. Jesus. No wonder we felt like shit.
Cassidy wrapped herself around me from the side, shaking so hard I could feel it. “You scared me to death, you idiot,” she blurted.
I huffed, my arms coming around her. “Yeah. Scared myself to death a couple of times, too. Sorry.” I squeezed her arm, feeling the taut muscle beneath.
She slapped my shoulder. “No, you're not.”
My mouth twitched. “Maybe a little.”
Mitch stepped back, hands on my shoulders, eyes scanning me like he was checking for missing pieces. “You okay?”
I searched for Bella and locked my gaze on her. She stood a few feet away, looking lost and overwhelmed, her bandaged hands held carefully against her chest.
“I am now,” I said, unclipping the harness.
Cassidy bundled us into the front of the truck. As the three of us squeezed onto the bench seat with Cass driving, Mitch and Kayden jumped into the back.
“I can't decide between eating first or taking a shower,” Bella said, leaning against my shoulder.
“Food first,” I said. “Then a hot shower. Then we’ll bandage your wounds again. Then sleep. Lots of sleep.”
“Oh hell, no,” Cassidy blurted, ramming the stick shift into fourth gear. “You're not going anywhere until you tell us what the hell happened, and why there was all that blood in the kitchen.”
Bella stiffened beside me. “Did you... did you call the police?”
Cassidy glanced over, frowning. “Not yet. We were going to call Bob tomorrow morning if you hadn't shown up.”
Bella sagged against me, the relief so obvious it might as well have been written across her forehead.
Cassidy drove toward a herd of cattle, beeping the horn but refusing to slow down. As the cows scattered, my mind careened back to those desperate moments driving the quad bike through the herd. I'd forgotten all about that. So much had happened in two days. Two days that had felt like a lifetime.
Cassidy's frown deepened, her gaze dropping to Bella's bandaged hands. “How'd you burn your hands?”
“We'll tell you everything later.” I pulled Bella closer. “Have you had anyone turn up? Strangers?”