Chapter 14 #2
I flinched, stumbling forward on the cave floor, and slipped on the slick mud. Mitch gripped my arm, steadying me.
"Easy," he murmured. To Doug or to me, I wasn't sure, but his jaw was tight with tension.
We reached the cave entrance, and I looked out at the ravine.
The flood had transformed the landscape.
What had been a raging torrent yesterday was now a rushing brown stream, but the damage the flash flood had left behind was catastrophic.
Mud and debris plastered everything in sight.
Branches were wedged between boulders like broken bones, while whole trees were stripped bare and scattered across the banks.
Entire sections of the ravine walls had collapsed into the water.
"Wow," I whispered. "Everything's changed."
"Yeah." Mitch scanned up the rock wall, looking toward the top. "And these stones are still wet. This climb is going to be unstable."
"I don't care," Doug said. "Start climbing."
Mitch turned and clenched his fists.
"Doug," I said. "This is insane. That cliff is practically vertical. One slip, and we all die."
"Then don't slip." Doug's eyes flared.
"What happened to you?" I glared at him, trying to find the man I used to know, but he was long gone.
"Shut up!" He shoved the gun into Mitch's back.
Mitch clenched his jaw, yet he still remained calm.
"Fine," I snapped, pulling my hair back and securing it in a ponytail with shaking fingers. "Lead the way, Mitch."
"No." Doug shook his head. "Charlie first. Then me." He leveled his glare at Mitch. "You last, and don't try anything."
"No way," Mitch barked. "If Charlie falls—"
"Then you’d better hope she doesn't." Doug scowled at me. "Get climbing, Charlie. Now. Or I put a bullet in your boyfriend right here."
"You've lost your mind," I yelled at him.
"Shut up and go!"
My heart pounded as Mitch's green eyes met mine. Something passed between us. A promise. A reassurance. A desperate plea.
You'll be okay. I'll be right behind you. I'm gonna kill him.
I had no idea which message he was sending, yet I wanted to believe all three.
As I approached the cliff edge and looked up at the slick, muddy rock wall, another thought dominated everything else. We're going to die.
"Go!" Doug yelled.
"Okay … bastard." I reached out of the cave, placing my foot on a rock that protruded from the stone like an open drawer. Okay. I can do this. I have to do this.
I found handholds easily enough. Cracks in the rock, exposed roots, rough stones that seemed stable, and the first few feet weren't so bad.
"Get back!" Doug's voice boomed below me.
"What?" Gripping a wet rock, I twisted to look down.
Doug's back was visible at the cave entrance, but I couldn't see Mitch. "Get back, asshole," he yelled.
"Doug!" I cried. "What are you doing?"
"It's okay, Charlie." Mitch's commanding voice reached me. "Just stay calm and focus."
"Don't do anything until I tell you," Doug ordered, then he stepped out of the cave onto the rock I'd used. His cold eyes met mine, and I couldn't believe I had once trusted him. "Keep going." He aimed the rifle at me.
My stomach plummeted.
How could I have been such an idiot? Again.
First Marcus, stealing my research and publishing it under his own name while I'd been stupid enough to think we’d had something special between us.
At least Doug hadn't gotten me into bed before he’d screwed me over.
Two bosses. Two men I'd trusted. Two men who'd seen me as nothing more than a convenient steppingstone.
Apparently, I had "use me" tattooed across my forehead in invisible ink that only assholes could read.
Doug grunted and swore with every move. His movements were clumsy compared to mine, probably because the bastard clutched the damn rifle and kept it aimed at me.
"Keep climbing, Charlie!" he barked.
"I am!" I yelled, reaching for another rock.
After what felt like an eternity, Doug called down, "Mitch. Your turn. And remember, anything goes wrong, and she's dead."
"Charlie?" Mitch's voice rang out below. "You okay?"
"Yes!" I called back, sneaking a glance over my shoulder.
Mitch climbed like a machine. Fast, efficient, deliberate. His gaze stayed fixed on me, watching, as if he was anticipating every move I made and was ready to catch me if I slipped.
A question whipped through my mind. Why hadn't Doug shot Mitch when he’d had the chance?
Maybe he was out of bullets?
Or maybe Doug couldn't kill a man in cold blood, face to face?
Or did he need Mitch?
All three were possible.
But as I hauled myself up another few feet, muscles screaming, I figured it out. We were in the middle of Mitch’s million-hectare property, miles from anywhere. He needed Mitch's knowledge of the land to get us out of here.
Oh shit! He didn't need me.
"That's it, Charlie. You're doing great," Mitch called up.
But I was struggling. My legs burned, and the jagged rock I clung to sliced my fingers and made my wrists throb. Sweat already dripped down my spine, yet the sun still wasn't visible. The day was only going to get hotter, and after yesterday's drenching, the humidity would be hell.
Friction from my damp socks rubbed on my heels, and the higher I climbed, the worse it got. Most of my body already ached, but my bruised elbow throbbed so much it had its own heartbeat.
The rock under my left hand crumbled. I shrieked as I slid sideways, clawing at the rocks, scrabbling for purchase.
"Charlie!" Mitch's cry boomed from below.
Doug clutched my wrist. "Grab on."
I clawed at the stone and found another handhold. Doug's grip was painful, his fingers digging into my skin. Yet he'd saved me. Why?
"Thanks," I gasped, hating that I was grateful.
"Just keep going."
"You okay?" Mitch's tone was shredded with worry.
"I'm fine," I lied.
My heart tried to punch through my ribcage, and I could hardly breathe.
A thick, gnarled root stuck out of the rock just above me. I gripped it with my aching fingers, my knuckles burning. Finding a foothold, I pressed my forehead against the stone and paused to rest. I breathed in the earthy air and listened to my heart pound in my ears.
"You've got this," Mitch called up.
I almost laughed. It came out as a sob.
"Stop messing around," Doug growled. "Climb, goddammit."
"Piss off."
"Climb, or I'll shoot you." His tone was upbeat, almost sing-song.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you, huh?" I shot him a death stare. "You're gutless, that's why."
Doug shifted the gun toward my knee. "I've seen a man take a bullet through his kneecap. Trust me, it's painful."
I sucked in a breath. Was he serious? "What are you messed up in, Doug?"
"You don't want to know." As he shook his head, I sensed regret in his gaze, but it vanished in a flash. "Go."
"Charlie!" Mitch yelled. "You can do this."
Turning my gaze upward, I searched for my next handhold and pulled myself higher.
Why is he keeping me alive?
As I climbed onto another ledge, the answer wormed into my mind. He needed me as security. Mitch would do anything Doug said while that gun was aimed at me.
By the time I reached the halfway point, every muscle in my body was burning. My hands were covered in scratches, my thumb was bleeding, and several fingernails were broken from clawing at rocks. My arms trembled so badly I could barely hold on.
And it was so damn hot, sweat oozed from every pore.
Though I couldn't see the sun beyond the ravine, as it rose, it painted the walls in shades of red and gold that would excite any artist.
Every time I pushed off the stone, the chafing skin on my heels stung like hell. Blisters were forming, adding to all my other pains.
"How much further?" I gasped.
"Just twenty feet," Doug said. "Keep climbing."
I didn't know if I could make it.
"Charlie." Mitch's voice floated up from below. "You're doing great. Just keep going. One hand at a time."
"I can't," I whispered. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can."
"My fingers hurt." Clutching a rock with one hand, I studied my bloody fingertips on the other. Tears blurred my vision, and a whimper burst from my lips.
"I know it hurts, Charlie." Mitch's voice was so gentle. "But you're almost there. Just a little further."
My stomach cramped. My body was running on empty.
"Charlie," Mitch said. "You're not giving up now. You can do this."
His absolute certainty made me nod. "Okay. Okay." I focused on the rock in front of me.
"That's it," Mitch said. "One handhold. One foothold. One breath at a time. You've got this."
Doug grunted. "Touching. Now shut up and climb."
"Leave her alone, asshole!" Mitch's tone was deadly.
Doug kicked at some rocks, dislodging them, and they tumbled down onto Mitch's head.
"Doug. Don't!" I bellowed until my throat hurt.
"Then go!" he barked.
"Mitch, are you okay?" I tried to see him below, but Doug blocked my view.
"I’m fine. Just keep going."
I glared at Doug. Then, turning back to the stone, I muttered, "Asshole."
I clawed my way up. Slowly. Painfully. When my hand finally closed around a clump of grass at the top of the ravine, tears stung my eyes. I hauled my body over the edge and collapsed onto the muddy earth, gasping for air, every part of me shaking.
Doug scrambled up a minute later, breathing hard, and immediately crawled away from the edge and from me.
Mitch powered out of the ravine and raced to my side. "You did it," he said, crouching beside me. "Charlie, you did it."
I couldn't answer. I could barely breathe.
"That was amazing." He brushed hair from my face, his thumb tracing my cheek. "You're amazing."
I managed a weak laugh. "I'm a mess."
"Yeah." A smile curled across his lips. "A hell of a mess."
"On your feet," Doug ordered, standing back from us. "Both of you."
Mitch stood, offering me his hand. I took it, letting him pull me upright.
Doug had the rifle aimed at us. Beyond him, the landscape stretched endlessly. Red dirt, sparse vegetation, and nothing but wilderness in every direction. The rising sun hung just off the horizon, already baking the earth.
No buildings. No roads. Nothing.
"What now?" Mitch asked, stepping in front of me.
Doug aimed his rifle at me. "You take us back to our site office."
"That's miles from here." Mitch scraped his hand down his beard. "In this heat, without water…"
Doug's eyes looked crazed again. "Then start walking." He gestured behind us. "Let's go."
I took a step forward, and pain scraped across my heel. I gasped and stumbled.
Mitch caught my arm. "What's wrong?"
I clenched my fists, forcing down the agony. "I'm fine." I winced with my next step.
He glanced down at my boots, then back at my face, concern darkening his eyes. "Blisters?"
I nodded.
"Shit." He glanced over his shoulder at Doug, then back at me. "Can you walk?"
"Yes," I lied.
I had to. What choice did I have?
One foot in front of the other. That's all I had to do.
I just didn't know how long I could keep doing it.