Chapter 18
Russ
No.
The answer locks into place instantly.
Cold.
Absolute.
I’m not leaving her down there.
Lucas grabs my vest hard enough to jerk me back from the edge of the collapsed ridge. “Russ, move!”
I barely hear him.
My eyes stay fixed on the broken cliff where Olivia disappeared.
Dust still drifts upward from the collapse.
Loose rock keeps sliding into the canyon below.
She’s down there alone.
Injured.
And every instinct inside me is screaming.
Miles appears beside us breathing hard. “If you were gonna listen to reason, you would’ve already moved.”
I ignore him completely and drop to one knee at the edge, scanning the shattered slope below.
There.
A narrow descent cutting diagonally through the rocks.
Steep.
Unstable.
One wrong step and I’m joining her at the bottom.
Good enough.
“I’m going down.”
“Like hell you are,” Lucas snaps immediately.
“She’s alone.”
“So are we if you stay here!”
Gunfire cracks somewhere below the ridge.
Closer now.
Much closer.
Clay drops behind cover near the canyon entrance and fires downslope. “Movement west side!”
I barely register it.
Olivia’s voice keeps replaying in my head instead.
Go.
Like I’d ever leave her.
“She told you to move,” Lucas says sharply.
“I don’t take orders from her.”
Miles snorts once under his breath. “Clearly.”
I drag a hand across my face hard enough to hurt.
Think.
The civilians are exposed.
The enemy’s closing fast.
Lucas is right.
And I hate him for it.
“She’s right too,” Lucas says quieter now. “If we stay here, we lose everybody.”
That lands like a punch straight to the ribs.
Because it’s true.
Because this stopped being about just us a long time ago.
Kids.
Mothers.
People depending on us to get them out alive.
Damn it.
I stare down into the canyon again, jaw clenched so hard it aches.
Then finally—
“Five minutes.”
Lucas goes still. “What?”
“You move them ahead. Five minutes.” I rise to my feet and check my rifle automatically. “Then I go after her.”
“That’s not enough time.”
“It’s what you’ve got.”
The silence that follows feels razor sharp.
Then finally Lucas nods once.
Reluctant.
Angry.
“Fine. But if you’re not back—”
“I’ll be back.”
Not hope.
Not optimism.
Fact.
Because there is no world where I walk out of these mountains without her.
Lucas turns immediately. “Move out!”
The group pushes deeper into the canyon fast and uneven while Clay and Miles cover the rear.
I stay exactly where I am.
Counting seconds.
Listening to gunfire echo through the rocks below.
Every shot tightens something vicious inside my chest.
Then finally—
Enough.
I move.
Boots hit loose rock hard as I start down the slope at a controlled slide. Gravel skids beneath my feet while sharp edges tear at my palms every time I steady myself against the canyon wall.
Dangerous.
Stupid.
Don’t care.
“Olivia!”
Nothing.
Cold dread crawls instantly down my spine.
I descend faster.
“Olivia!”
A beat later—
“I’m here!”
Relief slams into me so hard my knees almost give out.
I push the last stretch recklessly, dropping the final few feet onto the lower ledge.
And there she is.
Standing against the canyon wall.
Barely.
Dust streaks her face. Blood stains the bandage at her ribs again. One hand braces hard against the rock beside her to stay upright.
Still standing anyway.
Of course she is.
“About time,” she mutters weakly.
I’m across the space between us in two strides.
My hands close around her shoulders immediately.
Checking.
Scanning.
Alive.
“You okay?”
“No.”
Honest answer.
Thank God.
At least she stopped lying to me.
Her knees wobble slightly.
I catch her instantly before she can fall.
“Easy.”
“I’m standing.”
“Barely.”
She starts to argue—
Stops halfway through when pain flashes across her face.
Good.
Maybe now she’ll stop pretending she’s indestructible.
Gunfire echoes again above us.
Closer.
Too close.
“They’re coming,” she whispers.
“I know.”
I glance toward the collapsed slope above us.
Looks even worse from down here.
Loose shale.
Steep incline.
One bad shift and the entire thing slides.
Perfect.
“Can you climb?”
Olivia studies the slope.
Then looks at me.
“Yeah.”
Lie.
Not important right now.
I step closer and hook an arm carefully around her waist.
“We do it together.”
Something flickers across her face at that.
Relief maybe.
Or fear.
Probably both.
Then she nods once.
And we climb.