It was fine. She’d be fine. Noah said he was coming and she trusted him.
She wasn’t sure how long she waited, just breathing through the panic, but the shuffle of movement sounded beside her. She turned her head to see Noah. He was so close that the warmth of his side penetrated her own.
“I can’t move,” she whispered.
“You’re doing great. You’re doing exactly what I asked you to do.”
She inhaled a long shaky breath. “Is Buck okay?”
“Don’t worry about Buck. Colt and Flint are taking care of him.”
She nodded quickly, but the move was jerky. “I’m scared.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She wasn’t alone. Noah was here. She was safe with him. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.
“I’m clipping us together, okay?” Noah reached across and clipped her harness into a locking carabiner on his belay loop so that they were tethered together. He also unclipped the rope she’d been attached to. “You’re riding with me, honey.”
He smiled, and the small action thawed just a bit of the panic that crawled through her belly.
“Now, I need you to do something for me,” he said gently.
She wasn’t sure if she could do anything, but still she nodded.
“I need you to slide between me and the wall, wrap your arms around my shoulders and your legs around my waist.”
Move? He wanted her tomove? “I don’t know if I can.”
“You can. Trust me.” He curled an arm around her waist. “I won’t let you fall.”
“I trust you.” There was so much truth in her words. Despite the fear and the panic, something about Noah made her okay with putting her life in his hands. But also, she didn’t really have any other options.
Letting go of the wall was hard, but she forced her fingers to uncurl. Her right arm trembled as it locked around his neck.
“That’s good, Addison. Now the other.”
The other hand was harder. It was her last grasp on the wall. She took one deep breath before turning her body and wrapping her other arm around his shoulders.
“That’s good. Now wrap your legs nice and tight around my waist like this.” He gripped her right thigh and gently guided it around his waist. “Feel safe?”
It was crazy, but she did. “Yes.”
“Good. Let’s get the hell off this wall.”
He began to climb down, his moves slow and deliberate. She clung to him, feeling the muscles straining in his back. He wasn’t connected to anything, but he probably didn’t trust the equipment anymore. She certainly didn’t.
“Almost there,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
She closed her eyes and dug her head into the crook of his neck. Her eyes were still closed when there was a soft thud. She opened them to see that Noah stood on the ground.
They’d made it. They were safe.
But she didn’t release him, and he didn’t set her down. She just held him, letting the power in his body chase away that last bit of fear.
CHAPTER 14
Addie pulled on an oversized sweatshirt. It was Noah’s but it had been sitting on his chair, and it looked big and warm, and she needed both those things right now. Even though she’d just broken a record for the longest, hottest shower, she somehow still felt cold.
