Rowan paused next to him, chin set, shoulders back. She’d been noticeably quiet since they’d started out, looking as if she carried the weight of the entire mission on her shoulders. “I’m not sure what I was expecting but that…”
“It’s impressive.”
She kicked at the last of the dirt beneath her boots. “Am I risking too many lives to save just one?”
Bodie squeezed her hand. “You didn’t ask, we insisted. And this is about more than just your father. Everything Nick uncovered suggests there are other victims. Other lives at stake. Besides, I made a promise to Evan. I’m not backing out, now.”
She looked at Dalton when he grunted, then moved off. Dalton raised his brow, waiting for Bodie to fall in behind Rowan, the other man forever guarding their six. What Bodie assumed was the sniper in him, always on overwatch even if he wasn’t in a nest.
They made their way onto the narrow path, sticking close to the cliffside as it snaked southward. Gulls cried overhead, swooping in close before soaring off, riding the currents as the ocean seethed beneath them. Deep shadows moved across the rocks, the gray light already starting to bleed into indigo.
Tierney stopped where the track ended at a flare in the cliff, nothing but a slim gap visible beneath an overhanging shelf. She looked back at them, her voice barely reaching them above the howling gusts. “I know this looks bad, but it’s large enough we can squeeze through. But it’s a damn noise funnel. Everything carries. And don’t get too close to the edge or you’ll slip out and down the face.”
Tier dropped to her belly, disappeared into the opening, boots vanishing as she crawled into the ridiculously small space.
Rowan shook her head, looked back at him, mouthed, “Seriously?”
He took her hand, tugged her in close. “You’ve got this. I’ll be right behind you. It’s only for about fifty feet.
She swallowed, coughed, leaned into him for a moment. He squeezed her waist, breathed her in —some sweet floral scent mixed with sea salt — before she touched his hand, crouched low. She peered at the black sliver, pushed out several shuddering breaths then launched herself into the gap, toes kicking at the smooth rock.
Bodie counted to five, then flattened himself beneath the slick surface, granite grinding against his shoulder, the roar of the waves a deafening backdrop. The air reeked of seaweed and rot as he slowly slid along the path, Rowan’s boot brushing his cheek as she snaked forward.
He listened to her breathing, ready to grab her if she reached her mental limit — be her anchor — when a flashlight beam washed the cliff face from somewhere up top, the light jerking across the surface. They froze, echoed steps vibrating through the stone. First one, then another, starting and stopping as that beam danced back and forth along the rock.
Dalton tapped Bodie’s boot, gained his attention, his voice barely a whisper in his comm unit. “Two man patrol moving east to west. Wait for the all clear.”
Rowan’s feet twitched, what Bodie assumed was her trying to stay calm amidst the crushing pressure of the overhanging rock until Dalton whistled, that beam moving on.
Tierney met them on the far side, clothes streaked with mud and moss, hair damp across her face. She didn’t seem at all fazed, just took stock, then continued on, body hugging the side.
The path narrowed even more, only a foot wide in spots as it followed the shoreline, the rocks slick with salty brine. They kept one hand on the cliff, scrambling for any available handhold until they reached a vertical face — one of those gaps Rowan had pointed out on the map.
Tierney grabbed the end of a looped piece of webbing clipped onto an old rusty bolt several feet above and south of their position, then motioned to a ledge a good fifteen feet away. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’ll hold. Just be sure to get a bit of momentum or you won’t reach the other side, and trust me, that doesn’t end well.”
She backed up a couple steps, then rushed forward, swinging through the gap like freaking Tarzan before landing with a soft whoosh on the other side. She straightened her pack, waited until Buck nodded, then swung the webbing back over.
Buck caught it and leaped. No extra steps, no silent contemplation, just blind faith that he’d reach the other side. His boots tapped against the rock, slipped backwards off the edge, but Tierney fisted his vest — pulled him that last foot onto solid granite.
Avery went next, followed by Rowan, both making it look easy. As if they’d spent hours dangling from ropes for fun.
Bodie settled in beside Nick, eyeing the drop. “Your shoulder gonna hold out long enough to get to the other side, brother?”
Nick snorted. “Wouldn’t Sloane love it if it didn’t? Save her the effort of killing me, herself.”
“Pretty sure she has something else in mind, which you obviously already know and share. But we’ll talk about how you’re avoiding any kind of entanglement later. Now, do we need to go together? Or get out that length of rope Avery brought along? Figure out another way?”
Nick sighed. “It’s fine, I just hate this Indiana Jones crap. Give me a straight-up firefight any day.”
Nick cinched the loop around his good wrist, took a breath, then jumped. He swung low, the bolt creaking and shifting, bits of rock crumbling down the side. He landed on his ass, Buck’s hand locked around his belt, stopping him from tumbling backwards into the gap.
Tierney squeezed past the others, seemingly oblivious to the sheer drop as she leaned out, stared up at the bolt. She gave the length a sharp tug, then swung it back. “I’ve never had it do that, before, but then, I’ve only used it a handful of times and never in a row. Still looks sturdy, but…”
Bodie yanked on it, too, cursed when the bolt rattled against the rock. “Not sure this baby has much left in her. I can go, test it out. Though, that might leave you stranded. Or you can go, but if it lets loose…”
Dalton eyed the distance. “No way you can jump that far with your leg still healing. And yeah, I’ve noticed the slight limp. Thinking all that extra exercise last night set you back a bit. Have Avery toss that rope over. We’ll tie you off so if it pops out, I’ll stop you from falling.”
“And have the momentum and weight pull you off with me? I don’t think so.” Bodie took a couple steps back. “It’ll hold.”
