123
Well,they weren’t exactly keeping the situation quiet up there. Madison had heard every word. She pressed against the edge of her little crack in the earth here. At the steep incline, and with the damp rock around her—even if her foot wasn’t trapped like it was, she would not be able to climb her way out. Not easily, anyway. Even with a rope. But…there were some seriously strong guys up there. That would help. “Just toss me a rope and a bone-saw and maybe I can get myself out, boys. It’s cold down here. And there is slime or something everywhere. Minerals, deposits, mixed with water—just damp enough to make it ridiculous down here. Dom?”
“I’m here. I can’t get to you at the moment, but I am going to.”
“I get it. I know how cave-ins work, you know? I know how a lot of things work.” And she was cold and injured and…she was seriously afraid she was going to go into shock. “It’s really cold down here.”
“I can get to her with the rope. Mads, feel around with your other foot? Or…can you bend down?” the woman up there said. And since…Lila had been hurt, and it wasn’t Heather—andMajor Crimes tended to stick together like caramel corn lately…there really was only one option.
“That you, K.J.?”
“Yes. I’m here wrangling the boys. I have Rodriguez and Tweedledee and Tweedledum with me. And the love of your life. Who…I think has moved up on my list as one of the hottest men alive. Guy has it so bad for you.”
“Yes. I have figured that out. I heard you were hot for Bryant Naylor, though. Or was it hotoverhim. And not in a good way. What is up with that?” Well, if she was stuck in a hole, at least she’d…find a way to deal. So she could get home to the people who loved her. Madison was not going topanic.Not now. Not with Dom and Major Crimes up there. They were here to get her. And she believed they would do everything in their power to make sure she got out of there. As soon as possible.
But…they were not miracle workers. She had to give them time to get things done, right?
She was getting out of thisholeand wrapping herself around that beautiful man. And never letting go. But first… she felt with her free foot. “I am wedged in pretty tight. At a really bad angle. I can’t get my foot out from here. Six inches taller, I could probably get clearance. And…my ribs are…a problem, I think. I am in a really tight position here. This hole…is a little narrow down here at the bottom, Kay. Probably about ten inches too narrow. I’m getting squeezed here.”
And she knew what would happen if the compression continued. She forced herself to take short, shallow breaths in between talking. Just in case.
One of her arms was…caught above her head. Her left foot was under about a knee-high level of water. Her right arm was caught over her stomach and pressed against her left hip. It was bleeding. Badly, she thought. Not just the water leaking through the crevice two feet above her head.
“I am in a reallytightspot here.”
“I know. And…we are going to try to find a way to get you out.” K.J. said. Madison could just see the vague outline of the other woman in the low light where she was.
“I’d really appreciate it. If you make it quick enough for me to actually…breathe…here…I’ll let you be a bridesmaid at the courthouse. You like green or pink for a dress?”
“Yellow. It’s nice and sunny.”
“It is. I do like the sun. Despise the dark. I hate going out into the night, you know. Especially lately.”
“Yeah, I can see where you would. We’re going to get you out, Mads. No matter what. I promise.”
124
Dom knewwhat they were going to do as they set it up. K.J. was lying spread eagle on the ground, peering over the edge. Talking to Madison. Keeping Madison calm and updated.
Madison’s voice was…breathless.
In a way that damned near terrified him.
K.J. inched her way backwards very carefully.
Jake and Lake were busy setting up battery-operated lighting now. Lake had something to say about that. “I can say I fuckinghatethese damned mines. Considering.”
His brother’s wife had almost died down here. His sister had been abducted twenty-something years ago by an uncle who’d wanted to use her to treasure hunt. Bailey Addy, a good friend of the Lakes, had been kept down here with Lake’s wife and had almost died. And now…Madison. People Lake cared about.
Dom reached out and helped K.J. move more safely.
K.J. looked at them. “Mads is wedged in a crack in the bottom part of the shaft, from what I can see. Limited mobility. But she’s no more than twelve feet down. It looks like the opening is wider two-thirds of the way down—and there is a small ledge. Then…it narrows. Looks like half as wide. Her lowerbody seems to be wedged in a narrower part of the shaft. If we can get down to her, and get a rope around her, we can…haul her up. It’s just…going to be hard to get down there to her. And I don’t know if you guys…you are all too heavy and way too wide through the shoulders.”
“Newcomb?” Miguel asked. “We can’t leave that son-of-a-bitch down there, either. No matter how much we may want to do otherwise.”
K.J. had checked the man’s condition before pulling back from the edge. Dom didn’t give a flying rat’s ass about Ernie Newcomb right now. But…the TSP would have questions. He wanted the man to live so he could pay for every sin he had committed.
“He’s not moving. He’s in a shaft of some sort about two feet beside her. Looks like they were built close together, or…in conjunction with each other and shifted over time. The rock eroded or broke and now…we have two large shafts in rock too close together. And I can’t tell how deep they are. Mads looks to be stuck in debris at the bottom.”
