She was just going to tell herself that.
Someone with strong hands was sliding her across the slime. She looked up.
Into the most beautiful male face in the world.
And…it really was possible he was the most beautiful man in the world.
But while he was beautiful, he wasnotthe man she wanted to see. Miguel was perfect for Hope in every way. But…Madison turned her head. “Where’s Dom?”
And then he was right there.
“Dom!”
He was lifting her into his arms. And she knew…she was safe now. She just looked at him, ignoring the mud, the blood, the slime—she wasn’t waiting another minute for this. “I love you, Dominic Vincent. And don’t you ever forget it. You aren’t getting away from me now.”
126
K.J. was goingto be hurting for a long while.
After Acardi had carried Madison back to the entrance of the mine to be met by Foster and Naylor and Fields and Price and Mawbry—with theactualSearch & Rescue team, of all things—K.J. was sent back down a shaft.
No other choice, really.
Someone had to getNewcomb.
No one on Darrell Mawbry’s team was small enough to fit in the shaft Newcomb had somehow ended up in. He had been in more of a cavern that had formed when the shaft above where Madison had ended up had folded, creating the two voids just big enough for people their size. It had proven a bit more difficult to get him out, even though he was at a much more manageable incline.
At least safely, anyway. K.J. had been one of the ones who’d voted to just wrap the rope around that asshole’s legs andyank.As hard as they possibly could, if necessary.
Had to get that bastard cop-killer out somehow, right?
She had been outvoted. They had decided to do things therightway. But…that had been more difficult than anticipated,considering how small the shaft was and how precarious the winze had been. It could have crumbled beneath them at any time.
Newcomb had hit his head. He had not been moving. And the area was smaller than where Madison was. She had secured the rope around him as safely as she could. Then helped guide him up. He’d been breathing. But the way his neck had been bent…K.J. shuddered. It had looked…gruesome. No other word for it.
Newcomb had been alive when she’d pulled him out.
K.J. was escorted into FCGH by two of her new teammates. Lake and Jake—as they now insisted on being called, two total pains in the asses that they were—were hailing her as a hero. They were idiots. No denying that.
K.J. just wished the two would shut up.
She was covered in grime. Limestone slime, great for the complexion, Madison had been saying as she was loaded into the ambulance, Acardi holding her hand and looking at her like she was the center of his world.
There was blood everywhere, too. Hers, Newcomb’s, Madison’s. K.J. had it in her hair.
It had been one hell of a shift. That was for sure.
She walked into the ER. She had to be checked out by the ER before she was cleared. It was standard procedure since there was blood. She’d popped some stitches out there, and she knew…germs and bacteria. That would have to be taken care of, and everything. She also had some serious bruises. Her arms were sore from pulling Madison’s entire weight free, and her knee had slammed the wall of the shaft once or twice.
She’d be hurting for a few days, no denying that.
It was so worth it. Madison was safe now. That was all that mattered.
K.J. walked toward the reception desk when movement near the doors caught her attention. She looked up. Of course, it was Naylor. And he was arguing…with…Trace.
Naylor had a real problem. K.J. was going to solve it for him. With a cave-gunk covered boot up his ass. She almost snarled as she went up to the two men. Trace was a total pain-in-the-ass, no denying that, but he was her partner for now. She wouldn’t let him faceNayloralone. They had to have each other’s backs here. “Naylor, what’s your problem now?”
Both men turned toward her. Both men just gawked at her. Trace was the first to speak. “It’s a K.J.-shaped bog beast, I think. The hair is all that gives it away. What in the hell happened out there?”
