Chapter Sixteen

They'd take care of me. If I stayed with them, I'd never have to worry about a thing. Except my self-respect. I came here under false pretenses. And after waking up with them so warm and kind to me, and now wanting to be sure I still wanted to do this…how could I do anything but line up to be fitted with the harness and helmet and some things to attach to the stairs themselves somehow. I was having a hard time picturing how it would all work, but I'd only seen those individual still shots in the magazine.

Maybe I should have taken a moment to watch a video. The article in the magazine did mention that lots of people videoed themselves as they climbed. I pulled out my phone, thinking I could get at least a couple of minutes of one, but then it was time, and we were being ushered out the rear of the building and into a shuttle bus. No wonder we hadn't seen the stairs. It was a twenty-minute drive along yet another dirt road into the foothills before we reached the actual destination. I sat between the two bears in the shuttle, which kind of blocked my view of the scenery, but somehow I didn't mind that much.

I'd be getting plenty of scenery in a few minutes, a thought less reassuring than riding tucked between two sexy guys.

"We will be debarking in a moment," a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Get ready for the most thrilling experience of your life."

The others on the shuttle cheered. I shivered.

"Are you cold?" Ansel rubbed my arm. "Your jacket is kind of thin for up here. We should have bought you a better coat."

"I'm not cold." And his caress made me shiver more. "Thanks, though. Just excited, a little nervous." I only added that part because of the they-could-smell-lies thing.

When we came to a stop, I followed Edward down the aisle, Ansel behind me. I still hadn't gotten a look at the stairs because I was surrounded by them. But when Edward took my hand and assisted me down the steps, the steel stairs loomed directly in front of us. They soared into the sky, attached at the bottom and then…presumably somewhere above the clouds. They looked like you'd end up on another planet, and for a second, I could not breathe. Ansel and Edward were not doing a great job hiding their excitement. And why should they? They'd wanted to do this for a long time and I'd suggested it.

I was going to die. The nightmares were a warning. Everyone else was queuing up with a little good-natured jostling along the way. I overheard people talking about mountains they'd climbed and what a fun and amusing idea this was. These were not my people. My people got their thrills from a nice chardonnay or a new Netflix series. An improved formula for cat food. A psychological thriller novel on a Saturday night.

If we were intended to climb up a set of steps with a guarantee of death if we fell, we'd be living in mythological times. Surely there was a silver staircase in Ancient Greece or Rome. "Okay, everyone, keep it moving. The next group will be along in about twenty minutes, and we don't want to get the stairs overloaded."

"Overloaded?" I squeaked. "Is that a concern?"

"No, ma'am," the guide or shuttle driver or whatever he was said. "We wouldn't ever let that happen. These stairs are rated for many more people than we will ever allow on at the same time. But, since you were brave enough to ask a question, why don't you go first?"

Let that teach me to open my big mouth. I should have learned in Miss Ledger's third-grade class that she who speaks has volunteered. I was class monitor that entire year, noting the names of whoever spoke out of turn on the blackboard for later punishment. Classroom monitor was the most hated person in the room. I never regained my second-grade popularity.

"Oh no, really, I don't need to be first."

The guide came over and took my arm. Ansel growled, and he let go. "How about we ask for volunteers? Who would like to be first?" Naturally almost everyone raised their hand, and I slipped toward the back of the crowd.

One by one, the others hooked up and climbed the first few stairs. Then they looked back and waved, a camera mounted beside the second flight took a picture, and off they went. We didn't seem to have any of the rule breakers here, and nobody hung from one arm, at least not before they passed through the clouds and disappeared. Once again, I wondered where they would end up.

But then it was our turns. I went first of the three of us, and I was determined to make it and not chicken out. So I began to climb, up and up. And up. Making it nearly a quarter of the way before the steps gave a big sway, and I did the unthinkable and looked down. I stopped. Frozen.

"Mate, you've got to move." Edward, who was behind me, tapped my lower back. "Is everything okay?"

I shook my head. Everything had not been so not okay in my entire life.

"What's wrong?"

"I cannot."

"Cannot what?" Ansel asked from behind him.

"Move."

It was worse than the dream. No frosting, but I could ruin everyone's day without it, thank you very much. The only good thing was that we were last because I was likely never going to be anywhere but right in this spot.

"You can do this," Edward said. "Just one foot in front of the other. At the top, a ride will be waiting."

"I cannot do this. I can't move a muscle."

They had to carry me back down the ladder between them.

Biggest humiliation of my life.

"I want to go home."

"We'll do that. Be home in a jiffy." Edward had the honor of carrying me to the shuttle. I guess we were lucky it was still there. Probably for people like me.

"No. I mean my home. My apartment."