Chapter 49

Trevor quickly glanced at Bart.

The FBI had taken him into custody.

Now Richard and Kai stood on either side of Trevor, trying to figure out how to rescue Sadie before it was too late.

If they could get equipment to her, that would be one thing.

But there was no time for that.

“Hold onto my legs!” he told Richard and Kai. “Lower me until I can grab her.”

“We can bring some rappelling equipment—” Richard started.

“There’s no time,” Trevor said. “By the time it gets here, it will be too late.”

No one argued with him. They knew he spoke the truth.

“We need to move,” Trevor said. “Now!”

Trevor dropped to his knees and stretched forward.

Richard and Kai grabbed his legs. Then he inched toward the cliff.

Sadie was far enough down that Trevor couldn’t reach her with just his arms. He needed another two feet.

As he began to move down lower, his equilibrium shifted.

It was too far of a drop. If they slipped . . .

Trevor prayed this worked. Otherwise, he and Sadie would both be goners.

If Kai and Richard somehow let him slip out of their grasp, he would tumble to the shore below and take Sadie with him.

He couldn’t let that happen.

They hadn’t come this far to fail now.

Sadie let out a cry below him as one of her hands slipped.

“Hold onto the rock!” he yelled. “Reach for it. You can do it.”

Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Then she reached forward and managed to grab hold of the ledge again.

Good.

If only everything wasn’t so moist and slippery here. It made the whole situation even more precarious.

“I’m going to reach for you,” he told her. “I’m going to grab your wrists. Then we’re going to pull you up. It’s not going to be comfortable, but it’s the only way we can get through this. Do you understand?”

“I understand. Yes. Please, just help me.”

“I need to go a little farther down,” he yelled to the guys above him.

The cliff edge was already at his waist. Once he went beyond his waist, it became even more precarious as his body didn’t bend the right way.

He felt Richard and Kai’s hands gripping his ankles. Felt the strain on his muscles and body.

Finally, they lowered him enough so he could reach her.

“On the count of three, I’m going to slip my hands beneath yours. There’s going to be a brief second where you’re going to feel like you’re not holding onto anything. But I’ve got you. Okay?”

“O . . . okay.” But her voice trembled with fear.

Trevor swallowed hard, sucking in a deep breath. He lifted a quick prayer before he grabbed her wrists.

She gasped as he touched her. Then she fell an inch before his hold on her took traction.

She jerked to a stop and dangled below him.

“I’ve got you,” he told her.

Relief washed over her features.

But almost as soon as he said the words, he felt both of them begin to slip down and either Richard or Kai yelled above him.

That was when Trevor realized that something was wrong.

* * *

Sadie felt herself falling again.

At once, a memory hit her.

A memory of chasing down a killer in the Appalachian Mountains.

The man had pushed her off a cliff, but she had caught herself.

She’d managed to hang on for an hour.

That was how long it had taken her partner to find her and get her help.

But she’d survived that.

She could survive this too.

They lurched to a stop.

Despite the downward momentum, Trevor’s grip on her never loosened.

As she stared up at him now, her pulse raced even more quickly.

This man was willing to do whatever it took to protect her. That was rare in today’s world.

Then more memories filled her. Memories of meeting Trevor on the shore. Memories of how she felt when he flashed that smile at her. As they shared a basket of cherries on the seashore while watching the sunset. As they sat and talked about nothing yet talked about everything at the same time.

Those moments . . . they had felt real.

Probably because they were real.

Despite all the subterfuge, what had developed between them was anything but fake.

Despite what they had been through, Sadie knew that her feelings for this man were strong.

“You okay?” Trevor asked.

Sadie nodded, realizing just how many of her memories were beginning to return.

“Pull us up,” Trevor said.

“Sorry, the ground started to give beneath us!” Kai called down. “We’ve got you now.”

Slowly, they began to ascend the cliff, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter.

At least they weren’t falling anymore.

People talked above them. Occasionally, faces peered down. The lights of a police car or ambulance flashed in the distance.

Another shiver raced through her.

“Just keep looking at me,” Trevor told her.

That was what Sadie did. Their gazes locked, and reassurance beamed from his gaze.

At the moment, she felt as if that was all she needed.

Trevor had done everything within his power to protect her, and he hadn’t let her down yet.

She knew with certainty he wouldn’t let her down now either.

Trevor drew back as Kai and Richard slid him across the lawn.

Once Trevor was on solid ground, the two men took Sadie’s arms and pulled her the rest of the way to safety.

Sadie collapsed there as she tried to gain control of her breathing.

That had been close. Too close.

As much as she wanted to rejoice or to embrace Trevor or to tell him about all the realizations that she’d had, she couldn’t do that.

Her heart was pounding so fast she felt as if she might go into cardiac arrest. She couldn’t breathe. Her skin crawled.

The drug, she realized.

She’d just conquered one danger, but an even bigger one loomed and threatened to take her life now.