Page 17 of Under Pressure

“You’ve come all this way. You’ve got this.”

Delta’s voice was reassuring beside her, and once again he reached for her hand to lead her over the edge. However pliant they’d been before, her limbs had returned quickly to being tense and reluctant. She couldn’t even move. Her heart rate was through the roof. All eyes were on her. Am I going to do it? She stood stiffly, trying not to pass out.

She bit her lip, deeply regretting that she’d ever signed that consent waiver. That seemed like an oversight. Trying to ignore the fact that there were no guard rails, she perched on the narrow platform, wishing she’d given her sister a copy of her will.

Delta knelt and slipped a rappel belt up her thighs, harnessing it in place across her waist. He flicked the snaps and tightened it to fit her properly. His deft hands, working too close to her core, made her ache for his touch all over, making her even more uncomfortable.

“I don’t know what to do,” she murmured.

“I’ll let you down slow. Hold on to the rope,” he said calmly as he was explaining the process to her. “Just swing your foot over the edge, and I’ll do the rest. All you have to do is hold the rope and climb down.”

“Okay, okay,” she replied, her voice cracking.

As he made his final adjustments, heaving at the rappel system to ensure stability, she confessed, “They think I’m going to eat it. I’m a joke to them.”

He turned her toward him, speaking so low that no one else could hear. “Does it matter what they think? Fuck those guys.” His dark, determined focus poured that last little bit of needed confidence into her.

“I’m not cut out for this. I’m just not good at—” Her anxious voice trailed off.

“I bet you are damn good at a lot of things, Kendra.” Delta’s gaze hardened as he drove his words into her. “That’s very clear to me.”

As his assertion washed over her, she grew even more breathless gazing into his striking face, giving herself permission to feel what she’d been repressing all afternoon.

“Just listen to me. Trust me—and I promise you won’t be eatin’ nothing but dinner tonight,” he again assured her, straightening his spine as he stared down the tower. “So, you better tell me where I’m taking you.”

When he held the rope where it was bound to the handrail, his muscles flexed as he gripped her only lifeline. Biting her lip, she flashed her eyes over the side. It was happening. It was going to happen.

“I’ve got you,” he once again reminded her, encouraging her on. “Let’s go.”

So, she listened—and she trusted. For the first time in a long time, she did—blindly trusting Delta with her life. Swinging her foot over the edge, gripping the rope for dear life, she allowed her body to rappel down the wood planks bolted onto the side of the structure. Delta was the only thing between her and falling several stories down. Lowering herself one step at a time, she softened her grip on the rope slowly and surely.

“Oh my God,” she said to herself, “I’m doing this!”

She was one third of the way down—not bad. When she gazed up at Delta, he beamed down on her, shouting words of encouragement. Something warm hit Kendra in her chest—in her heart.

But…then her rope got stuck.

“Shit,” she said, tugging at it. “Shit.”

“Wait,” Delta ordered. “Stop.”

But she was too damn nervous to stop as she pulled at the rope again and again to release it. Then she realized it had lost its tautness. The mechanism at the top had faltered. She looked up, grasping the urgency splashed across Delta’s face.

“Fuck.”

“Oh God!” she cried out, while shouting commenced below her.

Delta immediately jumped down, grabbing the rope in one hand and sliding down the side of the tower—with no rappel belt. Just as he flung his body next to hers, the rope attached to her belt finally broke away from the mechanism and began dropping her in free fall. But, before she could plummet to her doom, Delta grabbed her to him just in time, and expertly kicked off the side of the building—rappelling fast and hard, bringing them both safely to the ground.

“Oh my God, oh my God.” She tried to catch her breath, feeling a crowd rush around her.

He’d saved her.

Delta leaned into her, grinning. “I told you it was fun.”

Inspector Hall tapped on her other shoulder, drawing her attention and asking her if she was okay. He eyed the head SEAL to the side as they both examined her. It was clear that they’d just dodged a nasty bullet.

Trying to smile like she was fine, she couldn’t ignore the hot knife stabbing into her back when she overheard some guy making a snide comment about why they shouldn’t bring women to this type of training. Leaning back against the wooden side of the tower, she struggled to stabilize herself as she fielded questions from onlookers. Everyone was trying to figure out what the hell had happened. She felt dizzy, but now not just because of the near accident.

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