Page 27 of Dublin Debacle

Without her anchoring him, Jack struggled to keep his feet firmly planted.

Emily raced for the bed, ripped the sheets from the mattress and tied them together. Moments later, she was back beside him, tying one end of the sheet rope to the railing as an anchor, then making absolutely certain it was secure.

“Do you think you can reach through the railing, loop the sheet under her arm, around her back and under the other arm?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Emily knelt near Jack’s legs, dragged the other end of the sheet through the rails and reached out as far as she could. She could only get the sheet under one of the woman’s arms. She couldn’t loop it around the woman’s back with the rails blocking her movement.

Jack grunted and shifted his feet. The weight had to be wearing on him.

Emily needed to do something quickly, or both Jack and the woman could fall to their deaths. “This isn’t going to work,” Emily stated. “I can’t get the sheet around her, but I can get it around me.”

“What are you talking about?” Jack asked, his words more a grunt than anything.

“You’ll see.” Emily stood and moved behind Jack, quickly wrapping the sheet tightly around her middle and knotted it. When she had the makeshift rope where she needed it, she eased up beside Jack and climbed over the rail before he could say anything to stop her.

“What the hell?” he exclaimed and nearly lost his hold on the woman.

“Oh, please,” the woman cried out, “don’t drop me.”

Jack adjusted his grip, unable to stop or help Emily.

She leaned out as if rappelling over a cliff and lowered herself inch by inch beside the dangling woman until she was even with her. Then she eased a little lower and anchored the sheet around her to free her hands.

“Get ready to pull her up,” Emily said.

Leaning over the rail, Jack stared down at her, a fierce frown creasing his brow.

Emily leaned toward the woman and spoke in a soothing tone, “You’re going to be all right.”

The woman’s eyes were wide and fearful. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not going to do anything, but be here for you,” Emily said. “You’re going to do all the work.”

“I can’t,” she said. “I have no upper body strength.”

“That’s where Jack will come in handy. Raise your left leg,” Emily ordered.

When the woman raised her left leg, Emily guided it to her shoulder at the same time as she said, “Be ready, Jack.”

Jack widened his stance, bracing himself.

Emily prayed her sheet was secure enough to hold her weight as well as the other woman’s. Hell, she hoped the balcony rail she’d tied it to would be strong enough for both. Otherwise, both of them would plunge to the ground.

Emily drew in a breath and let it out. “Now, push upward,” she said softly.

The woman pressed her foot into Emily’s shoulder and rose at the same time as Jack tugged with all his strength.

The extra weight pressed into her shoulder, making the sheet tighten uncomfortably around Emily’s waist and pushing her downward several inches. Then the weight eased as Jack pulled the woman up to a point where she could grab the railing with her free hand.

Jack ducked his head lower. “Grab around my neck, and I’ll drag you over the rail.”

Emily reached up with her hands to give the lady something more to brace her legs on as she released Jack’s hand and grabbed around his neck.

Jack released the woman’s hand and hooked her beneath her armpits. In a rush of motion, he hauled her over the top of the rail, falling backward with her onto the balcony.

As Emily reached for a hold on the sheet, the knot she’d used to secure it at her waist slipped free. Her weight and gravity rolled her over, unwinding the sheet around her waist so fast, she flipped and would have continued to flip if she hadn’t tied and secured it another time. Her descent stopped abruptly with her facing the ground two and a half stories below, the fabric around her middle so tight she could barely breathe. She muttered a curse and tried to reach behind her to grab hold of the sheet. Though she waved her hand as far back as she could, she couldn’t quite wrap her fingers around the fabric and pull herself upright.

She was stuck and dangling.

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