Page 97 of The Gentleman

Around them, his team was already shrugging off the outer layers of their wetsuits, revealing tactical gear beneath. Griff kneeled by his climbing kit, sorting through carabiners and rope. His expression was focused calm.

“How bad is it?” Leo crouched beside him.

“I’ve studied the geological survey. There’s a natural chimney—a vertical crack we can ascend—it’ll give us cover from security feeds and the weather.” Griff’s eyes moved up the dark rise. The cliff towered above them like a black wall against the starless sky, its peak invisible in the darkness. “Class five, some stretches at five-ten. Wet rock, maybe loose in places. Doable, but not pretty.”

Leo pushed back to standing. “Your shoulder?”

Griff’s face was emotionless. “It’s up to this.”

“Time estimate?”

“Forty minutes to the first plateau. Another twenty to the perimeter ledge.”

Landon joined them, checking his watch. He looked back at the increasingly choppy sea. The rain had picked up—fat, slanted drops pelting the rocks, soaking any bare skin. “Weather’s not going to hold that long.”

“Then we move faster.” Griff stood, adjusting his harness.

Fox nodded.

This was what they did. Who they were.

Leo turned his eyes to the cliff.

Somewhere up there, Korolov was waiting. He was sure of it. Maybe Eldridge too.

But so were the truths Kat had bled for. The ones they’d buried her under.

Whatever waited at the top, they’d climb straight into it.

Together.

42

Kat’s fingersslipped against the wet rock face, her grip failing for a terrifying heartbeat before finding purchase. The limestone was greasy with rain and spray from the churning sea sixty feet below. Her shoulders screamed as she hauled herself another foot up, muscles trembling from the relentless climb.

The wind howled across the cliff face, driving sheets of rain sideways into her eyes. Each gust threatened to tear her from the rock. Her clothes were waterlogged, adding twenty pounds to her frame. Water streamed down her face, blurring her vision as she searched for the next handhold.

Above, Leo’s voice cut through the storm. “Three feet, Kat. You’ve got this.”

Have I?

Her legs burned, her fingers cramped into numb claws. The climbing harness cut into her hips with each upward movement. Rain filled her mouth when she tried to breathe, forcing her to turn her head and spit.

She let her head rest against the rock, gathering herself. Eldridge and Korolov would not win.

One more pull.

She reached for the edge of the rocky overhang.

Leo’s hand clamped onto her forearm, then he grabbed the harness on her hips, hauling her up and over the final lip.

She collapsed onto him, chest heaving.

“You’re okay.” Leo’s hands steadied her, one brushing wet hair from her cheek. “You made it.”

She sagged against him, clutching his harness, drawing strength from the solidity of his body.

Breathe.Her heart galloped.

---