Page 55 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold
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The walk was longer than King remembered. Or maybe just heavier.
Eight years before, the jungle had been silent and the moon had been full and the woman beside him had felt like an ally—or at least not a stranger—as they’d inched along the narrow path around the pool that led to the edge of the falls.
“Watch your step,” he warned.
“I know.”
This time, it felt like maybe she was going to hold his head underwater until the falls beat some sense into him. He felt like maybe he was going to let her.
“Toss me that—”
She threw a bag, and it hit his chest a little too hard, but he didn’t say a word; he just slipped through the little gap between the stone and the falling water and then let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the cave.
A moment later, a flashlight flickered to life, and he stood silently, watching as Alex swept the light over the cave floor and the cave walls and then—
“Oh no.” The light froze and so did she. “Where’s the tunnel?” It took a lot for Alex Sterling to panic. King still wasn’t sure he’d ever heard it, but in that moment, she was close. “There was a tunnel?” Her voice ticked higher than usual, the words a little faster. “There used to be a tunnel, right? There was a tunnel right there!”
She pointed to the place where dozens—maybe hundreds—ofstones were cascading out of the cave wall and piling on the floor, and King bit back a curse. “Looks like there was a cave-in.”
“Ya think?” she shouted.
“Hey, this isn’t my fault,” he shot back.
“Yeah, well... itshouldbe.”
“That doesn’t even make sense!”
But Alex was already going to the stones and trying to pick them up and toss them aside.
“Alex.”
“Maybe I can shift them...”
“It’s blocked.”
Alex spun. “That’s why I’m trying to shift them!”
He should stop her, King thought.
He should help her.
He should toss her over his shoulder and take her back to the bungalow and not let her leave until they forgot about the last year and about Scotland and about... everything. But King couldn’t forget—it was a biological impossibility—so he just leaned against the grotto wall and crossed his arms and tried not to sound smug when he told her, “Well, don’t forget to lift with your legs.”
It was ten years later, but she was still the girl who didn’t know when to stop fighting. Which was probably why it hurt so much that she had eventually stopped fighting for him. So King just stood there, watching her sweat and curse and then finally step back and pronounce, “I think the tunnel is blocked.”
“You know, I think you’re right.” He wasn’t mocking her. He didn’t dare. “Come on.” He pushed off from the wall. “We’re not getting through tonight, and the mountain will still be here in the morning.”
Alex didn’t speak. She didn’t move. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of falling water and the sight of the most beautiful woman he’d ever known still staring at that pile of stones as if she might grind them into dust with her bare hands. She’d do it too. Just to show the rocks who was boss. So clearly King wasn’t thinking right—too much oxygen and jungle air, too many late nights and near misses—and that’s why he held out his hand, and, instantly, felt like a fool. He had a picture-perfect memory, but it was like he’d forgotten the last six years had even happened. He should have known Alex wouldn’t make that same mistake.
“Never mind. I’ll—” He was already turning back to the gap between the wall and the water when a hand slid into his.
“You’re right. Let’s regroup in the morning.”
Two minutes later, they were on the other side of the falls when, suddenly, Alex stopped moving. Moonlight glistened off the pool, and it felt like a spotlight after the darkness of the cave. The air was sweeter, and the sky was brighter, and it felt like maybe things were changing when she reached for him and whispered, “Take off your clothes.”
She was tearing at his shirt and at hers. It was a frantic, crazy thing, and King wanted to ask a hundred questions, but he also didn’t want to say a word or break the spell because, a split second later, Alex was diving into the water and King had no choice but to follow.
