Page 108 of Shadow Sabotage
“We’re too far down. I’m out of comms.”
“Does one of us need to hike back up and radio?”
I shook my head. “She’s down there and she’s probably hurt. We keep going.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Vance
Claire’s excitementwas obvious as we carefully picked our way toward the bottom of the ravine. I knew now why Hank had said it was the hardest path. The sun beat down on us, making me sweat despite the cold temperatures. Every step had to be deliberate—one wrong move could send you flying down the side of the rock face. It was exhausting.
And I was having the time of my life.
Seeing Claire out here was like seeing the version of her that had raced Rhett on horseback. The one who threw her head back and laughed in the face of danger but got tears in her eyes when she looked at the beauty of the mountains.
Claire Hawkins was a badass adrenaline junkie. She didn’t just handle all this well—she thrived out here. Her eyes came to life in a way they didn’t at a desk.
The sheriff’s office was stifling her, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just because of her shitty coworkers. She had to be bored senseless working for a sleepy little town where her primaryjob was probably responding to domestics that never went anywhere. She needed more. Her soul was going to die if she stayed stuck there. I knew because I had once been the exact same way.
Before I’d pursued my career in law enforcement, I’d spent six months working for my grandfather at his investment company. I’d been bored out of my mind, needing a challenge to feel alive. Those feelings had made me walk away from a cushy job where I made more money than I knew what to do with to a job with long hours and very little thanks at the end of the day. But it fed a need inside me, and I loved it.
This fed a need inside her, too.
Our souls were more alike than I ever would have predicted when I’d met her. Because of it, I knew she was right—no matter how much I hated to admit it. Working as a grunt for my father would make me miserable, and there was a limit to how far I could go with DCI. I loved my job, but it didn’t compare to the excitement of the FBI or the opportunities a bigger agency could offer me. I never would have resentedherfor my choice. But I also wouldn’t be happy with either of the jobs available to me here.
I hated that she’d turned me down—again. But when the initial sting eased, I knew she had done it because she cared about my happiness the way I cared about hers.
I had a feeling that someday I’d thank her for talking me out of taking a job I’d despise.
I started to say so, but Claire stopped suddenly in the trail, holding her finger up in a sign to be quiet.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered, turning to me.
I strained to listen—then I did. It was faint and still way too far away. But down at the bottom of the ravine, a frail voice was calling out for help.
Claire’s eye’s sharpened, honing in on the sound. She tried her radio again, frustration flashing when it wouldn’t work.
“Okay,” she said, slipping the radio back onto her belt and giving me a serious look. “I can tell you’re straining at the bit there. I get it. We’re both feeling a surge of adrenaline right now, but that makes this extra dangerous. The terrain is just as shitty as it was up there. We go slow, okay? Look twice before every step. This is where we can get ahead of ourselves, make mistakes, and get hurt. And that won’t help Robin.”
“Got it, boss.” I winked at her.
Her face relaxed. “Let’s go get her.”
Although we moved as carefully as before,time seemed to fly by twice as quickly now that we had our target within sight. Adrenaline pumped through my veins the same way it did on a chase. It was an addictive feeling.
I knew that Claire felt it, too. But you’d never know it unless you knew her well enough to see that glint in her eyes, the thrill of excitement she kept contained as she did her job. And when we finally found Robin, cold and weak at the bottom of the ravine, Claire’s energy was more calm than even I would have been able to pull off.
She spoke to Robin in soothing tones, even as her eyes darted over her, assessing—and seeing, as I did, that there was no way Robin was going to walk out of this ravine on her own two feet. Robin’s face was pale and her lips were nearly blue. Beyond that, her leg was broken. Sharp bone jutted out from her shin, caked in blood below the makeshift bandage Robin had made from her torn jacket.
Claire dropped to her knees, quickly pulling medical supplies out of her bag. She covered Robin in a thermal blanket, tucking in heat packs to help bring her body temperature up. Then shegave her a few sips of water to wet her parched lips before checking her pulse. Claire’s lips pinched and she shot me a worried look.
“Thank you,” Robin said, her voice trembling. She cast grateful eyes first to Claire, then to me. “I thought I was going to die alone out here.”
“Not on my watch.” Claire smiled gently. “We’re going to get you taken care of.”
“I was so stupid.”
“We all make mistakes,” Claire said, her tone still calm and soothing. “Can you tell me what happened?”
