Page 115 of Shadow Sabotage
“He’s trying to cause a rockslide,” she gasped. “It could bury us.”
“And it would look like an accident,” I said grimly. I reached for the radio on my belt, but it was gone. “I lost my radio in the fall. Can you call for help?”
She pulled hers and tried it, cursing when it failed. “It must have gotten damaged when we rolled.”
Another barrage of rocks let loose, bigger than the last. The ground beneath us trembled in response.
“I’m sorry,” Claire said, miserable. “I shouldn’t have let you come out here. It’s my fault.”
“No,” I said, gripping her shoulders. “I insisted, remember?”
“I knew we were in trouble,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. “SAR reports go straight to the sheriff’s office.”
The meaning of her words sank in. “Trey would have seen Robin’s name and known that you and I found her. If they were going to cover it up, this was their last chance.”
He’d probably headed this way as soon as he found out about the mission. One conversation with Hank and he would have known we were in the ravine with Robin. Even if he was smart enough to stay hidden, it would still have been easy reconnaissance. We’d checked in via radio every hour. Our GPS location was undoubtedly circled on one of those maps Hank had set up at base camp.
Three sitting ducks. Three loose ends he could take out in one fell swoop if he made it to us before Robin was rescued. And there were a million ways to make it look like an accident out here.
Claire gripped my hand. “I hoped we could get up the ravine in time, make it to cover. I’m sorry, Vance. I don’t know how to get us out of this.”
“This is not your fault,” I said, forcing her to look at me. “We’re partners. We’re in this together, okay? And everything is going to be okay.”
She nodded. But I knew she didn’t believe me.
Robin was safe—for now.
Claire and I were still sitting ducks in a ravine, with only one way out and nowhere to hide.
Chapter Forty-Two
Claire
“I’m going to take a look,”Vance whispered. The barrage of rocks had stopped and things had grown quiet.
But another shot rang out the moment he lifted his head above the rock protecting us.
I grabbed his shirt and yanked him down. “Don’t,” I whispered, desperate.
I couldn’t lose him. Not like this.
Grim determination settled onto his face. “He’s still at the top of the rim. The way I see it, we have two options. We can try to wait him out. Maybe he’ll get spooked and leave. Someone had to have heard those gunshots.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.” There was no way Rhett and Cheyenne would stay put if they’d heard them. I looked at my watch. “We’re due to check in again in just four minutes. If we don’t, Rhett and Cheyenne will come find us, if they’re not already on their way.”
“Waiting is the safest move for us, but it puts them in danger,” he said, weighing it. “They’re civilians. Can they handle themselves in a situation like this?”
I nodded, knowing it was true. “Cheyenne’s always armed and she’s a great shot. Rhett has some martial arts training. They can handle themselves. I still haven’t told you the story of what happened to them this past summer.”
“Save it for when we get out of here,” he said, attempting a grin. “You can tell me over a bottle of scotch.”
“Deal.” It hit me that we might be about to die. I grabbed his collar and kissed him on pure impulse. None of my worries about the pain of him leaving mattered anymore. If this was our last day, I didn’t want to die knowing I’d held myself back from him.
He gripped the back of my neck with his hand as he took the kiss deeper, somehow telling me that his feelings were as strong as mine without saying a single word. But the sound of movement above had him tensing and breaking away.
“I wish I could look,” he said, cursing.
“Here.” I dug into my backpack and pulled out a small mirror.
