Page 151 of Beneath the Mountain Sky
Killian’s hand settles on the back of my neck, squeezing gently, rough callouses brushing over my skin. “I’ll be right with you the entire time, Honeybee.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek, then sets off in the lead this time, snagging my hand to pull me behind him. That connection offers me the reassurance I need to keep moving.
The sun continues to further illuminate the mountain as we move into the gorge, which quickly sucks up that light with its high sides that tower over us at least a hundred feet.
Gloom settles in the deeper part of the gorge where we walk.
I trail my hands over the stone walls, able to reach each side easily.
It’s so narrow.
Claustrophobic even.
If Killian weren’t directly in front of me, leading us through the claustrophobic channel, I don’t know that I could keep my steps steady.
The voices of the rest of the search party entering the gorge behind us echo down it, and another flicker of a memory races through my head.
Someone yelling behind me…
A bite of pain in my foot.
Lightning illuminating my way through this very narrow passage.
Utter darkness falling again, making it impossible to see.
My hands trailing along these walls to keep myself from running into one.
I was definitely here.
When I came up with Killian, I didn’t remember any of that. I sensed it, but I couldn’t put it together. But ever since meeting with Dr. Bird, things have been coming back more vividly. Memories returning piece by piece, like they’re being poured through a sieve and only revealing what they want to when they choose.
Like now.
I definitely came this way, escaping wherever I was held.
That confidence that I was right back in the McBride Timber office when I knew deep in my gut that I had been kept up here keeps my feet moving forward, following closely behind Killian’s sure steps.
Connor and Liam keep pace behind us, well ahead of the rest of the search party now.
The far end of the gorge appears, with the bright green of the trees visible and sunlight spilling into the opening on the other side of the mountain. This is as far as Killian and I got last time, stopped by my mind’s inability to release its secrets and my own exhaustion that dragged us down the mountain to the cabin.
Not this time.
I don’t care if I have to camp on this mountain for a damn week; I am not leaving until I find what we came looking for.
Killian steps out into the trees, and I follow, taking in the stillness and silence of the area around us.
Connor’s heavy footsteps move toward us, and he appears beside me, scanning the wilderness before he points north. “Based on the map, the logging area should be that way.”
I glance over at him. “You’ve really never been up here before?”
He shakes his head, Liam joining him.
Killian nods his agreement. “There was never really any reason to go past the gorge. The best hunting has always been on our side of the mountain, and we can’t log this side for at least another generation.”
It makes sense why no one was familiar with the area, how easy it would be for someone to disappear up here without anyone noticing.
The thought is also terrifying.
