Colters' Promise (Colters' Legacy, #4)(42)

Breaking radio silence, he called for immediate assistance. His men would have to lower him over by rope and he’d have to haul Grace up over his shoulder. Provided she was still alive. He wouldn’t consider any alternative, though. She hadn’t made it this far to go quietly.

As he was pushing to his knees, Terrence dropped down beside him, flashing his own light over the side.

“Diego and Browning have our sixes. Decker and Alton are scrambling to get here,” Terrence said. “I’ll lower you over with rope so you can get Grace.”

“All dead?”

“All dead,” Terrence confirmed.

Rio couldn’t waste time lamenting the mess they’d made. Grace was the priority and then they had to get the hell out of here before everything went to shit.

Terrence yanked out a coil of rope with a rappel hook on the end and quickly fastened it around his waist. He took several steps back, dug his heels into the soil and then wrapped the extra length around the base of an aspen and set the hook into the bark. He tossed the other end to Rio.

Rio secured the flashlight to his leg, pointing downward so his descent would be illuminated. Then he secured the end of the rope around his waist, yanked to make sure it was securely knotted, and then edged backward until his heels hung over the side.

Just before he started downward, Decker and Alton hit the scene. They rushed past Diego and Browning, who were standing watch, and each grabbed one of Rio’s hands to help him over the side.

They leaned down as he made his descent, holding onto his wrists until he had sure footing and he was certain that Terrence could support his weight.

The light bounced crazily as he continued downward. He glanced over his shoulder to see Grace still lying on the small ledge. He just hoped to hell it held both their weight.

He pushed off the side of the cliff when he reached her and lowered himself enough that he straddled the outcropping. Immediately he pressed his fingers to her neck, feeling for her pulse, and was reassured by the steady thud.

“Grace. Wake up. I’ve come to get you out of here but I need your help here.”

When he didn’t receive a response, his lips tightened in frustration. At the top, Decker and Browning shone their lights down. He dug his feet into the side, finding purchase, and then he carefully let go of the rope to slide his arms underneath her limp body.

Mentally counting to three, he hoisted her up and then arranged her over one shoulder so he could hold the rope with a free hand. He held her tightly, his arm a steel band over the backs of her legs.

“Pull us up,” he called up to his teammates.

Toe over toe, he dug into the side as the rope inched higher. His muscles bulged with the strain of bearing both their weight. The rope cut into his skin and his fingers were numb from his grip.

Let me die. Please.

At first he thought she’d said it aloud. It startled him into stillness. His toes dragged as they hoisted him higher and he had to scramble to regain his footing and assist them as they pulled him and Grace the remaining way.

He was suddenly swamped with desolation so acute that he couldn’t breathe. Pain. Fear. Regret. Hopelessness. And weariness that went soul deep.

He knew then that he’d heard Grace’s innermost thoughts. He was feeling what she felt. And her sorrow was so great that it staggered him.

Her tears were locked inside her, but he felt each one. Memories of all she’d endured flashed through his mind until he had to close his eyes to control his reeling senses.

I won’t go back.

Her voice whispered through his mind, so broken that he wanted to bellow in rage. He wanted to crawl up over the side of this damn cliff and rip apart the savages who’d pursued her so relentlessly and kill them all over again. The men who’d broken her spirit and made her even now want to die rather than endure more.

He knew that Nathan Kelly had been able to communicate with Grace’s sister, Shea, telepathically, but he hadn’t considered how or that he and Grace might be able to communicate the same way. It hadn’t been important at the time. He’d been gripped by the urgency to find her and keep her safe. Nothing else had mattered at that moment.

Tentatively, he reached out with his mind and spoke gently and reassuringly to her.

You’ll never go back to those bastards, Grace. You’re safe now. I’m here to help you. Don’t give up. You’ll get through this.

There was nothing but silence and he clenched his jaw in frustration. How the hell did you communicate with your mind? How did he even know if he was able to talk to her the same way she’d just spoken to him? He didn’t even know if she was cognizant of the fact that he’d picked up on those desperate thoughts.

His teammates’ faces came into view as he neared the edge. Their expressions were tense as they hauled him the remaining distance. Diego pushed forward while Decker and Browning held tight to the rope and he took Grace from Rio’s grasp.

Free of her weight, Rio hoisted himself over the side and he rolled to his feet. Terrence let out a light huff, his only indication of the toll the rescue had taken on him. Rio quickly untied the rope and issued orders for his men to dispose of the bodies and then to be prepared to bug out.

They were in the middle of nowhere, no backup, no helo, their vehicles at least two miles away.

He strode to where Diego had laid Grace carefully on the ground and he dropped to his knees beside her.