Second Chance Summer(85)

“I don’t have time for this, Lily,” he warned when she stood at his driver’s window. “Aidan’s on a rescue up there and he’s distracted, thinking it could be you. I’ve got to at least get to Incident Command and radio him, let him know you’re safe so he gets his head in the game.”

She stared at him for a single beat and then rounded his truck—in the front, so he couldn’t leave without running her over. She climbed into his passenger seat.

“No,” Gray said.

“You’re wasting time.” She hooked up her seat belt. “Go.”

“I’m not bringing you up there.”

“Save your breath and hit it.”

Gray gritted his teeth and hit it.

“Tell me everything,” she said. “Including why either of you could think I’d be stupid enough to climb Dead Man’s Cliff alone, ever.”

He drove fast through the driving rain but utterly in control as he laughed low under his breath.

“What?” she demanded. “What’s so damn funny?”

“You’re as stubborn as he is,” Gray said. “You two deserve each other.” He spared her a quick glance. “I hope you stick this time.”

She met his gaze, though it was difficult.

He went brows up. A silent but demanding Well? if she’d ever heard one. Pretending not to read Eyebrow Speak, she turned to the passenger window, watching as they flew through the storm. “What is going on, why were you at my place, and why were you surprised to find me there?”

He didn’t answer.

“I swear to God, Gray—”

“I saw you on the monitors,” he said. “And per protocol, I called Aidan—”

“Per protocol?”

He grimaced. “Shit. You’re going to get pissed.”

“Already there,” she said tightly.

Another grimace. “Okay, you’re not supposed to know this, none of you are supposed to know this. We’ve had a Penny Protocol in place since the beginning. And now we have a Lily Protocol.”

“Which means?” she asked in a deceptively quiet voice that sounded way calmer than she might have imagined she could come up with.

He didn’t answer.

“Gray,” she said.

That muscle ticked in his jaw again. “Look, it’s about keeping our people safe, okay? He watches out for Penny when I can’t, and I …”

“You what?” she asked, eyes narrowed.

“I watch out for you when he can’t. Hudson does too.”

She stared at him, stunned. “I watch out for myself,” she said.

“Yes and you usually do a damn fine job of it. Except I saw you presumably heading toward DMC and that’s code red.”

“Code red,” she repeated.

“You might’ve been in trouble.”

“I’ve been out here hiking for weeks and I’m still not mental enough to attempt free-climbing that damn, cursed mountain,” she said. Maybe even yelled.

He winced. “Not physically in trouble.”

“So you thought, what, that I might fling myself off the edge and you called Aidan to run in and save the day?”

“Better to be safe and apologize later,” he said. “Except a rescue call came in. A climber was reportedly stuck on a ledge above the river. Aidan’s S&R team caught the call, and everyone thought it might be you.”

“Except that I’m not actually climbing anymore,” she said again, this time through her teeth.” A thought occurred to her, and she narrowed her eyes. “So if you thought I was out there being stupid, why were you at my place?”

“Because maybe I knew that you and your smart-ass mouth aren’t really all that stupid.”

This actually slightly mollified her.

Gray used his Bluetooth to try calling Aidan again. No go. He made another call and then Penny’s voice filled the air.

“Hey,” she said. “I thought we were meeting for a quickie on your break—”

“You’re on speaker,” Gray said quickly. “And I didn’t give you the safe word!”

Penny laughed. “Sorry. Whose ears did I burn? Tell me it’s Aidan. I love messing with his head.”

“It’s me,” Lily said.

“Hey you! We still need to grab that drink.”

“Later,” Gray said tersely. “Baby, where are you?”

“In your office, where you’re supposed to be.”

“I’m going to be late,” Gray said. “We’re heading up the mountain. Aidan’s on an S&R. I’ll be at Incident Command. Call if you need me.”

“Is he okay?” Penny asked, all serious now.

“Yes, but he thinks they’re looking for Lily and I’ve got her right here.”

“I can read between the lines on that one,” she said. “You’re worried his head isn’t in the game. And it’s one hell of a storm coming too. Go take care of our boy, I’ll handle things here.”

On scene at the top, Aidan and Mitch peered over the edge and found the victim curled into the fetal position as the wind beat at her, her head and face covered by the hood of her thigh-length sweatshirt.