“I thought you’d say that,” Oliver said, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck and squeezing. “Here’s what we’re gonna do…”
“You’re not leaving me behind!” Nadia snapped after Oliver laid out his plan.
His eyes rounded, and then settled into a scowl. “You’re not climbing up those rocks. You can’t even put your weight on that foot,” he said, stabbing his finger at her. “Besides, you’re a crack shot. If he gets past us, you’ll be able to take him out from here.”
Nadia chewed her bottom lip, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Airen will stay down here with Nadia. Ace, you and I are going in. Eli, you’re standing point at the entrance,” Oliver finished.
I shook my head. There was no way I’d be left behind. Not when I could make the climb and help turn the tables on Uncle Robert. “You need me with ye.”
“The hell we do. Having you with us is one more worry that none of us need to deal with right now, sweetheart,” Oliver hissed.
I held up my hand. “Not true. Who do you think led them here to ye?” I asked, flicking a glance at Nadia and Eli. “I can make the climb. And I can flush out my uncle.”
“You’re not going. End of discussion,” Oliver said, turning his back on me.
“Ye either let me come, or I’ll do it on my own,” I said, falling into step behind him.
Oliver turned on me so fast that I stumbled. Before he could say anything, Ace stepped up, putting his hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “She’s right. Having her with us might work in our favor.”
“And if she gets hurt? We can’t afford any mistakes, Ace,” Oliver said.
Something in his eyes shifted. He wasn’t just angry about bringing me. He was scared.
“I’ll stay right behind Ace. And I’ll be really careful. I promise,” I said, hoping to put him at ease.
Turning his back, he didn’t say another word about it.
Nadia moved into position as I followed behind Ace with Eli stepping in behind me.
THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE resembled a nightmare I’d once had when I was little. It just screamed of monsters and other things that went bump in the night.
Biting back a wave of hysteria, I forced my feet forward, keeping my fingers wrapped up in the bottom of Ace’s shirt until Oliver came to a stop as the darkness sealed us in.
Ace’s hand came back to settle on my arm as a beam of light came from Oliver’s hand.
“It’s blacker than a well digger’s ass in here,” Oliver hissed, moving the light around the floor of the cave.
“How far back do you think it goes?” Ace asked, pulling out his own flashlight and clicking it on.
“No telling,” Oliver answered, moving forward again.
Peeking around Ace’s shoulder, I caught a flash of something as he swung the light in front of him from right to left.
Grabbing his arm, I tugged to pull the beam back to the right. “What’s that?”
“Shit!” Oliver’s light joined up with Ace’s as he rushed over to where Grant’s unmoving body lay on the ground.
Ace slapped his flashlight in my hand, joining Oliver beside Grant. “Pulse?”
“Faint. Help me get him up. We need to move him to the front of the cave where Eli can take a look at him. Airen, I need you to guide us out,” Oliver said, moving to lift Grant up.
With shuffling steps, we made it back to the cave entrance where Ace and Oliver set Grant down gently.
Eli stuck his head in the cave, noticing Grant immediately. He bent down, running his hands over Grant’s arms and legs. Blood welled from a spot along his forehead.
“Flashlight,” Eli called out, not taking his eyes off Grant.
Oliver handed his over and Eli lifted Grant’s eyelids, shining the light in one, then the other. “Just a nick along the temple. Add his fall and I’d say it knocked him out. He should come around soon.”
Eli shifted, handing the flashlight back to Oliver. “We’re good here.”
Oliver looked to Ace. “Let’s go. God only knows what he’s done to Aiden.”
My stomach dropped. “Ye knew he was hurt?”
“Coms were sketchy once they entered the cave. We knew something had happened. I didn’t expect that though,” Oliver answered as we fell in step behind him.
“So ye have no idea if Aiden is alive?” I asked, pushing myself to speak loud enough for him to hear me.
“No, I don’t,” he answered, keeping a steady beam of light ahead of us. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”
How could he sound so cold… so callous?
Ace’s hand went to the holster on his side, popped the snap, and pulled his gun out, holding it up alongside his flashlight.
“Don’t get trigger happy back there. One wrong shot and we’ll all be diving for cover,” Oliver said, reaching into the waistband at the back of his shirt, pulling out his own pistol.
Ace and Oliver worked as a team after that. When Oliver swept his gun/flashlight combo to the left, Ace swept his to the right as we continued further into the cave that seemed to have no damned end.
What it did have was a sheer drop off to my left. Ace swept the flashlight down, losing the beam to the blackness below. He whistled through his teeth as my mind raced with worry.
Had Aiden fallen over the side? And if he did, how the hell would we know unless we climbed down?
“He’s not down there,” Oliver said over his shoulder.
“How do ye know?” I asked.
“Because I lost communication with him just after I heard Robert speaking to him. Keep moving, this cave has to end somewhere,” he said, not giving the drop off another look.
That didn’t mean he hadn’t pitched Aiden over the side. Just because he’d heard them talking didn’t make Uncle Robert any less crazy.
“You ever see one of those movies where a giant spider pops up out of nowhere and eats everyone?” Ace asked, running his flashlight over a jagged row of stalactites.
“Now is not the time to call up shit like that,” Oliver grumbled, following it up by saying, “I fucking hate spiders.”
My head bobbed in agreement even if they hadn’t included me in their conversation.
“Well, shit, looks like the path splits here,” Oliver said as we came to a halt.
“You take left, I’ll take right?” Ace asked.
“You see him, take him out. Don’t give him the chance to run or even talk. Okay?” Oliver asked, running the flashlight beam over the opening to the left.
“Wait! Isn’t it dangerous to split up? Shouldn’t we just stay together?” I asked, grabbing Oliver’s shirt sleeve as he passed by me.
He nodded to Ace. “Be careful. I’ve got her,” he said, wrapping his hand around my wrist.
“You’ll just let him go off on his own?” I asked, keeping pace with Oliver as we moved down a path that blew cold air hard against our faces.
“He can handle himself. The only thing that matters right now is the target.”
Not Aiden? My stomach squeezed hard, making me want to double over from the twisting pain. “Are ye no even concerned about Aiden?”
“I know Aiden. And I know what he’s capable of. Worrying about him won’t make the outcome of this situation any different. Now keep moving and stop talking,” Oliver said, tossing a dirty look over his shoulder at me.
I fought the urge to tell him off. Fighting with him wouldn’t help Aiden and if I started shrieking, it would definitely alert Uncle Robert to our presence.
My palm smacked against my forehead with a snap. Oliver stopped so quickly that I bounced off his back.
“What was that?” he asked, shining the light up my entire body until the beam forced me to blink the floating white spots from my vision.
Putting my hand up, I pushed the light from my eyes, practically bouncing on the tips of my toes. “I have an idea!”
“Great. Keep moving.” Oliver turned his back to me, but I wasn’t going to be ignored.
/> Tugging on his shirt sleeve, I dug my feet in until the material pulled taut. “Hear me out,” I pleaded, stepping around him to block his path.
With nostrils flaring, he dipped his head for me to continue. “Out with it, so I can tell you no and you’ll stop being a pain in my ass.”
I doubled up my fist, clenching it tight to my leg to keep it from swinging out and connecting with his gut. “You want Robert, aye? And Robert wanted me for some reason, aye? Well, here I am, and here he is… somewhere.”
His eyebrow quirked as he leaned in close. “I know what you’re saying and the answer is no. Are you fucking delusional or something? You can’t just walk in and start yelling for him. You’ll get us both killed.”
He pushed me to the side as he stepped around me. Pulling in a deep breath, I let out a bloodcurdling screech.
Oliver spun around so fast that I ended up tripping over my own feet and landing on my ass.
Jerking me up by my shirt collar, he lifted me off the floor as if I weighed nothing at all and shook me.
Growling, he said, “I should kick your ass for that.”
Pressing my lips together, I fought to keep my breathing under control. I very well could end up becoming another person who just up and disappeared from the property. The next unexplainable death on my family tree. Because as surely as I was standing inside a cave, I had infuriated a man who could snap me in half and toss me into one of the many black holes.
Anger rolled off him in waves, but he returned me to my feet. Sticking his finger in my face, he was ready to release another warning, or threat, when we heard it. The sound of footsteps coming towards us. The flashlight in Oliver’s hand clicked off and he moved to stand in front of me, shielding me with his body.
Leaning down so that his lips touched my ear as he spoke, he said, “Take the flashlight. If it’s him, blind him with it when he gets close. I’ll take it from there.”
And then he was gone, shrinking off somewhere behind me.
I fought every instinct to run, but I couldn’t run. Aiden’s life could very well depend on me holding my ground and facing off with my uncle.
The closer the footsteps came, the clearer it became to me that it wasn’t just one person. I wanted to voice my thoughts, but I had no idea where Oliver had slunk off to.
My entire body shuddered in place as the footsteps came nearer and the sound of a girl’s sob broke as if she’d been holding it back.
A hand clamped over my mouth, cutting off my scream, as Oliver brought his mouth up next to my ear. “Something’s not right. Bring the flashlight up and shine it right at the spot you hear the footsteps. Okay?”
When I nodded, he moved his hand and I brought the flashlight up, fumbling with the on switch.
Light shot out, highlighting the last person I ever expected to see again. “Liv?”
Her head snapped up as Aiden pulled her behind him. “Airen? What are you doing here?”
Oliver reached out, taking the flashlight from me and pointing it down. “Where’s Robert?”
Aiden went to shrug, gasping from the movement of his arm.
“Dislocated it?” Oliver asked, moving over to stand in front of Aiden.
Aiden clutched at his elbow, backing himself up against the wall of the tunnel. “Yeah, I tried to reset it, but couldn’t.”
Oliver moved himself into place, grabbed Aiden’s arm, and before I knew it, Aiden dropped to his knees with his hand clamped over his mouth to keep from making any noise.
The pinched look on Aiden’s face smoothed out. He took Oliver’s outstretched hand with his good arm and stood.
“How’s Grant?” Aiden asked, worry dancing in his eyes.
“He was unconscious when we found him. Eli’s with him now. How did you get away from him?” Oliver asked, dismissing Grant’s injuries as if they weren’t really all that important.
“After he shot Grant, he put the gun to my head and walked me to the end of this tunnel where there are a handful of catacombs. He made her tie me to the outside of the cage he had her in and told her that if she released me, he’d come back and shoot her in the head instead of releasing her like he planned to do.”
Oliver snorted. “Releasing her, my ass. So she untied you then?”
“No, I did. Her knots suck, and I had my hands free in no time,” Aiden answered, flicking a glance at where Liv had pushed herself as tight as she could against the wall.
Her thin frame shook as she wrapped her arms around her knees and sobbed.
“How the hell did you manage to dislocate your shoulder then?” Oliver asked.
“By rescuing her. The opening to the cage wasn’t wide enough to crawl in and grab her once I busted the lock. So I had to stretch in order to get a hold of her. When I had her, she jerked back. My arm caught against the bar and popped it right out of the socket,” he answered and then followed it up by asking, “Why is Airen down here?”
I didn’t wait for Oliver to explain. “I’m here because I chose to be here.”
The sound of rock exploding from a gunshot had all of us ducking to the floor as Oliver’s flashlight turned off, sinking us in complete darkness.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of this fucker,” Aiden hissed.
“Airen, stay here with the girl,” Oliver said, shoving the flashlight into my chest. “And don’t move until one of us comes back.”
I swallowed back a protest when a set of lips pressed against my forehead. “Please stay here.”
And with that, Liv and I were left to the darkness.
Crawling over to her, I put my arm around her. She didn’t say a word. She just shuddered and buried her head into my neck. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but it wasn’t the right time.
I felt like the worst friend on the planet. Thinking Liv had stolen from me and taken off was one thing I’d have to live with. Especially when that hadn’t been the case at all. Ever since I returned home, Liv had been in the clutches of a complete madman. Bile rose in my throat as I wondered what kind of nightmare she’d been through.
Another round of gunfire pinged off the rocks as someone ran towards us up the path. The flashlight came to life in my hand and I brought it up, hoping to see Aiden’s face.
“Well, I’d call this a bit of luck,” Uncle Robert said, reaching down and hauling me up on my feet in front of him.
Liv cried out, scrambling on her hands and knees to get away, putting herself between where Uncle Robert held a gun to my head and Aiden, who’d came to a sliding halt just outside the beam of my flashlight.
“Let her go and take me instead,” Aiden said, taking a step closer.
“No, Aiden…” The rest of my sentence cut off when Uncle Robert jabbed the barrel hard against my temple.
“Take one more step and I’ll kill her,” Uncle Robert hissed.
“You won’t make it out of this cave alive, Robert,” Aiden said, delivering his warning with words that brought the temperature of the cave down several degrees.
“Who’s gonna stop me? Huh? You? I’d say you’ve outlived your usefulness,” Uncle Robert said, moving the gun from my head and pointing it at Aiden.
“No!” I shoved my elbow into his gut as the gun went off.
Shards of rock rained down on us as I threw myself backwards, hoping to knock him down and give Aiden enough time to make a rush at us.
The gun came up as I pushed myself away from Uncle Robert. The metal hit my cheek with a sickening crack. Warmth spread out along my face as I felt myself teetering on the edge of oblivion.
When I fell, another gunshot went off. A heavy darkness descended on me. All I could think was I’d been shot and I’d never see Aiden’s face again.
ROBERT'S EYES WIDENED SECONDS BEFORE he crumbled to the ground.
Behind him, the gun that ended his life lowered to the floor.
“That’s for kidnapping Jared and then Aiden. I hope you rot in hell,” Ace said, stepping over Robert de Fleur’s body and sweepin
g a path of light over all of us, stopping short on Liv.
Whistling through his teeth, he took in the scene around him.
“Jesus, a little warning would have been nice, asshole,” I said, bumping my fist against his.
“Yeah, well, the opportunity presented itself, and I’m all about opportunities. She okay?” he asked, shining the light down on Airen.
“She’ll be all right once she comes around,” I answered, crouching down to check her pulse. It beat slow and steady against my fingertips, flooding me with a wave of relief. He’d cracked her in the face pretty good with the gun and as much as it pissed me off that he hurt her, I felt equally justified that he was dead. She’d have one hell of a headache when she came to, but she’d be alive and that was all that mattered.
“And her? Who is she?” Ace asked, settling the flashlight over the girl crouched as far away as she could get.
“Airen called her Liv. I think she knows her,” Oliver said, taking a few steps over to crouch in front of her.
She ignored him even as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.
“Shock probably,” Ace said when Oliver couldn’t get her attention.
“Guess that means one of us has to carry her out and one of us has to carry Airen out,” he said, lifting the girl off the ground.
Once in Oliver’s arms, she buried her face into his neck, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
“Well, that settles that. I’ll get Airen,” Ace said, kneeling down beside her.
“I got her,” I said, trying to push his hands away.
“Seriously, Aiden. You can’t carry her out without screwing up your shoulder even more than it is,” Oliver said, nudging me with his foot.
I moved out of Ace’s way, allowing him to wrap his arms around Airen and cradle her to his chest. It was probably better that way. Keeping my distance would be hard enough once she woke up.
Holding her, knowing I could never have any sort of relationship with her, would only make it harder to let her go.
“What about him?” I asked, moving over to put my fingers against Robert’s neck.
Knowing there would be no pulse there didn’t stop me. I had to be one hundred percent certain, since the evil bastard seemed to be like a cat with nine lives.
If Ever I Fall: Book 3 of The Six Series Page 21
