by K. A Knight
“Good job,” he replies, and there’s a warmth in his voice that has me standing taller.
I hear a few grunts, and then Kalen is through and standing next to me. “Fuck, you weren’t kidding. Those ceilings have to be forty meters up. Look at the water over there.”
“And the stalactites and stalagmites are huge.” I nod as we start off in opposite directions.
“I have water over here, a potential through passage!” Kalen calls.
“I have a place for base!” I shout back, and I hear him hurry over, winding through the cave to the large flat area I’m on. It’s raised slightly above the others, which will be good in case of flooding or rising water. There aren’t many rocks or boulders, and there is plenty of room to set up. It also has a few columns to support the area as well.
“Looks good to me,” Kalen agrees, and I begin to wander again.
“Another entrance,” I yell as I peer up at the hole. “About ten feet up.”
We explore the rest of the room, not finding any more tunnels branching out from it.
“Tyler, forward base located. Plenty of room to set up, good signal, two exits. One submerged, one a ten-foot climb. About two miles from the entrance chamber. Bring your gear, we’re going to get wet,” I tease.
I hear his excitement when he radios back. “Good job, guys. We’ll start prepping to bring the equipment down there. Ensure the guideline is tied and have a rest.”
“Sure thing,” I reply, already looking at the entrance and the wall leading up to it.
Kalen snorts behind me as he swigs his water. “You’re going up, aren’t you?”
“Yup.” I grin, looking back. “He should know better.” I laugh as I drop my gear and strip from my suit.
“Why? He doesn’t know you,” he snaps, and I sigh at the venom in his tone. So we’re back to hating each other? I swear this guy’s emotions are giving me whiplash.
Once I’m in my fleece, I keep my helmet on and chalk my hands. “I’m going to free climb and secure a rope,” I tell him tersely as I begin to the wall, running my hands over the slightly wet, sharp surface.
Digging my foot in, I reach above me to some shallow shelves and start to climb slowly. I focus on finding my feet and hand holds, and soon enough, I’m at the opening. I haul myself up and in, crouching in the somewhat cramped cavity as I shine my light down it. “It’s small, looks to go up at the end though, not down,” I call out as I secure a rope just in case. “I think we should try the submerged one first,” I suggest, peering over the edge to see him waiting at the bottom.
“Fine, now get down,” he barks.
“Asshole,” I mutter.
“What was that, princess?” he shouts, his voice harsh.
“Nothing!” I reply quickly as I begin to descend. As soon as my feet hit the floor, he passes me my water bottle.
“Drink and rest until the others get here. This isn’t a fucking sprint, it’s a marathon, and we’re a team. No fucking solo missions. If you can’t handle that, you’ll be pulled from this exploration,” he threatens with narrowed eyes before he storms away.
Something needs pulling, but it ain’t me. What a jerk.
He always used to be the first to cheer me on and nudge me to explore further, even against orders. When did he become such a stickler for directives? Is it just because it’s me and he’s doing whatever he can to get back at me? Or has he really changed that much?
Three years is a long time, I remind myself.
I changed, and they have too. If I’m going to work with them, we all need to adapt, and if that means reining in my adventurous nature, then so be it. Sipping my water, I meander around the cave until I reach the water area. I crouch down at the cave sump and dip my finger in. It seems stagnant, and there isn’t much of a current, but that doesn’t mean anything. This is definitely a wet cave and not an end point.
We won’t know until we explore.
Chapter Fourteen
RIGGS
“All right, you heard them. We have a forward base, so let’s get the equipment down to them!” Tyler instructs as everyone starts to move gear to the entrance of the tunnel. I pack up my computers as he heads my way. “You ready for this?” Ty asks.
“Sure,” I reply as I zip up my waterproof bag. “I’ll set up comms before the base of the waterfall and in the forward base, as well as doing mapping and all this,” I tell him, indicating my computers.
He nods and then hesitates, so I look up at him, stilling at his expression. He seems to be debating saying something, which isn’t like Tyler, especially not over the last few years. He’s short tempered and doesn’t care whether or not what he says hurts. “Are you okay…with her here? I know you were close.” He scrubs his face. “If it’s too much for you…”
“It’s fine.” I shrug, trying to paste on a smile for his benefit. “But what about you?”
He snorts as he averts his gaze, glancing to the others. “She’s nothing, just wanted to check in with my team.”
I nod and watch sadly as he wanders away. That poor man. He doesn’t even realise how broken he is or how he still stares at her, but now it’s with a mixture of hatred and love. He’s darker, angrier, and he reminds me a lot of Kalen when he first got back from overseas. We all handled her departure differently, but Ty…Ty lost it. This job is so important to him, so even though my heart aches at seeing her again, I push it away. For him, for my family.
We need this.
Peyton’s presence can’t change our dedication and goals. She’s already destroyed everything else, she can’t destroy this too. I won’t let her. They may not think I’m strong enough, but I am when it comes to my family. She hurt them, and yes, me, and I wish I could hate her like the others, but the truth is I understand why she left. I really do.
But even that understanding doesn’t allow her any leniency. She chose to leave and now she’s back, so she better keep her head down and just get on with the job, or she’ll have four angry divers after her.
“All right! Let’s get moving!” Tyler calls. I shake off my depressing thoughts, haul my equipment onto my shoulders, and head his way. He claps me on the shoulder as I pass, and when I join Fin, who’s waiting at the tunnel entrance, I notice he’s wearing a cocky grin on his face.
“Ready for this?” He’s jumping up and down with excitement, his eyes alight with the thought of getting in there. “I can’t wait for the waterfall. Come on, nerd!” He drags me after him, making me chuckle like he knew it would. I’m betting that’s why he did it, although I don’t think he even realises he’s still always trying to lighten the mood.
It started right after Pey left. He found ways to make us all smile, to keep us going, and even now, he’s attuned to all of our feelings. He must have seen my heavy thoughts and tried to bring me out of it.
But he’s right—this is going to be amazing…with or without Peyton.
I know Fin will keep his eyes on Tyler as well, but we need to watch Kalen. I don’t think Fin even realises just how deeply Kalen was in love with her, but I did. I saw the way he watched her, gravitated towards her, and followed her everywhere. I’m even assuming if she’d asked, he would have gone with her when she left.
Not that she will ever find that out.
I follow Fin down the tunnel. The lights are being set up ahead as we go. I make sure to keep my footing on the rough rock and duck when he ducks. Soon, we are at the waterfall with the others already at the bottom, hauling down equipment under Michael’s leadership. Tyler is behind us, always taking up the rear. He says it’s his job as dive leader in case anything goes wrong.
I retreat a few steps, finding a position that’s a safe distance from the water, and then I begin to set up communications. It will allow us to talk to base up top as well as each other in the cave system. It’s a vital part of such a long exploration. We can keep Steve updated as well.
It’s why they call me Riggs, after all. I rig all the equipment. Peyton actually gave m
e the name, and it stuck. Fuck, I have to stop thinking about her. For three whole years, I’ve managed to go without being a stupid shy wreck pining after a girl I could never have. I thought about her, of course I did. I even kept track of her, watching her grow as a person and even more as a diver.
She’s legendary, not that I ever doubted she would be. She has a natural talent in the water. I know Kalen never wanted to hear what she was up to, neither did Fin, but I caught Tyler reading my notes once or twice. It was easier then, loving her from a distance. She was just a fantasy, a memory, a ghost…
But now she’s back in full technicolour and once again consuming my every thought.
Fin jogs over and grabs the wire for me. “I’ll take this back and get it connected for you.”
I nod my silent thanks, consumed by the comms process, and he laughs.
“Yes, Fin, you magnificent creature, thank you so much,” he mocks before kissing my cheek with a loud smack. I push him away with a chuckle, and he jogs back to the entrance chamber. By the time he’s plugged in, I’m set up and ready. I wait as it powers up, meaning it’s correctly installed.
Next, I press the button, testing it. “Top base, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” comes the quick response.
“First line of comms is established!” I yell to Tyler as I pull my bag on and head to the waterfall. I quickly clip my bag onto the line and lower it before securing myself and rappelling down. The feeling of free falling makes me grin. I might like computers, but being free like this, being in the water or climbing? It’s my element, it’s how I escape the chaos, the numbers, and the constant stream of information in my head.
I hear a whoop as I unclip at the bottom and look up to see Fin leaping onto the rock wall. Tyler shouts, but I can’t help but laugh as he quickly descends and shows off, flipping from the wall and landing on his feet near us.
“Fin!” Tyler snaps. “No fucking showboating!”
“Sorry, bossman, couldn’t help it.” He winks and saunters between us. “Now let’s go find this forward base. I can’t wait to get into the water and get all wet.” He wiggles his eyebrows at us, making Ty snort, even as he grins slightly.
“You know he’s only going to get worse the longer we’re down here. He’s like a kid on sugar,” I tease as Tyler walks behind me.
“Yeah, yeah, I swear he gets worse on every dive,” he mutters.
He’s not wrong. I noticed it a while ago, mainly after Peyton left, but in all honesty, it began somewhat before, so we can’t totally blame her. He’s getting more and more reckless, pushing his body. He doesn’t have a death wish, I know that—I read some books on psychology to make sure. I think he’s just an adrenaline junkie, and since he’s done a lot of things already, he needs to do crazier and crazier stunts to get that high. He has an addictive personality, which I figured out as well.
Tyler taps my back. “Get out of that big head of yours, Riggs, and concentrate. That’s how we make mistakes,” he cautions.
I nod, wincing. He’s right—I often get lost in my own thoughts and lose any sense of time and my location. Once I was so consumed by how to improve my new computer system I was developing for mapping that I almost walked right off a cliff. I was only saved from plummeting to my death by Kalen, who reached out and grabbed me, halting my steps.
I guess we all have our flaws.
There’s a slight queue as we head through the crawl pass, carefully making sure the equipment gets to the other side. I wait patiently with Tyler behind me. “Riggs, seriously, if you’re not okay with her being here…” His voice is almost a whisper in the dark so as not to carry to the others.
I turn with a sigh. “I’m fine. Yes, she hurt me. She was my friend.” He winces at that. “But she hurt you more, Ty. No, I’m not happy she’s here, but it’s not for me, it’s for you, because I saw the way it killed you. The way you beat yourself up over it. However, we have no choice but to work with her. It’s just another job. Fourteen days, and then we’ll be gone.”
Technically, thirteen days, nine hours, and forty-seven seconds, but who’s counting?
He searches my face and nods. “Okay, fourteen days.”
I don’t know who he’s reassuring more, him or me, because when it comes to Peyton, it’s clear we can’t control ourselves and our emotions, both good and bad.
We discuss the dive as we wait, deliberating splitting teams and dive times. He asks me to ensure I can calculate the times correctly until everyone has had enough rest and sleep. We’ve already been over most of it, but I know he’s nervous, and like me, he likes to focus on what he can control to calm himself.
When it’s my turn to go through, he quietens, and when I reach the other side, I gawk. I’ve never seen such a massive chamber. I blink as I try to quickly categorise everything—entrances, exits, obstacles, potential hazards, and plant and natural life. All in a flash, my mind is whirring a hundred miles a minute, and then she’s there before me, smiling, and my mind calms just like it used to.
All the numbers and statistics fade until I can breathe. Her smile widens, and her eyes sparkle with excitement. “About time!” she says eagerly. “Come on! Let’s get set up so we can start exploring.”
She automatically reaches for my hand and tugs me along like she used to when I got caught up in my own head, but then her smile fades and she drops my hand and steps back as she seems to remember herself.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, and then turns away and begins to walk back to the others, mainly her friend, Michael.
I want to call out to her, but my tongue is tangled. My hand tingles from her slight touch, and I ache for the peace she brings as all those numbers come back with a roar.
Chapter Fifteen
Fin
When I first stoop into the cavern where we’re going to establish the forward base, I can’t help but grin. It’s fucking massive. At least we have plenty of space for fourteen days and we won’t be trapped in an area barely big enough for two grown adults like last time. Let me tell you, sleeping with three big guys in tiny, underground spaces tends to get annoying.
Not this time.
I explore while the others bring equipment through the tunnel, coming upon Peyton and Kalen. They are glaring at each other. Kalen’s arms are crossed, meaning he’s pissed and trying not to strangle her, and his body is tense. From here, I can see his stone-cold expression. She looks equally pissed, her beautiful face creased in anger when she throws her hands in the air at something he says. I can’t hear, so I sneak closer, ducking behind a rock to listen.
Their arguments are legendary. Hell, I used to sit and watch them while I ate snacks, but this feels different. He genuinely hates her right now, and I don’t want him to do something he’ll regret…and, okay, yes, I like seeing her argue. She gets all riled up, her breasts heaving, her eyes mean. Fuck. I shift my hard cock and zone in on them and not my dirty thoughts about my ex-best friend.
“Shut the fuck up for once, Andrews,” Kalen snarls, making me grin. “I swear you talk more than Fin.” I want to protest as I narrow my eyes. “Just shut the fuck up and stand there and look pretty. You’re useless for anything else.”
“Oh, take a fucking hike, you condescending wanker. We both know I can outswim, climb, and explore you. You’re just pissed Steve knows I’m the best and doesn’t trust you guys, but you’re going to have to fucking get over it.”
“Or what?” he demands, his tone low and threatening. Shit, he’s reaching the point of no return. He’s going to explode. I hear the others entering the cavern, and I know I need to break this up. “Going to leave again, princess? Have a tantrum and storm away?”
Ah fuck.
I step out, but neither of them see me. They are standing toe to toe now, and his head is lowered while hers is craned back. She raises her hand, no doubt to slap him, so I slide between them and grab it mid-air, softly. If she hits him, he might actually kill her, or fuck her, and neither of those options wo
uld be good, though both would be highly amusing to watch.
Kalen is nearly pressed against my back before he steps away. I look over at him. “Go cool off before Tyler catches you,” I warn, glaring at him. He grinds his teeth but stomps off to do just that. When I turn back to Peyton, I almost groan at how close we are, her enticing sweet scent filling my nostrils. Her soft, curvy body is so close to mine, I can feel her heat. So close, I would only need to lean in to taste those frowning lips.
I’ve been tempted more than once.
I step back now and release her. She drops her hand and looks away for a moment. “You two are going to have to find a way to work together,” I comment conversationally.
“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,” she retorts.
I smirk, and she winces when she looks back at me. “Hey, don’t get all pissy on me, baby cakes.” The old name slips out, and I falter for a moment before I turn the charm on, which is my way of keeping her at a distance. “Now get your beautiful ass over there and help us unload. The faster we do, the faster you can get wet.” I wink at her and purposely drag my gaze down her body. Unlike before, when we used to flirt and tease each other but never cross the line, it feels different this time. Like there is a promise there, like it could actually happen. Before it was harmless…right? “I remember how wet you used to get.”
She gasps but laughs. “Not for you, babe, never for you.” She grins and steps closer, both of us easily falling back into this routine, but in her eyes, I see it too—the knowledge that this is different, that this time, there is nothing holding us back, other than the emotions clouding our team and our past. “But I’m sure if you put in the work, I could get there,” she purrs, trailing her hand down my chest. Her touch makes me shiver. She used to do that a lot when we teased before, both of us toeing the edge, but this time, I want her to carry on, damn the consequences. I have no friends holding me back.
