Chapter Seven
“I take it she’s your woman,” Havoc said after a moment.
Ryder nodded, still holding Irene. She needed him, and he was going to live in that moment. All this time he had been so worried that something had happened to the women. While Havoc killed time talking to the men, Ryder searched all the windows of the cabin, hoping they had gotten out before they burned alive inside.
Irene pulled away and looked up at him with awe.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “How did you know we were in trouble?”
He shook his head. “Not enough time for that. They aren’t far behind I’m sure, and we need to find shelter for the rest of the night.”
Irene nodded. He wanted more than anything to show her how happy he was to see her.
“Pretty clever,” Havoc said, pointing to the cloth on the bush. He glanced to Taylor. “Your idea?”
Taylor nodded, her blond ponytail bobbed behind her.
He smirked. “Nice work. Thanks for saving my ass back there.”
Taylor shrugged and gave her own half-cocked smile. “Seemed like an ass worth saving.”
Irene stared in shock as her cousin walked off to the thin, worn trail with Victoria.
Havoc just shook his head and followed behind.
Ryder leaned down to her.
“I’ll take the rear,” he said.
Her head shot up.
He grinned. “I’ll walk behind you.”
Irene glared at his double entendre and stomped on the trail toward a looming cliff. He hated taking this path, but it really was the best option. The other men wouldn’t likely follow, and if they did, they would have an even harder time getting through the rocky terrain. As long as they took it slow, things would go just fine.
For nearly an hour, they climbed up the side of the mountain by hanging on to the side of the cliff, only enough room to put one foot in front of the other. It was slow and torturous work, but they had little chance of running into the fire or any of the men, and that was good enough.
Irene stumbled forward. His heart jumped to his throat as he reached out to catch her. A fall from this height could easily kill her.
His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her hard against him. He held her there for a moment and let his adrenaline slow as he assured himself that she was safe in his arms.
“I got you,” he whispered.
She shook and hugged his arm to her. This climb was taking a toll on all of them. Ryder looked down the line and could see that they were all exhausted. Most professional climbers didn’t even operate under these sorts of conditions.
“Victoria?” Taylor called from the front of the line.
“What’s going on?” Ryder called up.
Taylor turned and shook her head. “She’s shaking and looking really pale.”
Ryder looked to Irene.
“Maybe low blood sugar or—”
“Victoria!”
They watched in horror as she fell back with no hand outstretched to catch her fall. She landed with a crack against the thin landing just below them.
“Don’t move,” Ryder said to everyone. They froze where they were.
Painstakingly slow, he made his way down the cliff in the dark. The moon was now covered by the smoke that choked the sky. He stepped down onto the platform and was surprised to find an opening to a cave.
He reached down and felt for a pulse. She was still alive, just unconscious and likely with a broken leg given its current unnatural angle.
“Think you can climb down?” he said to the others.
The others climbed down, careful as they moved in the dark. When they were close enough, he helped them the rest of the way.
“Is she okay?” Irene dropped to the floor beside her.
“She’s broken her leg,” he said and looked over to Havoc. Even if the women didn’t realize, he might. Climbing out of a place like this with a broken leg just wasn’t going to happen.
“Oh God.” Irene brushed Victoria’s dark hair out of her face.
“Let’s try and get her further into the cave before she wakes up,” he said to Havoc. “We’ll set up here tonight, and I can touch base and find out about the helicopter.”
“Helicopter?” Havoc echoed. “You got all the connections.”
“We’re going to be rescued?” Irene said with hope.
“Not tonight but soon,” Ryder said with hope. The fire might have put an end to all that, but he was still holding on to hope. “If you’ve got some pain killers, aspirin or anything, let’s give her some.” He turned to Taylor. “See if you can find a few long sticks we can splint her leg with.”
Irene nodded and went to rummage through her bag, while Taylor searched the back of the cave.
“I have some Vicodin in here from a while back when Vic sprained her ankle.”
“That’s better than aspirin,” Ryder said. He leaned toward Havoc.
“Let’s do this quick,” he said.
Havoc looked down at Victoria. “Is it bad?” His brow knitted.
Ryder glanced back to Irene. “Yes.”
As delicately as they could, the two men tried to keep the broken leg stable. When they sat her down, Irene came over with a blanket and a pair of pants. She bundled up the pants and placed them under Victoria’s head. She tore off a piece of one of her shirts and poured a little water over it. Victoria moaned when Irene brushed the cloth against her head, and he was glad when she opened her eyes.
“How you feeling?” Irene asked.
Victoria blinked a few times before she seemed to register what was going on.
“I fell,” she said.
“You did fall.” Irene smoothed a hand over her forehead. That seemed to comfort her. “Let’s drink a little water and take some pills.”
Victoria hissed when she sat up. “Something’s wrong with my leg,” she gritted out.
“It’s broken, honey,” Irene said. “We’re going to give you some pills, and you’re going to get some rest. By the time morning comes, we’ll get the hell out of here.”
A tear slid down Victoria’s face, and it ate at Ryder. “I just want to go home,” she said.
Irene leaned down and hugged the young woman. “I know, honey. We’re going to get you home. Now, let’s take this medicine.”
Ryder walked to the mouth of the cave and stared out into the darkness. The fire raged on the other side. They would have no way of knowing if it was coming close to them.
He pulled out the walkie-talkie and turned the volume down.
“Cage?”
A voice came through the crackling static. “Where the fuck have you been?”
It was Charlie, and not his brother, that came in over the speaker.
“We had a situation,” Ryder said. “Where’s Cage?”
“Yeah, so did we.”
Ryder moved to the side of the cave.
“Where’s my fucking brother?” Ryder growled into the line.
“Being a big fucking hero with your other brother,” Charlie yelled into the line. “They won’t send in the chopper for a rescue unless they have the area cleared of the Los Malos.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“That’s what we’ve been arguing all night, but they say they’ve got their hands full with the fire and don’t have time to deal with gang issues.”
“Damn it!” He hit the wall beside him.
“They are hunting the last two down now,” Charlie said.
“What do you mean by hunting?”
Ryder stared at the black box in his hand and didn’t know if he wanted to hear what Charlie had to say.
“I mean they are doing what they have to do, so you all don’t either burn to death or get shot on that fucking mountain.”
The silence that fell was almost deafening.
“Where are the fire lines?” Ryder asked quietly.
“Mainly at the base, but it’s growing fast,” Charlie said. “Those fucking idiots didn’t think about any of this very well. Fire is about the worst thing to try and deal with.”
Ryder scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t think they planned on being here this long.”
“Yeah, well, rule number one, always have a plan B. Rule number two, have plan C and D on standby.”
Ryder gave a sharp laugh. “Well, I’m fucked.”
“I’ll radio when we can send in help. For now, get some rest. And Ryder,” Charlie came in over the line, “despite what you might think, I got your back on this.”
“Roger that.”
He stared at the walkie-talkie for a moment. For once, he hoped that he could actually trust someone. It was at a high cost to his brothers though, and the thought of what they might have to do tore into him. They weren’t like Liam and him. Cage and Reed could handle shit, but this just wasn’t them.
Ryder turned and found Havoc standing behind him.
“Would you do it for them?” Havoc plucked out the one thing that was weighing on Ryder’s mind.
“Yes,” Ryder said without much thought.
“Then you have your answer.” Havoc nodded and went back into the cave.
When Ryder moved inside, he found Taylor lying next to Victoria. Havoc had moved to the back and made a bed on the floor.
He sat with a view of the opening and stared into the darkness.
“I, um…” Irene said. She held out his jacket to him, and he smiled.
“You brought my coat?” He grinned.
Even in the dim light, he could see the blush that crept up her face.
“I know I should have given it to you back at the bakery, but things got crazy and then you kissed me.” She trailed off and looked anywhere but at him.
“Come sit with me,” he said. His voice was rough with emotion, but he didn’t care. It had been a hell of a day.
Irene looked down at him and stared for a moment.
He patted the ground between his legs.
She looked over to the others and then back to him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he grunted and reached out to pull her down to him. He didn’t care what he had to do, he was going to hold her at all costs.
Irene slipped down between his legs. It seemed so strange to rest herself there, but when he brought his knees up and wrapped his coat around them, it was very warm and cozy.
“Better?” he mumbled in her ear.
She nodded, the back of her head resting against his chest.
“God, I love when your hair is down,” he said quietly.
She laughed a little. In all the excitement, she hadn’t even thought about it. Normally, she kept it back in order to keep it out of the way.
Irene sighed as he tenderly ran his fingers through her hair.
“You did well today,” he said after a bit.
Irene turned in his lap to look at him. Her heart hammered.
“I was so scared,” she said quietly. “I just had to keep it together. I don’t think I could have done it if it weren’t for them.”
Ryder shook his head. “I doubt that. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
The tears that she had held on to all this time trickled out. “I’m not like you or Taylor though,” she whispered. “I don’t wear jeans. I like to wear girly clothes. I’m not tough, and I hate jumping in really cold water.”
She buried her head against his chest and let the tears come as he gently soothed her. When she had cried herself dry, he pulled her face up.
“I don’t want you to be like Taylor or me or anyone else but you.” He grinned. “I’m not interested in being with myself.”
Irene laughed.
“And I like whatever you want to wear or don’t want to wear.” He winked at her, and the heat came back to her face. “As for the water, I really have no idea why you’d jump into cold water, but if you don’t want to, I’m not going to make you.”
She giggled at how crazy she must have sounded.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said.
It struck her just how close they were. Just inches from one another.
His eyes dropped to her lips, and without thought she licked them. Ryder’s thick arms tightened around her middle.
“I was so worried about you,” he whispered and placed his forehead to hers. “Even without all this other shit.”
“I tried to call you,” she said.
His eyes popped open, and she could see the deep pools of brown.
“Over and over.” She nibbled on the lower lip. “I just…” Irene didn’t really know where to go with it. “I kept hearing things, and I wanted you to know.”
Ryder sat up and studied her face. For a minute, she wondered if she said something wrong.
“Why?”
She shrugged.
He raised a brow.
Irene sighed. “Because I was scared, and you make me feel safe.”
He smiled at her.
“That’s something,” he said.
Irene shut her eyes. It was something. It actually meant far more than he could ever know. She gasped when his mouth moved to hers, soft and tender. Irene responded the only way there was to respond, by wrapping her arms around him.
His tongue teased the crease of her mouth, and when she opened to him, he slipped inside. This kiss was far more fevered than any other they had shared. Their tongues battled one another, and when she realized the sexual motion he was creating, Irene moaned.
Ryder pulled away and stared at her. For a moment, she wondered if she had done something wrong until he shifted and made a pained face.
“We should stop before this gets out of hand,” he whispered. “Not a lot of privacy around here.”
Irene nodded. This wasn’t what she wanted. Not that she knew what she wanted, but this wasn’t the time for it.
Ryder placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Let’s get some sleep,” he said. “We’ll talk about this when we get out of here.”
Irene snuggled against him and listened to the steady beat of his heart. For once in her life, she was going to think with something other than her brain.