Chapter 31
The last team to arrive back were Taylor and Sky, but their ascent of the most difficult climb rocketed them up the leader board and left Liv and Oskar in the drop zone with Brooke and Kimi. The bus back to El Chaltén the next morning was quiet, each contestant either asleep or talking in whispers about the expected outcome of the sprint climbs. Oskar was the odds-on favourite, as his height and reach offered him an advantage in the race-to-the-top contest that a speed climb was.
Kimi stared out the window, silently fuming and refusing to speak to anyone. None of the other teams knew what had happened. As Jayden had predicted, Kimi refused to say, and Brooke was being…vague. To say the least. Only two things that had surprised her. First was waking up in the night to find Rhian sitting on the ice bench outside their tent, weeping. She didn’t know why. But she wanted to. She’d wanted to go up to her, wrap her arms about her shoulders, make Rhian tell her what was wrong. Find some way to convince her they could fix it. Together. But she hadn’t. Rhian hadn’t spoken to her since she agreed to show the video to the climbers, and anytime she tried to get close to her, she ran—sometimes literally—away. And Jayden still didn’t know what she should do.
The second surprise had been herself. She’d half expected the incident with Brooke and Kimi to have brought back all the old nightmares, the image of Rebecca’s face, the blood dripping off the ice axe, the roar of the avalanche racing for them. But it hadn’t. She’d slept deeper than she had in months—years. Jayden wasn’t sure exactly why, but she was sure it had something to do with seeing Kimi react to disaster, the way she’d taken Jayden’s training and utilised it. And suddenly, the pieces had slipped back together, and she saw herself again in the result.
When Carlos stopped the bus outside the conclave, Jayden stood and clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention.
“Ladies and gents, the sprints will be held tomorrow morning. Nine a.m. at the wall. I expect everyone to be there. Not just the four contestants participating. Clear?”
“Clear,” came the reply from the back of the bus.
“Good. When we get off the bus, dump you stuff in your rooms and make your way back to the common room. Meeting in thirty minutes.” She figured that would give them enough time to shower too, if they wanted. “We’ll have dinner after the meeting. It won’t take too long.”
With a hum of questions buzzing between them all, everyone agreed and departed the bus. No one seemed to know what was going on. Jayden clapped a hand over Kimi’s shoulder as she rose out of her seat and moved towards the steps.
“I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. What you did out there was nothing short of heroic. I’ll never forget what I witnessed.”
Kimi ducked her head, a shy smile on her lips. “Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m thanking you. Now, go on. I’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?”
Kimi nodded and scampered off the bus. Rhian was waiting for Jayden as she walked into the conclave.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“What? Using what happened as a training exercise? Why not?”
“Because it’s Brooke. Hasn’t she already caused enough trouble?”
“Look, I’m proposing we use a situation, a real-life situation that happened out there, as a way to help keep the others safe. I’m not beaming it out across the globe to humiliate her. I’m trying to keep everyone else safe.”
“But it will humiliate her. And she will retaliate.”
“She signed a release that the footage filmed could be used in any way the production company sees fit to do so. This is a very reasonable way to use the footage.”
“She could argue—”
“A lot of things. I know. But this isn’t right. She hasn’t even admitted to the group what happened. They need to know, especially if she might have to climb with one or more of them again. You’re asking me to risk their lives without them knowing the risks. And I won’t do that.” She shook her head. “Safety is my top priority, remember? Let me handle this my way.”
Rhian drew in a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I’ll send Rachel an e-mail to let her know what’s happening so she can get out ahead of anything Brooke might try to pull.”
“You might want to see if Mel can take the Internet offline somehow tonight too.” She rolled her eyes. “Just in case.”
“Oh God.” She rubbed her hand over her face. “I’ll get her to change the password, then if anyone tries to get on, they’ll have to come to us for access, and we can monitor who has it.”
“I know this is difficult. I’m sorry. I just—”
Rhian held up her hand. “I get it. I hate it too. I’m just worried about the problems she can cause.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I truly believe they need to know what they could face with Brooke in the event she survives this climb-off.”
Rhian nodded, but Jayden couldn’t decipher the look in her eyes. It seemed to be a mix of compassion, loss, and something else. Respect maybe?
“I know. And I always told you that safety was the first priority.”
“Thank you.”
Rhian frowned. “For what?”
“For your support in this. For keeping your promise about the safety thing. For understanding why I need to do this.”
“You don’t need to thank me for that.” Rhian ducked her head and moved away, heading for the coffee dispenser. Jayden replayed the conversation in her head. Rhian seemed so much calmer than before. Was she feeling better? Or was she just getting better at hiding her feelings? Whatever the reason, her attitude now was nothing but professional.
Climbers filtered into the room as Simon and Angela set up a big screen and a projector. The pair had been up most of the night, cutting together footage to show what happened while shortening the time lapse to less than thirty minutes.
Brooke was the last to arrive. Exactly as Jayden had expected. When she was seated, Jayden addressed the room.
“Thanks, everyone, I know you’re all tired. There were some terrific climbs out there the last couple of days. But we need to go over a safety point again, and I don’t have the time now to conduct more one-to-one training. Angela and Simon have helped me out with some video footage. I want you all to watch it, then we can discuss what’s happened, what needs to be done, anything that could have been done differently or better, and so on. Okay?” She noticed the nodding heads around the room and the wary look on Brooke’s face. “If you have comments or questions, please hold them until we stop the film.”
A murmur of curiosity filled the room, and Jayden decided to just get on with it.
The drone shot captured two walkers on the ice making slow but steady progress, thirty feet apart, with a length of rope tying them together. Two seconds later, one of the figures disappeared into a newly formed crack in the ice, the jagged edges swallowing her like a great gaping maw. The second figure was dragged towards the lip, and gasps of surprise bounced about the room when the screen filled with Kimi’s face as she used her ice axe and crampons to arrest her progress towards the chasm.
Kimi was looking away from the screen as every climber in the room turned to look first at her, then at the white-faced Brooke at the back.
“Damn it, Brooke, you piece of crap, stop screaming and get a Prusik on that line. Get ready to haul your ass out of there.” Kimi’s voice echoed around the room as Brooke’s screams filled in her part.
An image of Brooke dangling on the rope filled the screen, the ice water of the glacial stream cascading over her head and thundering its way down into the moulin. Everyone stared at the screen in open-mouthed fascination as Kimi fixed her ice screws, proceeded to tie off her belay, and crawled across the ice on her belly. Jayden watched Brooke as her face went from white to grey to red. Her eyes were fixed on a point on the carpet, and Jayden could feel the angry waves coming off her from across the room.
“Are you kidding me?” Kimi’s voice filled the room. “You’ve not even got a fucking Prusik set up.”
Jayden debated hitting the pause button at this point. It was what she’d originally planned. But now she thought better of it. She wanted them to see what Kimi did in the face of the moment, rather than have them come up with solutions that might have been “better” or more elegant but not what they would have come up with in the real life-and-death situation as she did. So she let the film play on.
“Are you really just going to sit there and die?” Kimi screamed into the cavern. Angela had left in the full thirty seconds of the emotions playing across Kimi’s face. Everyone saw it. Every single anguish-filled second. Then they all saw the determination settle on her features.
Jaws were slack with wonder and awe as Kimi dug her heels into the ice and hoisted Brooke’s dead weight from the frozen jaws of the glacier.
The camera zoomed in on Brooke’s chattering teeth, blue-tinged lips, and ghostly pale face. Jayden pressed pause as Kimi grabbed Brooke by the collar and started to wrestle her out of her wet coat.
Then she waited. She waited for Brooke to storm out of the room.
Which she did.
Then she waited for the questions to start. Which they did.
“How the fuck did you manage to pull her heavy ass out of there?” Hunter clapped Kimi on the back and stared at her with open awe. He squeezed her bicep. “You really Iron Man under those little weedy arms?” The grin on his face let everyone know how much his gentle ribbing was a mark of respect.
Jayden held up her hands, and they all sat back down. “Oh yeah. The girl did good. She thought on her feet, kept her wits about her, and did not give up. I think that’s the most any of us can hope to achieve in a situation like that. So why am I showing you all this?”
“To impress upon us the importance of the training you gave us?” Tomasi asked.
“That’s one thing.”
“So we can discuss the awesome rescue Kimi performed and figure out if there was anything that might have made it easier?” Taylor added. She was the next smallest in the group, and Jayden was certain she was wondering if she could have performed as well as Kimi in the same situation.
“Yup.” Jayden nodded to Simon, and he pressed a button to bring up a few graphics she’d had him prepare. “When attempting a rescue for someone who is unable to assist in their own rescue efforts for whatever reason. Could be they’re unconscious—”
“Or fucking pathetic,” a voice from the back said.
“Or physically injured,” Jayden continued, ignoring the outburst. “Then you need to think of how you could manage that in the pairs you end up working with. Consider this an additional part of your challenge prep. Do you have the equipment with you that you would need if you were teamed with a bigger, heavier teammate? For example, Taylor, if you were teamed with Luiji, would this ratchet system be enough for you to pull his weight up like that?”
Taylor frowned. “No. He’s got seventy pounds and almost a foot on me. I’d need a more sophisticated system to be able to haul his weight.”
Jayden nodded. “Exactly. Homework over the next week for you all—think about the systems you could employ in this scenario. Think about what equipment you need to add to your standard kit to do so. And then think about what you can do to avoid being in this situation in the first place.”
“You mean other than staying at home?” Luiji joked.
“Always an option, Lui.” She chuckled, and the room laughed with her. “Any questions?”
Oskar raised his hand.
“Go ahead, Oskar.”
“Kimi shouldn’t be in the drop zone. She doesn’t deserve to be in the climb-off with the rest of us. What she did…” He shook his head. “She doesn’t deserve to have to fight for a place.”
Jayden flicked her eyes to Rhian and then back to Oskar. “I’m sorry, but the rules are very clear. Any failure to complete a challenge means the drop zone. We’ve tried to find a way around it, but there isn’t one. Short of her winning one of the top two places in the climb-off…I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about it right now.”
Kimi was staring at the floor, her cheeks burning with what? Embarrassment? Anger? Jayden smiled to herself. Probably both, if she was any judge of the young woman.
“But that’s not right,” Oskar persisted. Murmurs of assent gathered pace around the room.
“I’m sorry. I truly am. I think what Kimi did out there was superhuman, and if I was climbing, she’s the kind of person I’d want on my team. No question. But my hands are tied in this.”
She hoped they’d pick up on the stress she put on the word and figure out what she was asking them to do. But it was up to them now.
“I’ll see you all in the morning for the climb-off. Nine o’clock, guys.” She smiled at them all, caught Rhian’s eye, and nodded for her to follow her to the lobby.
When she stopped behind her, Jayden wrapped her fingers around her upper arms and tugged her a little closer. “You okay?”
Rhian nodded as she leant back as far as Jayden’s grip would allow. Her eyes were wide, and her breath seemed to catch as she said quietly, “I’ve let Rachel know how we used the video, and we’ve changed the password on the Wi-Fi. I think we’ll just tell them it’s down for the night and let it go.” Rhian’s tone was all business, the words clipped. Just like they had been since she’d run away from Jayden. The consummate professional. And it was driving Jayden mad.
“I think that’s a good idea. Thanks.”
Rhian started to pull away, then stopped. Her gaze softened as she licked her lips and asked quietly, “You okay?”
The uncertainty in Rhian’s voice made Jayden realise that the consummate professional she’d being faced with was an act, one Rhian had assumed just for her. It made her heart ache and drained what little was left of her energy. “Just tired.”
“You sure? I know it must have been…difficult for you.”
Jayden raised an eyebrow. It was the first time Rhian had made any sort of mention of the knowledge she’d gained about Jayden’s past. “Well, it wasn’t fun, that’s for sure. But it worked out all right in the end.” A chorus of “Super Kimi” was being chanted around the common room. Jayden grinned. “I think they’ll all be okay too.”
Rhian wasn’t meeting her eyes again. Her gaze seemed locked on the button on Jayden’s chest. “I’m sorry, Jayden.”
“Whatever for? You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”
Rhian finally looked up at her, and Jayden saw such anguish in her eyes that all she could do was pull her into her arms
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is.” She pushed out of Jayden’s embrace and rushed up the stairs. Jayden started to follow her.
“Leave her alone.” Mel’s voice was hard. “Haven’t you done enough?”
“Excuse me?” Jayden turned to face her.
“Look,” she said, dropping her voice to a whisper, “I get that you’ve made a deal with the devil.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Rachel.” She grabbed Jayden’s arm and pulled her outside, not stopping until they were both sitting on the bench in the middle of the lawn. “I know you and Rhian have to carry on playing the happy couple while everyone’s around. But can’t you see what you’re doing to her? Leave her alone when it’s just the two of you. Haven’t you hurt her enough already?”
“Hurt her? Believe me, that’s the last thing I want to do.”
“Then why are you playing these games with her? She might not be able to see what you’re doing; she’s too close. But I can. Adventure trips, meals out.” She curled her lip. “First you tell her you don’t want her, then you behave like you do. You’re messing with her head, and I want to know why. Is this some sort of revenge for her getting you to do this project, or something equally idiotic? Because I’m warning you—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa there. I’m not trying to get revenge on Rhian for anything. I don’t know what could possibly make you think that.”
“I just told you. You’re messing with her head.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why are you acting like you’re trying to woo her when you already told her you don’t want her?”
“I never said that.”
“Didn’t you?”
Jayden shook her head.
“Really? Then why is she convinced you did?”
“Rhian was the one who said she wasn’t attracted to me. So much so that she wasn’t even sure she could even pretend to be attracted to me.” Those words still stung.
Mel’s glare softened a little. “Tell me what she actually said.”
“She said she didn’t think she could pretend to be attracted to me.”
“Why not?”
“Well, clearly because I’m that unattractive to her. So I said not to worry, I wasn’t attracted to her either, and we could just be friends, just do the girlfriendy bits when other people were around.” She shook her head. “Why am I even telling you all this? It’s none of your business.” She started to stand, but Mel grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her seat.
“It is my business. And you’re wrong.”
Jayden frowned and pursed her lips. “About what?”
“Her reason for admitting she didn’t think she could pretend to be attracted to you. It’s not because she finds you repulsive.”
“It’s not?”
“No.”
“Then why did she say it?”
“She wanted to be honest with you, but you never let her finish, from what I can gather.”
“Honest about what?”
“Are you really this clueless?”
“Apparently.”
Mel sighed. “If you do anything, and I mean anything, to make me regret telling you this, I will personally hunt you down and string you out for the birds. Do you understand me?”
“Regret what?”
“Rhian is in love with you, you great buffoon.”
Jayden stared at her. “Funny. Now tell me what’s going on.”
Mel glared at her. “She thinks you blame her for forcing you into the mountains after the trauma you went through in Nepal. She knows you lost your partner out there and doesn’t blame you for thinking the worst of her. She thinks you’re not attracted to her, or worse, that you despise her for her part in making you do this show, and meanwhile, she’s in love with you. And it’s breaking her heart. She begged Rachel to let her go home because it’s tearing her apart to be around you every day, to have to pretend to everyone else to be what she so dearly wants to be, and then pretend to you that it’s all for show. You, Jayden, you are messing with her head for reasons I can’t quite fathom, and in doing so, you’re ripping her to pieces.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
“I don’t really care what you think. Just stop playing games with her.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. We’ve already been over that.” She sighed heavily again. “Look, believe me or don’t believe me, that’s your choice. But if you look at her, I mean really look at her, you’ll see it. It’s written on her face how she feels about you. Every time she sees you, she lights up. When you smile at her, it’s like she’s watching the most beautiful thing in the world, and then she remembers that you don’t want her and that it’s all a lie. And another piece of her dies. So, please, just leave her be.” With that, Mel stood and disappeared back into the conclave.
Part of her wanted to run inside, go to Rhian, and ask her if it was true. Another part of her couldn’t quite believe it and wanted to run away. Did this explain why Rhian’s reaction to finding out about Nepal and thinking she’d hurt Jayden had caused such an extreme response?
She needed to process what Mel had said. Was it true? Could Rhian have feelings for her? All this time? Had she been trying to woo a woman who was already in love with her? No wonder Mel thought she was messing with her head if that was the case. Christ, this was a mess.
Jayden stood and started back to the house. She was too tired to think any more; her brain just wasn’t up to it. Tomorrow. She’d figure it all out tomorrow.