Addie laughs. “Are you kidding me? He wouldn’t risk getting his fancy suit dirty. Besides, he waits for us to do all the work then shows up when we least expect him.” She smirks, then sends me a serious look. “Don’t take any unnecessary chances, Diamond Man.”
“Yeah, not like there’s a hospital nearby,” Knox adds.
Nodding, I step onto the ladder’s first rung. Then I start my descent into darkness.
Chapter Nineteen: Delaney
Staring down and watching Ryder disappear into the black hole, my heart pounds harder than it’s ever pounded before. This has become my most dangerous job because I stupidly let my emotions get involved.
Doing my best to keep it together, I wait until he reaches the bottom and radios up. The second my comms crackles with his deep voice, I tell him I’m coming down.
“Take your time,” Addie encourages.
“I will.” I step down on the ladder and start making my way down, relying on past experiences to calm my heart and guide my steps. A quick glance below confirms Ryder lit a flare. It’s a little more comforting being able to see the bottom now and knowing he’s down there waiting for me.
A few feet from the bottom, Ryder reaches up and helps me step off the wooden ladder. We’re standing on bedrock, and a crosshatch of tunnels branch out from the narrow space where we’re crowded together. They can’t be more than three feet wide and five feet high, some even smaller. It’s cooler, which is nice, but it’s also a little scary.
“I hope you’re not claustrophobic,” I murmur.
“Nope.” He sends me a wry smile. “But that may change after this.”
“Which way?” I ask, studying the endless options and wondering how anyone could work down here day in and day out, searching for diamonds that may or may not be there.
“If the map is right, I’m thinking that way.”
Mustering up my courage, I bend over and start down the narrow tunnel he points out. We have to go single file, and I sincerely hope he enjoys the view of my ass in his face. Because if this tunnel decides to collapse, it might be the last thing he ever sees.
“I can’t believe people chiseled this all out. It must’ve taken years.”
“Yeah, for sure,” he agrees. “I can’t imagine the locals had much when it came to safety equipment.” He touches my back and we pause. “See how every six feet or so they left pillars?”
“It looks like a checkerboard.”
“Yeah, it’s a grid pattern to serve as natural support for the roof to help prevent the mine from collapsing.Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work, and several people were killed when the ceiling fell in a few different spots.”
A shiver ripples through my body and I look up. Although I don’t see any rubble or signs of a collapse here, the idea of the ceiling suddenly falling and tons of rock burying me alive is terrifying. Gritting my teeth, I force my attention back to the looming tunnel ahead. “Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.”
After what feels like forever, we reach the end of the first tunnel to find nothing but a wall of rock and gravel. With a low curse, Ryder pulls out the map and frowns. Realistically, searching through every tunnel down here could take weeks. Maybe even months.
With a frustrated sigh, he folds the paper back up, stuffs it in his pocket, and turns to me. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“That we could be down here for bloody months?” Frustration makes me irritable and I cross my arms and tap a foot. I don’t know why I was under the impression Ryder’s map would lead us straight to the rest of the Phantom Orchid, but, yeah, I was really hoping it would.
“Slow and steady wins the race, baby.” He takes the map back out, makes a notation on it, then radios Addie to report what we’re finding—which is absolutely nothing.
I wish I could be as calm and steady as Ryder, but my impatience is getting the best of me. The good news is I do have the Phantom Orchid, and it’s locked up in Ryder’s safe where no one will suspect it’s hidden or be able to gettheir hands on it thanks to his top-notch security. But the bad news is Adam Voss has mercenaries hunting me down and it’s only a matter of time before they find us.
We don’t have the luxury of time right now. Spending weeks down here isn’t feasible. We need to find the rest of this cache as soon as possible.
“Maybe the others should come down and help search,” I suggest.
“If they offer,” he says carefully. “I’m not asking anyone to risk their life. These tunnels aren’t stable.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I know. I’m sorry. This is just way more than I anticipated.”
“Patience, Crumpet,” he teases.
How he manages to stay so positive when I’m ready to bite someone’s head off, I have no idea. To be fair, I’m also extra grumpy because I didn’t have my tea today. “Stop calling me that,” I whine.
