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Sandra had confirmed what Taj had told them, and he felt a small stab of sorrow for this poor, broken woman. But then she pushed him in the back with the end of her pistol and he had no choice but to go in the direction she wanted. He hoped and prayed that Lacey was hidden somewhere and she stayed that way. Neither of them spoke as they trudged through the rain, Nico’s mind racing, trying to work out a way to overpower his captor while also overriding the agony in his side that threatened to send him to his knees.
“You know I never wanted to hurt that other constable,” Sandra said into the silence. “I just needed my daughter’s charm back. It’s one of the few things I had left of her. But that girl cop of yours foiled my efforts. Which makes me less inclined to like her.”
It took a few seconds for Nico to catch up through his pain-fogged brain. Sandra had just confirmed it was her who’d hit Linc. She must’ve been hiding in the bushes, or perhaps retracing her steps, trying to find the lost item. “You assaulted a police officer,” he ground out between gritted teeth. “He’s in a coma in hospital.” Even though she sounded genuinely remorseful, she didn’t deserve to know that Linc had woken up. He wanted her to believe the worst, especially if it put her more on edge. It’d certainly been a key piece of evidence. And now they knew the charm had belonged to Tia.
“I hope he recovers,” she replied in a distracted tone. “But if I had to do it again to get Tia’s charm back, I would.” This was said with a note of finality that made Nico’s insides shudder with dismay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LACEY CREPT SLOWLY through the thick underbrush. This was an impossible task. The rain and wind made her assignment to locate a crazy woman, who was most likely doing her best to stay hidden, infuriating. She’d made her way almost to the opposite side of the bluff as she worked from cover to cover with no sign of Sandra or Teresa. Lacey had kept the cliff edge to her left and at least twenty feet away as she slogged her way around. She knew the edge was there, but tried not to think about it too hard. Heights bothered her now. After her nightmare with Gabriel at the lookout, she hadn’t ventured close to anything higher than the steps into the police station. Her scars began to itch at the thought of that cliff face so close to where she stood.
When she’d asked to come on this assignment, she’d known that this type of scenario might be on the cards. But she’d also hoped she’d be able to overcome her fears if it did. Nico had asked if she could cope with being up here. And she’d tried to fob him off. But really, she had no idea how she was going to react if she had to go much closer to that edge.
She took another step and tripped over something, falling to her knees with a soft curse. Shit, she was so busy scanning the environment for her perp she wasn’t watching where she was going. Glancing back, Lacey located the item that’d been her downfall.
Wait a second.
It was a rope. Taught and stretched across the ground. Her gaze followed the line of the rope to where it was tied to the trunk of the largest tree in the vicinity. The other end disappeared into the shrubs, heading in the direction of the cliff face. What the hell…?
Throwing her backpack to the ground, Lacey traced the line of the rope with her hand, crawling along the rock ledge on her hands and knees. The ground was running with rivulets of water, making the rocks slippery and turning the earth into mud puddles around her. Torrential rain continued to slap her in the face, the cold water running down the neck of her jacket and soaking her T-shirt beneath. It was hard to see even a few feet in front of her, but she kept going, feeling her way with her hands. Then the rope jerked against her palm, and she forgot about her physical discomfort as she concentrated on the tether. It jerked again, as if someone was tugging on the other end.Holy Shit.It hit her like a brick to the side of the head. Someone wastiedto the end. This must be Sandra’s version of the hanging tree. She must’ve thrown Teresa over the cliff. But as Lacey scrabbled the rest of the way to the edge, still on her hands and knees, her breathing became labored and her heart rate skyrocketed. When the edge came into view, Lacey found she could go no closer. Terrifying images of her Kombi van plunging over the cliff assaulted her mind, filling her vision until she could no longer see the low clouds and the wet scrub around her. All she could see were her fingers scrabbling at the door trying to open it, even as the front wheels left the edge. Flying through the air. Then falling. Falling. Into the dark trees. Pain. Incredible pain as the branches tore at her skin. A scream threatened to erupt from her throat, she was struggling to breathe, and she knew she was hyperventilating.
No.
Stop.
She needed to remember she was on top of Barn Bluff. Here to rescue a girl. This wasn’t Blackpoint Lookout, and she wasn’t locked in a van hurtling over the edge. The counsellor had warned her this might happen. Flashbacks. Set off by heights or similar circumstances. But she didn’t have the luxury of time to collapse in a puddle of her own psychological trauma. Someone’s life was in her hands. She could break down later. But not now. Deep breaths. Take some deep breaths. Lacey closed her eyes and tried to bury the images; telling herself she wasn’t going to fall again. This time, she was in charge of her own destiny.
Forcing one hand in front of the other, she belly-crawled the last few feet toward the edge, stopping to take a few more deep breaths before peering over. She nearly drew backward in shock when she saw a dark head only a few feet below her, the girl’s legs were flailing wildly in the air, while beneath her there was nothing but misty clouds, the ground no longer visible.
Teresa was alive.
But the girl scrabbled at the rope around her neck with her hands. A noose. A noose was around her neck. And that noose was so tight, it was all she could do to fight to breathe, dangling out in space with her air fast running out. It was hard to see if there were any handholds or footholds for Teresa to use. But even if there were, the girl was fixated on the rope. Terrified out of her mind. Her body would be screaming for air; it was human instinct to try to pry the rope loose, but with all her weight on the end, it was a fruitless endeavor. She’d no more be able to let go of the noose and turn herself around so she faced the escarpment than she would be able to fly to the moon.
Unless…
She had to try and get through to the girl. If she could give her enough support so she was able to breathe, then maybe…
It took all her mental will, but she leaned out over the edge, seeing the tiny white scars crisscrossing the back of her hand as she reached down.You can do this. You can do this.
“Take my hand,” Lacey called, lying flat on the rock face, ignoring the water that dribbled off her chin and made a puddle beneath her chest. Gritting her teeth, she grappled behind her with the other hand until she found the trunk of a small but sturdy shrub she could wrap her fingers around.
The girl didn’t seem to hear her; she must be so completely terrified, all her focus was on tearing the rope from around her neck. Teresa couldn’t look up to see who was above her on the ledge, she probably had no idea Lacey was even here.
“I want to help you. Reach up and take my hand,” Lacey called again, much louder this time, reaching down even farther, ignoring the vertigo that threatened to take over. Her fingertips brushed against the girl’s hair. Could she grab a handful? Would that even help? It’d hurt like hell, but if Lacey could take even a little of the strain, it might be better than choking to death.
There was a strangled gurgling noise from the girl, like she was trying to scream around the rope blocking her windpipe.Shit. What else could Lacey do? She could haul on the rope, but that might increase the pressure around the girl’s neck and kill her quicker. And even if she tried to drag her over the edge, it may well put her at such an odd angle, it might break her neck.
“Teresa. I know you’re scared. But you need to listen to me,” Lacey said slowly and forcefully. She could almost feel the girl’s terror coming off her in waves, and the images of her own fall pushed hard at the barrier behind which she’d forced them. No, she could do this. She was trained to do this. “I’m a cop and I’m here to save you. But I can’t help you if you don’t give me your hand.”
The girl’s legs stopped kicking out violently, and she gave another strangled noise. Lacey took it as a sign Teresa had heard her. All of a sudden, as if she’d taken a leap of faith, Teresa threw her arm up and behind her. Lacey snatched it out of the air and moved her grip so she had a good hold on the girl’s wrist, feeling around behind her for something she could brace her feet against. Where the hell was Nico? She needed him. With his added strength, they’d be able to pull Teresa up easily. But as it was, it was all Lacey could do to take the entirety of the girl’s weight. She was bloody heavy, and Lacey slipped a few inches before she repositioned her feet behind a large rock. Her left hand was holding onto the shrub for dear life and she suddenly wondered if it was strong enough to support the weight of two women. She guessed she was about to find out.
Now that Lacey was supporting Teresa’s weight, she could hear the girl’s rasping breaths as she tore the rope away from her throat with her free hand enough so that she could breathe. The sound almost brought tears to Lacey’s eyes. It was the sound of survival. Raw and unfettered. Now she just had to get the girl up onto the ledge. At the thought that Teresa might have a good chance of survival, the clamoring images of her own near-death experience receded slightly.
“You’re good. It’s all good. I’ve got you,” Lacey called down loudly. The wind was howling around the crags, and Lacey hoped the girl could hear her over the noise. “Take your time and get your breath back,” she encouraged, even though it was the last thing she wanted to say. Her arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket, the sharp, rocky edge digging into the side of her bicep so hard it was as if a sharp knife was slicing across her skin.
Lacey took her own advice and sucked in a few deep breaths as well, trying to calm her racing heart.
“How are you going?” she asked after ten seconds of deep breathing. She needed to move soon because she didn’t know how long she could keep holding on. And she couldn’t let go. It was non-negotiable. She wasn’t going to drop this girl.
