by Linda Turner
“Diablo Falls, señorita,” he said grimly. “Devil Falls. I’ve never been this far upriver, but I have heard it is one of the most dangerous spots on the river. We must be very careful.”
Maddy started to ask him why, but within seconds, she could see for herself. They came around a bend, and suddenly the falls was right in front of them, towering two hundred feet into the air. With a roar that sounded like thunder that had no end, thousands of gallons of water poured over the cliff edge and crashed to the rocks below, creating a heavy mist that was as thick as fog.
Almost immediately, they were caught in the wild churning of the water caused by the falls. “Over there!” Ace shouted as the canoe began to rock back and forth. “We’ve got to get out of this current before it dashes us against the rocks!” Pointing to an area of relatively calm water that was protected by a small outcropping of land, he started to paddle furiously.
The thunder of her heart nearly as loud as the roar of the falls in her ears, Maddy quickly joined in as Dominic steered them toward the spot, but the current already had them in its grasp and started to drag them backward. The blood draining from her face, she looked to Ace for help and saw him dig his paddle deeper into the water, the muscles of his arms knotting as he pulled against the powerful river with all his strength. Tightening her grip on her own paddle, she did the same.
For what seemed like an eternity, they just hovered there, caught like a fly in a spiderweb, unable to make any headway whatsoever. Behind her in the stern, Dominic muttered something in Spanish. Her arms straining, her teeth clamped with purpose, Maddy paddled faster and prayed like she had never prayed in her life. And inch by slow, painstaking inch, they gradually nosed forward.
“Yes!” Ace yelled over the roar of the water. “That’s it! Keep it up. We’re gonna make it!”
Too breathless to manage so much as a yes, Maddy could only nod. Then they finally reached the smoother water of the little cove, where the strength of their strokes sent them shooting right up onto the bank. Laughing, tears of relief running down her cheeks, Maddy collapsed with a groan in the bottom of the canoe as the mist fell down on them like rain.
“Madre de Dios!” Dominic wheezed weakly, pushing his wet hair back from his brow. “That was too close for comfort!”
“You’re damn right it was,” Ace huffed. “If there hadn’t been three of us paddling, we’d have been goners for sure.” His gaze lifted to the thousands of gallons of water cascading from the top of the high cliff. “That’s going to be a pain in the butt to climb. There’s no other way around it?”
“Only if you want to go fifty miles out of the way,” the older man said.
“Climb?” Maddy gasped, her eyes lifting to the rocky escarpment that rose like a rock wall before them. “We’re going to climb that?”
“We have no other choice if you want to reach Barrera’s hideout quickly, señorita. Going around will take you days out of the way.”
“But what about the canoe? And all our gear?”
Tilting his head back, Ace studied the path to the top, looking for the easiest way. There wasn’t one. “Damn, I don’t like the looks of this,” he said with a shake of his head. “But if there’s no other way, the only way to go is up. Dominic and I will get the canoe, then come back for the packs,” he told Maddy, glancing down at her. “You think you can manage yours by yourself?”
Manage? Maddy almost cried out. Manage what? To climb up the side of a moss-covered cliff like a lizard? No, she couldn’t manage! Not this. Anything but this! She didn’t do heights well. Ever. Not since the day she fell out of a tree in Central Park when she was seven and broke her arm. She’d had nightmares for months afterward, horrifying dreams of that heart-stopping moment when she’d realized that there was nothing beneath her feet but thin air. She hadn’t even been on the lowest step of a stepladder since.
God, she couldn’t do this. But she had to. What other choice did she have? “Yes,” she said, forcing a smile. “Of course.”
She thought she sounded confident enough, but something in her voice must have given her away. Ace’s gaze narrowed sharply on her face. “Are you sure?”
“I can do it,” she assured him firmly, and prayed she didn’t live to regret those words.
His eyes searched hers for what seemed like an eternity before he finally nodded. “Just don’t try to be Superwoman, okay? If you get stuck or think you can’t make it, just sit there until Dominic and I get the canoe on top and I’ll come back for you. Okay?”
If her stomach hadn’t been sick with nerves, she would have laughingly told him he didn’t have to worry. If she got in trouble, he’d definitely hear about it. The best she could manage, however, was a snappy salute and a smile that never reached her eyes. “Got it, kemosabe. Lead the way.”
Standing well back out of the way, she watched as Ace and Dominic lifted the empty canoe and started up the cliff. Each step was a tricky one. The rocks underfoot were large, jagged pieces of granite that looked as if they had been tossed there by a careless hand. Appearing to barely cling to the side of the cliff, they were covered with wet, slick moss that thrived on the constant moisture in the air.
When the men were fifteen feet up, it was Maddy’s turn. Her heart in her throat, she gingerly stepped onto the first rock. Above her, she heard Ace and Dominic grunt and swear as they struggled to lift the canoe over the sharp-edged boulders that offered the only path to the top, but she didn’t dare spare them a glance. “Everything okay up there?”
“Peachy,” Ace snarled as his foot hit a slippery patch and he almost went flying before he was able to grab on to a nearby rock and right himself. “Just peachy.”
The near slip, however, sent the canoe jerking back toward Dominic and bumped him in the chest. Caught off guard, he staggered and cried out in surprise. A split second later, he sat down hard on the rock behind him, dragging his end of the canoe down with him.
Startled by the commotion and the string of oaths suddenly heating the air, Maddy had this sudden image of both men losing their balance and falling all the way to the bottom, taking her with them. Horrified, she looked up…and promptly lost her balance.
It happened so fast, she didn’t have time to do anything but cry out and throw herself toward the nearest rock. But it was covered with sodden moss and she couldn’t get a solid grip. Her nails ripped. Her raw fingers helplessly clawed at sheer granite. Strangling on a scream, she started to fall.
Chapter 7
“Maddy!”
Somewhere on the edge of the fear that cloaked her mind like a black fog, Maddy heard Ace roar her name, but she couldn’t unclench her teeth long enough to assure him she was all right. By rights, she should have been lying in a broken heap at the bottom of the cliff. Why she wasn’t would forever remain a mystery to her, but she didn’t dare question the whims of fate, not when the only thing between her and a long fall to the base of the waterfall was the slippery boulder she’d finally grabbed at the very last second. Clinging to it, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and waited for the jackhammer beat of her heart to level off. But that wasn’t going to happen, not when she only had a four-inch ledge to stand on that could, for all she knew, crumble at any second.
The furious curses that rained down on her from above were graphic, coarse and highly imaginative. “Hang on, honey!” Ace called hoarsely. “I’m coming. Just hang on!”
Already near the top, Ace and Dominic hurriedly shoved the canoe over the edge of the cliff, then scrambled back down the rocks to where Maddy clung like a burr to a boulder that wasn’t nearly big enough for her peace of mind. “I’m all right,” she said shakily as they half slid down to her. “Really. I just need a minute to catch my breath.”
Hovering on the rock next to the one she gripped like a lover, Ace reached out to gently sweep her hair back from her ashen face. “You know, if you wanted to take a break, sweetheart, you didn’t have to go out on a ledge just to get our attention. All you had to do was say s
omething.”
“Cute, MacKenzie. Real cute. For your information, I thought you and Dominic fell.”
“So you jumped off the cliff, too,” he needled, trying to draw a full-fledged smile from her. “Talk about being cute, Lawrence. That was a no-brainer. Do you think you can step over here to where I am?”
“No!” The cry bursting from her lips, she tightened her hold on the rock until her knuckles were white with the strain. One wrong step and she knew she’d be history. She wasn’t budging.
“We won’t let you fall, señorita,” Dominic assured her as he took a position on the other side of her. “We’re right here. There is no reason for you to be afraid.”
“Easy for you to say.” She laughed shakily and hugged her rock.
Studying her pale face, the almost desperate way she gripped the boulder, Ace frowned. “I know this isn’t the smartest time to ask this question, but do you have a problem with heights, sweetheart?”
At first he thought she was going to deny it. Then she shrugged, a faint movement that was quickly checked. “Maybe a little.”
He could have scolded her for not telling him sooner—he knew from the way she braced herself that she wouldn’t have blamed him—but he only murmured to Dominic in Spanish that he would take care of Maddy while the other man got their backpacks, then leaned his shoulder against the cliff wall as the guide made his way down to where they’d left their supplies.
“Did I ever tell you about this little problem I used to have with small, closed-in places?” he asked quietly once they were alone. He knew perfectly well he hadn’t—it wasn’t a part of himself he shared with many people—but he saw her grip relax slightly, which was just what he’d hoped for. “When I was a little boy, I accidently got locked in a closet in the attic.”
“Oh, no! How long were you in there?”
“Six hours,” he said flatly. “My mother thought I had gone with my father, and my father assumed I was safe and sound at home. “Which I was—I just couldn’t get out of that closet and no one heard me screaming for help. No one even realized I was missing until my father came home and no one could find me. For years, I broke out in a cold sweat every time I found myself in a small locked room. Even a bathroom.”
He had her attention now. She was watching him, the concern darkening her eyes more for him than herself. “You said you used to be afraid. How’d you get past the fear?”
“I was in Budapest a couple of years ago and got locked in a basement by someone I was trailing.” His voice roughened just at the thought of it as he confided, “I went out of my head for a little while, but once I got control, I dug my way out of that hellhole.”
His gaze directed inward on memories he didn’t often take out and examine, he didn’t see her cautiously reach out to him until her fingers traced the frown furrowing his brow. “And that cured you of the fear?” she murmured. “Just like that?”
“No,” he admitted honestly. “It’s always there, waiting just beyond the shadows, but it’s not as powerful as it was. Because I know now that no matter what kind of mess I’m in, I can get out of it if I just keep my head.” Taking her fingers, he smiled at her. “I won’t lie to you, honey. You’ve got a hell of a mountain to climb, but you can do it. One step at a time.”
Her eyes locked on his, she saw an unwavering faith there…for her. Her fingers tightening in his, she didn’t make a conscious decision, but suddenly she was in his arms and she had no memory of how she’d gotten there.
Snatching her close, Ace sighed in relief. God, she’d scared the hell out of him! When he’d seen her start to fall and knew he was never going to be able to reach her in time, his heart had stopped dead in his chest. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. Or so furious with himself.
He shouldn’t have brought her here, dammit. Hell, he’d had no business dragging her out of New York. She was a city girl, soft and inexperienced and like a duck out of water once you got her out of the towering canyons of Manhattan. If he had any sense, he’d go the rest of the way by himself and send her back to Caracas with Dominic, who could put her on the first plane back to the States. She’d be out of his hair for good, and he could get back to the business at hand—catching Lazear before he was able to unload that bellybutton ring.
But even as his gut told him that was what he should do, he knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let her go—not yet. He tried to convince himself it was just a guilt trip that made him hold on to her—he was responsible for her safety, for personally delivering her back to her sick mother—but he wasn’t a man who bought into guilt. Ever. So what the hell was going on here?
“Okay,” she mumbled wryly against his shoulder. “You got me off that ledge. But I’ve got to be honest with you, MacKenzie—the view doesn’t look much better from here. It’s a long way down.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re not going down,” he replied, keeping his tone deliberately light as he carefully set her from him just enough so that he could see her face. She was pale and there was definite apprehension in her eyes, but the terror that had held her on that ledge was, for the moment, thankfully under control. Taking her hand, he wove his fingers through hers and held her, palm to palm. “You ready to get off the side of this damn cliff now?”
He made it sound as easy as a walk in the park, but the second her eyes took the long, dangerous trip to the top, her stomach tilted sickeningly. “Maybe I’ll just stay here by myself while you two go after Mr. Lazear,” she said faintly as he started to step up to the jagged boulder just above them to the left. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“That’s one option,” he agreed, dropping back down beside her. “But I don’t think you’d like this place very much once it started to get dark. Of course, if you’re really dead set against making the climb today, we could set up camp down at the bottom for the night, then do it tomorrow when you’re steadier on your feet.”
A class-A coward, she wanted to jump at that offer, but putting the climb off until tomorrow would only make things worse. And she knew as well as he did that if they quit this early in the day, it would kill whatever slim chance they still had of catching up with Lazear before he reached Barrera’s stronghold. “No, we could wait a month and it wouldn’t be any easier. Let’s just do it and get it over with.”
“There’s another option,” he said, watching her closely. “I could carry you.”
On flat ground, she shamelessly admitted to herself, she didn’t think she would have been able to deny herself the pleasure. But on that rocky cliff? “I don’t think so.”
His mouth crooked up at one corner. “Then what if we take it one step at a time? I’ll wait until you’re ready before I move on and I’ll never let go of your hand. Okay?”
It was the best offer she was going to get and, unless she wanted to stay there by herself with the snakes and jungle cats and whatever else was waiting out there in the undergrowth for her, one she didn’t have the luxury of turning down. In spite of that, she couldn’t manage the single word that was going to take her higher up that cliff. Her throat tight, all she could do was squeeze his hand.
It was enough. He gave her a smile that warmed her all the way to her toes and tightened his fingers around hers. “Good girl.”
Just as he promised, he took it nice and easy, never rushing her, making sure she was steady on her feet before taking her higher. The roar of the waterfall loud in her ears, she kept her eyes trained on Ace’s booted feet, then her own, while in her head, she promised herself over and over again that if she could get through this, she could get through anything. Still, no one was more surprised than she when they actually took that last step that put them over the top.
Stunned, she looked up for what seemed like the first time in hours and saw nothing but level ground covered by the thick vegetation of the rain forest. Surprised, she laughed, elated. “We did it. My God, we did it!” she cried, and threw herself into his arms.
Chuckling, he wrapped her
close. “Well, you don’t have to sound so damn surprised. Did you think I was going to let you fall?”
“No, of course not, but…”
She drew back the tiniest bit to see his face, her eyes locked with his, and suddenly the exhilaration sizzling through her had nothing to do with the hurdle they’d both just climbed. She drew in a quick breath and the scent of him filled her. Her heart stumbled and picked up speed as she felt awareness make its way through his body. Seduced, she could hear Dominic making his way up the dangerous cliff face with their supplies. Any second now, he’d stumble over the edge and catch them in each other’s arms.
She should move, do something, she told herself dazedly. But she couldn’t, not when he was this close. Not when his mouth was just a heartbeat from hers. Not when it seemed like a lifetime had passed since he’d kissed her.
His gaze riveted to hers, Ace stared down at her and couldn’t for the life of him look away. She had the look of a woman who needed to be kissed. Desperately. Her brown eyes were nearly black with need, her lips slightly parted in an unconscious invitation that only a saint could have had a prayer of ignoring. And God knew, he was no saint. He wanted her. There was no use lying about it to himself. She stirred a hunger in him that ate at him from the inside out and got stronger every time his eyes chanced to meet hers. And he ached, dammit! No woman had ever made him ache this way! All he could think about was dragging her down to the jungle floor with him and kissing every sweet inch of her until she was hot and panting and didn’t remember her own name. He’d love her then, like she’d never dreamed of being loved, like he’d never allowed himself to love a woman…
He was already lowering his mouth to hers when he suddenly realized what he was doing. Cursing himself, he froze. What the hell was the matter with him? The lady was a virgin. A sweet, tempting virgin who didn’t have a clue what she was inviting with those long sultry looks of hers. And that made her off-limits. Why was he having such a hard time remembering that?