Hunter's Pride

by McKenna, Lindsay

  Dev pointed to several leather sacks clipped to carabiners, which would eventually be snapped onto the climbing belt around his waist. Carabiners were oval shaped rings of smooth metal that the nylon rope was strung through. The line was the best money could buy, but Cappy ran his roughened, experienced fingers down the smooth, nylon length anyway, and out of habit, tested it here and there. He also checked it for any signs of wear, any rough spots or possible nicks and tears. A mountain climber always checked out his gear carefully before a climb.

  Cappy grunted his approval after testing, poking and studying the gear. “And after three hundred feet, what did you have in mind? Pitons hammered in every hundred feet?”

  “Yes,” Dev said.

  Cappy grunted his approval once more as he checked the static belay. The line had been circled around the tree on a block and tackle assembly. The tree was the anchor point for the initial descent over the cliff.

  “I’ll belay you the line you need, when you need it,” Cappy said, patting the pile of ropes in approval. “You’ll just use the same lines over and over again, every three hundred feet of your descent. That way, you aren’t carrying too much weight on your shoulders or hips. Too much would tire you out too soon, and you two have a long descent ahead of you.” He stared over at Dev. “In case you’ve never been around lava walls before, they cut into nylon line. If that happens—” he patted his belt, where a cell phone was attached “—I’ll be putting a call in to Sammy’s and we’ll get more line out here to you. Once a rope has a knick in it, don’t use it. When climbing a wall like this, we throw away any rope that’s in any way flawed. It’s too risky to use it again.” Cappy studied the different types of carabiners that Dev had chosen for the climb. Holding a couple of them up, he said, “You’ve got to make sure your carabiners keep that line away from the rock face at all costs. Lava is infamous for rubbing a line raw so it breaks.”

  Dev nodded. “This will be my first time climbing lava. I appreciate your input.” He felt Kulani’s approach. She had that kind of effect on him; there was a peacefulness, a sweet longing that filled him every time she came near. She was the eye of his hurricane. He realized now that life—his life—was always in chaos exactly like a hurricane—or had been until she’d unexpectedly stepped into it.

  “Have you heard the latest weather report?” Kulani asked as she knotted some of the line that she’d be using to lower herself down the wall.

  “Yeah,” Dev muttered, “the tropical storm didn’t move on. It’s hanging around Kauai’s north coast and intensifying.” Looking up at the heavy clouds scudding over them, he added, “And it looks like we’re about to get our share of it pretty soon.”

  “Yep,” Cappy chortled, “It’s right on time.” He pointed to the bloodred-and-gold sunset to the west. “All those clouds are gonna thicken in a helluva hurry, young man. And if I don’t miss my guess, in another hour the rains are comin’. You ever climbed in a tropical storm?”

  Dev shook his head. “No. I’ve climbed in blizzards and rain, but nothing continuous like a tropical storm.”

  “Right. It’s different. You’re gonna get wet and cold goin’ down that wall. The winds will cut at you like a knife as they move inland and strike the rear wall where you’re gonna be climbin’. Your hands are gonna get slow when you use your hammer to pound those pitons into the rock. The hammer handle is gonna get real slippery. So will the handholds in that lava. The chances of you slippin’ or fallin’ are real good. The only thing between you and the ground is your equipment and your partner.” He gave Dev an imperious look.

  Pointing his finger at Kulani, he said, “That’s why, young feller, when you begin your descent, I’m sending Kulani down first. She knows this wall like the back of her hand. She knows where the dibits are at, where the handholds are, what bushes you can rely on not to tear away from the wall when you grab onto ’em.” Cappy moved within inches of Dev, his face serious and dark. “You listen to her, son. Don’t not listen. Put your testosterone and ego on the shelf. They don’t belong here, tonight, on this descent. They could cause your death and hers. Now, I don’t care about you dyin’, to tell you the truth, but her?” Cappy smiled benignly at Kulani. “She’s my godchild. She means everything to me. So, if you don’t listen to her, you’ll have me climbin’ down your case like the fired-up mountain goat that I am. Besides, she needs you. You read me loud and clear on priorities regardin’ this climb, son?”

  Dev got it. “Yeah,” he muttered. “I still think I should go first. If we’re detected and they start firing up at us, Kulani will take the bullet first and you know it.”

  Cappy took off his frayed, dark blue knit cap, which had seen better days. “We’ll be in touch by walkie-talkies. You’ll each have a cell phone. If stuff happens, I’ll be up here and we’ll do what’s necessary to help you. I know it’s dicey. But having a greenhorn climber like you at the end and not knowing the ins and outs of these lava walls is sure as hell asking for big-time trouble. Kulani leads. You follow.”

  Dev noticed the mantle of night quickly moving upon them. “It’s time to get in our harnesses,” he told Kulani in a growling voice. He, too, had worn a form-hugging, black nylon bodysuit. When she handed him a flak jacket of the same color, their fingertips met. For a moment, he saw the raw need in her, for whatever he could give her to help her conquer her fear on this climb. He managed a crooked smile meant to buoy her. Her eyes turned soft momentarily in acknowledgment as their fingertips eased apart. He shrugged into the piece of equipment, noticing how achingly beautiful Kulani was in the way she carried herself. Her body was slender and strong looking as she placed her legs through the harness that she’d wear for the duration of the climb. All of her motions were those of an experienced climber; there was no waste, no hesitation as she hooked up the harness to the tinkling sound of ten carabiners hanging around her waist. Snapping the leather bags containing the lifesaving pitons on the right side of her waist, she made sure her hammer was securely anchored in the leather holster farther down on her hip. Dev motioned to two rifles he’d brought along for the climb. He handed one to Kulani. She nodded her thanks. They would each carry a rifle strapped to their backs along with their knapsacks. “They’ve got tranquilizer darts in them instead of bullets,” he told her. “Morgan wants those terrorists taken alive if possible.” Dev glanced down at his pistol. “And if we can’t do that, we’re authorized to use bullets instead.”

  Kulani nodded. “Understood.” She made a special knot—a bowline—because she was the lead climber. Dev would make a butterfly knot because he was the second climber.

  Tension lined Kulani’s set lips and her eyes were narrowed, her mind focused on the job before them. Moving to his own harness, Dev made quick work of climbing into it and fashioning a butterfly knot. Cappy handed him the belt he’d wear, which contained ten carabiners, several sacks of pitons, a military knife with a jagged, ugly-looking blade, a cell phone, a walkie-talkie no larger than his hand, a Beretta 9 mm pistol, several shock grenades, a canteen filled with water and several cartridge pouches filled with replacement bullets should he need them.

  As Kulani screwed the carabiners closed around the line that would take her down the cliff, Dev saw a marked change in her. No longer was she a soft, compelling woman. Now, as she stood near the lip of the wall, surrounded by damp ferns that hid the actual jump-off spot, she looked like a capable warrior. Her face was set. Her eyes were dark and unreadable. Each movement she made was swift and steady. No longer could he detect any trembling of her fingers as she worked the knapsack over her shoulders. He saw that her piton hammer had a thick leather strap at the end of it, which she would wrap securely around her wrist as she used it on her way down. That way, she couldn’t accidentally drop it. The leather was like a lifeline, because without the mallet-type implement, the pitons couldn’t be placed into the lava.

  “Now, listen to me, young ’uns,” Cappy said as he gestured for them to come and stand close to him. “I go
t helpers comin’ at timed intervals. There will be other friends of ours a’comin’ shortly to help belay the line as you need it. If you get in trouble and need to ascend, then I’m gonna need raw muscle to pull you up the cliff and to safety.”

  Dev nodded. He saw no need to question Cappy’s choice of people. The old man was a world-famous climber. Dev also knew Cappy had written a book of poetry more than thirty years ago on the mountains he’d tamed, including Mount Everest. Dev cherished that book, his copy dog-eared from so many readings. “If we get fired upon, you need to call—”

  “I already told him,” Kulani said. “Morgan gave me the SOP—standard operating procedures—for this mission. Cappy will initiate what we need, when we need it, so it’s taken care of.”

  Nodding, Dev felt guilt eat at him. Kulani was silhouetted against the coming night, her body tall, proud and strong looking. Never had he wanted to love a woman more than her. She made him go hot with longing. She made him want to forget about this mission. He hoped at some point he’d get a chance to tell her he was sorry—that he wanted to start all over with her. Judging from the glint of challenge in her eyes, Dev wondered if she would ever forgive—or forget—his deception.

  “Now,” Cappy said, “a thousand feet below is a cave. It ain’t much, but by the time you reach it, you’ll be damned glad it’s there. No social amenities. The floor is rough but serviceable. You can sit up in it, but you can’t stand up. Your objective tonight is to reach it, understand? You’ll sleep there during the daylight hours and it will be your jump-off point for the second night or day, depending on how long the first part of the climb takes.”

  Surprised, Dev said, “A cave? Halfway down?”

  Kulani gave him a bored look. “Yes. If you’d have trusted me, if you’d have asked me to look at the map and the climbing course, I could have told you about it. But you didn’t ask and you didn’t want me in the loop, according to Morgan.” In light of Dev’s past, Kulani understood his earlier decision, but now he was going to learn that he needed her as much as she needed him.

  Shamed, Dev nodded. “Okay, I get the point.” He met her defiant gaze. Right now she looked like a warrior out of the pages of history, either Hawaiian or Native American. She was confident looking, her thighs firm and her arms well muscled in a sleek kind of way. It was how Kulani held herself, with incredible self-esteem and pride, that made Dev feel good about the mission. Kulani had the right stuff. In his heart, he knew it.

  “About a hundred feet from the bottom of the box canyon wall you’ll be descending down into,” Cappy said, “is a ledge. Again, not much, but better than nothin”. That’s your second night’s objective, depending on the speed of your descent down that wall. You can use that second ledge to get some shut-eye, or as a jumping-off point into the valley, which is only about two hundred feet below it. Now, the walls get testy the second thousand feet of the descent. They’re a lot rougher and sharper. You got climbing gloves and you need to wear ’em at all times. You each got a first aid kit, and believe me, you’ll be using it to wrap your fingers from all the cuts you’re gonna receive.”

  That was good news about the ledge. Dev said, “I saw the notch indicated on the map as a possible ledge. So it’s wide enough, stable enough for two people to sleep on?”

  “Yes, and what’s even nicer is that there’s an overhang,” Kulani offered. “That overhang will act like a roof over our heads so we can at least, at the end of the night, get out of the constant wind and rain and try to dry off a little.”

  Cackling, Cappy said, “The only way you two will begin to dry out is to sleep in one another’s arms and let your bodies generate enough heat to do so. Otherwise, you’ve got two miserable days and nights of teeth-chattering rain, wind and cold. This ain’t gonna be easy. If you could delay this climb, I’d sure as hell do it, but I understand the urgency of it, so you two will have to weather the storm and descend safely down this wall.”

  Dev thrust his hand toward Cappy. “I want to thank you for coming, for helping. It means a lot….”

  Gripping his hand, Cappy looked meaningfully at Kulani, who stood apart from them, her climbing gloves on as she held the line that would take her down the wall. “Young man, the one to thank is her, not me.”

  Releasing his hand, Dev grinned rakishly and turned. “I’m damned if I’m going to go down this wall without mending some fences.” Looking at her beautiful face, the hint of vulnerability still there in her eyes, Dev felt a surge of warmth. She needed him. The feeling was like an ongoing tidal wave within his chest. His heart felt like it was expanding with an incredible joy he’d never felt before. And it had to do with Kulani, with her need of him. He knew this meant that she trusted him. And it had been a long time since a woman had trusted him. Savoring the feeling, Dev felt almost intoxicated by it. He’d be damned if he’d let Kulani down.

  Kulani’s eyes widened as Dev loomed over her. Before she could do or say anything, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her hard against his powerful, masculine body. His fingers slid beneath her neck and he positioned her so that he could kiss her. Her lips parting in a soft gasp, Kulani lifted her arms automatically and dug her fingers into his hard upper arms. The glint in his eyes was feral; he was the predator, she, his quarry.

  The world spun to a halt in those split seconds. Suddenly, all her fear, her anguish, was erased. Kulani saw him smile boldly down at her as he leaned over to capture her mouth. She felt his strength as she stood balanced within his arms. She felt the movement of his muscles, felt his hot, moist breath across her face, and then his mouth descended on hers. This wasn’t a tender kiss. This was a kiss of claiming her as his woman. His mouth was warm, cherishing, taking and giving. Her heart lurched. Kulani moaned as her lashes swept downward across her cheeks. His breath was hot against the coolness of the coming night and his mouth wreaked havoc within her body, her stunned emotions. Never had she been kissed like this! Kulani’s world spun out of control. She’d not expected this. Not this sweet assault.

  His mouth was cajoling as it slid across her wet lips. It was so easy to relax within his steely grip, to allow him to take her full weight, to know that he would protect her and keep her safe within his embrace. There was such incredible confidence communicated between them. She felt the glory, the joy of him kissing her, and reveled in all that she was as a woman. His fingers caressed her hair as he deepened their contact. Kulani moaned again, only this time it was a moan of raw need. Dev was so masculine. Brutally fashioned out of rock and steel. Yet he was a man with a heart. She felt the tenderness of his mouth as he eased away slightly and began to worship her lips. He tasted of coffee and she smiled to herself. Without thinking, she eased her fingers up across his broad shoulders, following the line of his thickly corded neck, and tunneled them into his short, dark hair.

  Dev trembled violently beneath her ministrations. How good it felt to be needed once again! He had expected Kulani to back away, to fight him, to push him out of her life. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t help himself where Kulani was concerned. His need for her overrode his fear of rejection by her. And now her fingers were sliding through his hair in adoration, and she was leaning against him, her mouth hungrily taking his as he was taking hers. Heat erupted through him. He felt like a primal animal; she was his and he would give his life to keep her safe. The sweetness of her mouth did nothing but accentuate her beauty, and desire sizzled through him as her hands caressed his face.

  Groaning, Dev felt the massive control he held over himself dissolving. Kulani’s mouth was wreaking havoc through him like a volcano exploding with red-hot lava. The violence of his need for her shook him. No. He had to stop. He didn’t want to, but he had to. There was a mission to undertake. There were lives hanging in the balance. Their lives. He wanted to survive this with her if only to explore all the promise of her sweet, sweet kiss. As he broke contact with her glistening mouth, he drowned in her sultry, half-opened eyes. Shaken by the emotion he th
ought he saw there, and unwilling to believe it, Dev eased her back on her feet. He kept his arms around her until he was satisfied she could stand on her own once again.

  Kulani’s hands rested firmly against his upper arms. She was gripping him hard, as if she were dizzy. Dev studied her in the building, heated silence that swirled around them. He never wanted to let her go. She looked dazed. Had his kiss impacted her that much? His mouth lifted in a slight grin.

  “Pretty good, huh?” He rejoiced over the fact that his kissing her meant something good and clean was happening between them. Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance to atone after all for all the mistakes he’d made with Kulani. Judging from the drowsy look in her eyes, the soft parting of her lips and the rose hue staining her cheeks, the answer was yes. His heart soared like an unshackled eagle in that moment of yearning. But behind that surge of joy was fear. Fear of losing Kulani, of losing whatever they had before he had a chance to explore it with her.

  This mission was dangerous. They could easily die. But Dev fought his fear. Gripping her arms firmly, he stepped away from her. “Okay now?”

  The rasp of his dark voice flowed through her like cooling water spilling across hot, boiling lava. Her lower body felt scalded, aching and in need of Dev in all ways. Shaken, Kulani released her hands from his heavily muscled arms. “Y-yes, I’m fine now…I really am….” Liar. She was anything but fine. She saw the pleased look in Dev’s deeply shadowed face. His eyes glinted with arrogant confidence. He was primal. And she thirsted for him in ways that she’d never thirsted for another man.

  Pushing a few loose tendrils away from her temple, Kulani tried to get ahold of herself, of the joy thrumming through her heart and soul. She saw Cappy smiling in a fatherly fashion at the two of them. He looked like he knew something they didn’t.