Chapter Twenty-Seven

The dirt kicked up around them.

Jo Jo screamed.

One minute the ground was stable; the next it wailed.

Ryker lost his balance as the dirt shifted beneath his feet. He went down hard. Pain ricocheted through his muscles and bones from the impact, and he scrambled to recover.

He looked up just as Jo Jo’s beautiful face dipped beneath the ledge.

“Fuck No! Hang on!” He leaped forward onto his stomach, grabbing Jo Jo’s right forearm before the small grouping of rocks she landed on dropped out from underneath her feet. The ground moaned and crumbled under the weight of her body as she dangled over the cliff, fighting for another foothold. “Jo Jo! I will not let you fall.”

It was like damn quicksand, the way the earth swallowed up everything. The sound deafening. Dirt, rocks, trees sliding, the unmerciful soil pitching it all together and sending the clustered masses over the bluff in a cloud of suffocating dust.

He turned his head and coughed the dust particles from his burning lungs. His eyes watered, stung.

“Please don’t let me go,” she pleaded, trying desperately to grasp his arm with her other hand, every move causing the grip he had to slip.

“Be still.” His heart hammered in his ears. “Look around you, find a root, something to cling to.”

“Ryker, I…” Her words were lost in the sound of another break in the weakened ledge. Inches from where they fought against gravity, another huge hunk of earth cracked, broke free, and tumbled to the uneven rocks below.

“Damn it!” Keith had gone down with the first collapse, but Ryker had no intentions of letting Jo Jo follow.

Panicked as hell, she managed to stop her body from wildly swinging side to side, giving him time to maneuver himself around to his butt where he dug in with his heels, pulling, tugging, inching her upward toward him and stable ground. But the earth kept giving beneath her weight in a domino effect.

He darted a glance over his shoulder.

Shit. He was running out of room behind him where the new decking piled up high against the boards already nailed in place. Once there, they’d both go down.

“Don’t let go,” she begged again. The terror on her beautiful face tore at his soul as her fingers burrowed deep into his forearm, where she clung to him with all her strength. With each forceful jerk, his injured shoulder threatened to give out, the painful shaking causing beads of sweat on his forehead to trickle down into his eyes and mix with the dirt dusting his lashes.

Damn it, he couldn’t see. Everything blurred. And wiping his face on his shirt only made his hazy vision worse.

“I won’t take you down with me,” Jo Jo whimpered, sneaking a peek over her shoulder, her strong grip slacking off.

“Don’t you dare give up.” With his last bit of strength, he swiped at her other hand and caught it in midair. If she went over, he was going, too. There was no other option. But damn it to hell, he wasn’t ready to die. They had too much to live for.

Arching his back against the pain, he sucked in a long, deep breath and drew on an inner strength that bordered on the inhuman.

“I will not”—he howled at the added agony coursing through his entire body—“let you die.” His momentum shifted. The heels of his boots plowed deep groves in the ground until they lodged into a large tree root and gave him the extra leverage needed to turn his efforts against gravity into a fighting chance. Bit by brutalizing bit, he edged her upward toward the top of the ledge.

Sweat ran down his neck and back, chilled his arms and stung his stretched and straining wounds. With one last-ditch effort, he jerked back and hauled her upward into his arms, holding tight as he rolled off to the safer side of the deck, away from the ever-shifting, sinking soil. He held her against him, his breathing as rough as hers. Heart to heart they lay, afraid to move, listening to the ground moan in distress. His sore muscles and tender wounds protested in agony, but he barely felt the pain. The woman trembling within his embrace was all he could think about. How he’d almost lost her again. This time forever.

“You’re going to be okay. You hear me?” He planted tiny kisses in her hair, linking his fingers through hers and battling the emotions threatening his sanity. Gritting his teeth against the reality of what almost happened, he worked to gain control of his unsteady composure as he pulled them into a sitting position.

“Jo Jo? Say something.”

When she looked up into his face, his entire world altered. Moisture misted the emerald green pools, wide-eyed and petrified, but she managed a weak smile and whispered, “We made it.”

Yes. They’d made it. He glanced over at the huge menacing hole. Somehow he’d cheated death again. Wiping away the dirt-streaked tears from her cheeks, he leaned down and kissed her soft lips, drawing her closer to him so he could feel the rapid rate of her heartbeat. She squeezed even tighter, and he vowed to all that was holy he’d never let her go.

Breaking the tender kiss, he said, “It’s okay. I got you.” Ryker leaned his head back and stared at the clouds as they hovered above them. When he closed his eyes, his father’s stern face instantly emerged through the gritty feel behind his lids. He swallowed hard. So much pain and frustration lingered deep within the depths of his father’s tired and weathered features.

He shook his head. Almost losing Jo Jo changed his viewpoint on everything. He let the heartbreaking memories from his past return. The death of a child had to be unfathomable. And Ryker had not made the days following his brother’s death easy on anyone. He hadn’t known how to deal with his own grief. The guilt. The memories of how it all went down. The look on his parents’ faces when they’d learned Tyler hadn’t made it still twisted and tore through his gut.

“You have to forgive yourself before you can move on and heal.”

Son of a bitch. Jo Jo was right. It was his own guilt and the way he’d dealt with the tragedy that had hardened his father’s heart. He saw that now. His father had done the only thing he could to protect himself from that kind of agonizing pain again. He’d distanced himself from his younger son, who was hell-bent on proving he could defy death despite it all.

What he wouldn’t give for a way to make it right with his father. But that wasn’t possible. What he could do was move on and give himself a second chance.

And it all started with Jo Jo.

Jo Jo shifted in his arms, breaking the trance as she stole a look over her shoulder. “Why? Why, didn’t he let me help him?”

Her words cut deep.

When she tried to lean toward the fragmented earth, Ryker stopped her. “No, wait.” He needed to make sure it was safe.

Cautiously, pulling her to stand with him, he eased them over to a more secure area nearer the house, where he helped her sit down. Using the deck as a security line, he walked close enough to the edge to glance down at the lake below. Keith lay on his back, his body twisted and mangled amidst the huge irregular boulders. There was no way the man survived the fall. Ryker’s stomach churned at the gruesome image.

“Is he…?” She was crying, her beautiful face bruised and bloody where the bastard had hit her.

“Don’t look.” He made his way back to where she’d pulled herself to her knees. “He’s gone.”

She inched up off the floor, half standing, half supported by his weight.

“You okay? He didn’t…”

Her lip quivered. “I don’t think he meant to really go through with it. He was so angry. Seeing me with you. The pain from his burns. The reality he’d never be the same.” Her raw, jagged voice tore him up.

Unbelievable. Still, she tried to defend him. He marveled at how quickly she could forgive the man after all he’d done. But maybe forgive was too strong a word. Identify with might fit better. After all, the incident with Keith’s mother linked the two of them in a way he’d never be able to understand. A sick, warped as hell kind of way.

She blinked back the tears and took several cleansing breaths. “I wish I’d known. Wish I could have helped him. Stopped him from hurting all those other people.”

He hugged her tight, loving her compassionate nature. “There’s nothing you could have done.” Amazingly, consoling her, soothing her with the truth, also set him free. There was nothing either of them could have done.

He dropped his head and kissed her forehead.

“It’s finally over, right?” Her hands slid up his chest and fisted his shirt.

“Yes, it is.” Grazing her salty cheek with his lips, he tried to straighten. But she tugged him closer, her breasts resting heavy against his chest.

“Thank you for saving me. Again.” Tiptoeing, her soft lips swept over his waiting for his reaction.

He groaned and she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“You know what this means?” He knew exactly how he was going to right the universe. And it had everything to do with the amazing woman he now held in his arms. He planned to open himself up, deal with his emotional shit instead of camouflage it.

“I do.”

“Tell me what you want, Jo Jo.” His voice shook.

“Just you,” she whispered softly.

Capturing her lips with his, he closed his eyes and kissed her deeply, lost in the feel of her heartbeat racing against his.

Sirens rang in the distance.

“Now they come?” she said, breaking the kiss.

“I called for backup. Smarter this time, remember?” he said, tapping his temple with his forefinger.

“Of course you did.” She leaned her head against his good shoulder, and they shuffled their way onto the front porch.

As the police cars and medical units pulled into the driveway, he held her, never wanting to break the connection. A strange pounding caught his attention. “Do you hear that?”

“Yes. It’s coming from over there.” She tilted her head and pointed to the corner of the driveway and then her mouth made a wide O shape. “Oh, no!” She took off down the steps toward the driveway, half limping, half running, her face grimacing at the pain of her actions. “Sam! She’s alive!”

“This should be good.” Ryker took the steps one at a time using the rail as support, joining her behind Sam’s car. “You want to open it, or should I?”

She drew in a long deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” After hitting the trunk release, she stumbled back into him to avoid being hit by the thrashing arms and legs.

“Son of a bitch, could you wait any longer! Geesh, I’m dying in here. What the freakin’ hell happened? Where is that piece of shit?” Sam was up and out of the trunk like one pissed-off rattler, striking at anything that moved. “I’m going to make him wish he was never born.”

“He’s gone, Sam.”

Both brows rose in disbelief. “Gone? What the hell do you mean gone? That little jackass escaped?” Sam glanced over at Ryker and then back to Jo Jo, and her eyes widened with a sad comprehension. “Oh.” She swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry. You okay, hon? He didn’t hurt you, right?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Well, you don’t look fine? He do that to your face?”

Jo Jo ran a finger over her bruised cheek. “It’ll heal. I’m just glad it’s over.” She turned to smile up at Ryker. “And that Ryker was here.”

Sam glanced over at Ryker, horizontal wrinkles appearing on her forehead as she cocked her mouth to the side. “Really?”

As an answer, he grabbed Jo Jo around the waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her. Sweetly. Softly, making certain not to put too much pressure on the swollen parts of her face.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Sam’s voice said it all. He didn’t need to see her expression. “So this is what it takes to get you two together? A freaking lunatic out to kill you both? Somebody call me a shrink, cause I need a straightjacket.”

Officer Turow walked up, nodding at Ryker. “We’re going to need to ask you a few questions, Miss McNamee.”

“Of course.”

“The man at the bottom of the bluff. Is that Keith Coleman?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And he went down when the ledge gave way?”

“Yes,” she said, her throat locking up.

Ryker took a step forward. “Wasn’t there supposed to be a car parked outside?” His tone rang with anger and concern, his hands in fists.

“There was. I figured you had it covered when a lead came in matching both suspects. Thought we had them both heading to Mexico on Highway 59. Turns out it was just the one suspect with all the jewels from the hotel robbery.”

Frank. So he’d helped Keith hide from Sam and then made a run for it. “It would have been nice to know this ahead of time.”

“I left a message on your cell.” He’d checked his phone several times. There were no messages.

“Reception is spotty out here on the lake,” Sam said, sending Ryker an apologetic smile.

“Of course it would be.” Ryker shook his head. “You got him, right?” He turned to Turow. “I have a huge bone to pick with that man.”

“We did.” He patted Ryker on his good shoulder. “You two need to get checked out. You both look like you took quite a beating.”

“Thanks. We’ll do that.”

“Miss Brooks, I’d like to take your statement as well. And have you explain to me why you thought it smart to ditch your police escort.”

“Of course,” Sam said, smoothing her hair down and trying to straighten her wrinkled skirt so that the slit was in the back where it belonged. “But it’s not my fault he couldn’t keep up. I mean, you gotta keep up with traffic here in Houston or get the hell run over.”

“That erratic driving of yours is gonna come back to bite you in the ass, Sam.” Jo Jo met her friend eye to eye.

“Gotta catch me first,” she laughed with a wink.

Turow shook his head and walked over to one of the unmarked police cars with Sam by his side.

“You know that girl’s crazy.” Ryker led Jo Jo toward the ambulance as it pulled into the driveway and parked.

“Always has been and I wouldn’t have her any other way.” Jo Jo leaned her body into his. “Ryker, I’m so sorry.

“Sorry? What the hell do you have to be sorry for?”

“For all of this. For not telling you where I was going after leaving the hospital.”

Pulling her to a stop, he turned her toward him and looked her straight in the eye. “Don’t ever think this was your fault. You had nothing to do with his mother’s death, or how he dealt with it, or anything else in his deranged life. People become who they are because of choices they make. They can choose to let the struggles beat them down, or use them to make them stronger. That’s it. That’s the truth. One I learned from you.”

She flinched as his words hit home. “I know, but—”

“Nope, don’t you dare.” He pulled her against him and lifted her chin with his forefinger, softening his tone. “I’m just going to say this. You might not be ready to hear it, but damn it, I’m ready to say it.”

She held his gaze, those beautiful green eyes staring up at him with so much hope it nicked at his heart.

“I love you, Jo Jo. And no matter what happens between us, no matter how far this goes, I want you to know that.”

Instead of the scared look of disappointment he expected, she smiled, arched a brow, and tiptoed so she could plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you, too, Ryker.”

Relief fizzed up inside his chest, and he gently tightened his grip around her waist as he leaned back, lifting her feet off the ground. “God, I’ve waited an eternity to hear you say that.”

“Wow, that’s a long time, Rambo.” The faintest trace of moisture misted the playful glint in her eyes. “I knew you’d finally come around someday.”

“Liar,” he said as he cupped the back of her head with his hand and kissed her, loving the way she clung to him, melted against him. Finally, his life felt complete.

She was his idea of heaven on earth.

His soul mate forever.

And he’d die before he let her go again.