Chapter 19

Abby screamed as the tent’s structure and canvas fell on her, swaddling her with its weight and knocking her to the ground.

She half-heard Dare’s bellow for her as she thrashed against the weight that enveloped her. But everywhere she struck out, there was more weight. More sodden canvas.

Her lungs labored for the next breath. She forced her hands above her head in the artificial darkness, working to give herself room to access whatever oxygen was available. Her muscles were screaming, bunching hard to move the material. With her eyes closed to protect them, she kept pressing upward and was rewarded by an easier breath. Another shove skyward…

…and then a huge mass crashed down on her and the material was the least of her concern.

Twisting with strength she didn’t know she had, she rotated her body with all her might. But the impediment didn’t budge. Something was very wrong. She struggled to breathe, her lungs gripping onto every bit of oxygen it could find. Her fingers clutched at the canvas around her as desperation engulfed her.

Suddenly, the weight was gone. The canvas lifted around her and Dare’s crazed face came into view beside her, lit by the small safety light he’d apparently flicked on. She breathed in a shuddering, never-ending breath, and felt coherence come back to her mind.

With a relief that knew no bounds she felt the warmth of Dare’s hold around her wrist.

Grateful. She was so grateful.

“Come on,” Dare urged her. “This way. There’s air coming in here. One of the vents is right here. I’ll cut from there. We’ll get out that way.”

Willing her body not to give up, she nodded and shifted, turning onto her side in the space that had opened up, grappling to hang on to her camera.

“Do you need help? Can you move?”

“Yeah.” She paid intent attention to her actions now, moving as quickly as possible, before something else fell on them. With another burst of effort, she got up on all fours and tented a space for herself.

Dare motioned to her, behind him. “This way. Okay?”

She nodded her agreement and he turned to his task, tunneling back under. When he was done she could still see his feet as he knelt on all fours, holding onto their escape hatch.

She shifted, crawled through the space. Coming up beside him, she moved into the spot he’d made for her. He was holding the material up, creating a space for her to breathe. She gulped down huge lungfuls of air, her chest shuddering. Flicked a glance at Dare.

Was that the rain pouring down his face, drenching his shirt? Or sweat?

Dare. A crazy warmth spun through her. He did know how and when to make a reappearance in her life.

He craned his neck to look at her, and seeing her face, flashed a reassuring smile.

“I’ll go first and shield you. When I get through, I’ll wait for you to come after me. I’ll have to push the canvas to the ground to get out, but then I’ll make sure there’s room for you by lifting it again. Okay?”

She nodded.

“Once we’re out, cover your face. We’ll be running on the tent, but it will be an uneven surface. Be ready for that. I know a spot we’ll be safe, if we can get to it. Okay?”

“Yeah.” The breath was still tearing from her lungs, uneven.

“Okay. Here I go!” He reared up on his knees, holding the fabric as high as he could, and hacked at the opening of the rain fly with his knife. Tearing at the mesh, the material danced in the wind, but he split it open, cut further. He pushed himself through the jagged opening as the canvas pooled around him and it shrouded her in darkness again, pushing her down.

But his hands were already reaching for her through the opening and he pulled it up, over her, and she was climbing out of the muddled disarray. Torn palm fronds hurtled through the air and slashed at her. Tiny scythes of sand whipped against her in sheets as she reached for him to steady herself.

Dare gripped her hand and they ran, hunched over, pounding on the uneven ground. Part of the tent was already half blown onto the stand of palms, caught there, unable to fly further.

She couldn’t see much, but she felt that he’d veered off to the right, by the hillside that McMaster’s tent had backed onto.

“Here it is!” he yelled into the blinding horizontal rain. He pushed her head down, shoved her at the hill.

She had no choice but to trust him. Hanging onto her camera for dear life, she ducked, and suddenly, abruptly, she was in a no-fly zone. Dry, sheltered, the ferocity of the wind cut sharply. She fell onto her butt on cool dirt, dazed.

Dare bumped her out of the way and thudded his ass onto the ground beside her.

They sat there, their chests heaving with huge gasps, bodies trembling.

“Hey there, cookie,” he grinned. “What’s new?”

She caught herself on a disbelieving laugh-snort, and looked at him with wide eyes. “What the hell just happened?”

“Oh, whatever seems to happen when you and I get together. Everything goes insane.” But his smile was warm and his eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Come over here, you.” He hooked an arm around her shoulder, pulled her to him, and met her lips with his.

Warm. Forceful. Her mouth parted and he brushed his tongue against hers. A dare to the storm. A tiny groan passed her lips, and suddenly, he drew away, and the quick seizure was over.

He studied her intently for another second. Then she caught a sudden sparkle in his eyes. “Missed me, huh?”

And suddenly she had the strength to smack him.

“Ow!” he yelled. “I save your butt, and this is what I get?”

She smirked at him. “That’s barely the beginning.”

“Good,” he pronounced, with an air of self-satisfaction. “More?”

“Pffft.” She looked out the dark hole they’d just come through. “Where are we?”

“Cave. We’ll be fine until the storm passes.”

“Cave?” Good grief, they’d just escaped, she’d barely caught her breath, and life was already hurling new cataclysms at her. She threw her arms up around her head and asked him the next most obvious question in a totally reasonable tone, given the circumstances. Which meant she shrieked. “Bats?”

He tugged at her uplifted arm to lower it but she was just as determined to keep it exactly where it was. “There aren’t any bats in here. It’s too small.” He managed to catch her gaze from between her crisscrossed arms. “Don’t worry. I don’t think there’s any on the island. It’s too small and isolated. We’ll be fine.”

She peered at him. “You sure?”

“Chill, Abby. I got this gig because I know how to survive outdoors.” He gently pressed on her forearm, and this time she allowed him to lower her arms.

He brushed the back of his knuckles against her cheek in a tender gesture. “Don’t be scared, Abby. At any rate, it’s better than what’s out there.” Something flicked across his face, serious, then was gone.

“What?” Something had her alarm bells going off.

His brows knit together. “What?”

Oh, this really was going to get somewhere. He was literally and psychically in man-cave mode suddenly, and she wanted to know why. “What was that look?”

“What look?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play games with me. You were worried.” Her heart was pounding hard again. “What are you worried about?”

“Nothing. Just thinking.” His voice flowed to her in the near dark, the area lit by the small safety light that was still on, though the howl of the wind was like a train, just a few feet away. “Seriously. Don’t worry. Everything’ll be fine.”

Abby scraped the wet tangles of her hair off her shoulders and neck and bunched them into a controllable mass at her nape. She took a good long look around, surveying the area around her. “How in the world did you know this place was here?”

“I set up HQ before the shoot. When I did my recon, I came across this.” He tapped his fingertips on the dirt. “Solid rock under here. We could do worse.”

Abby shook her head. “After everything that’s gone down in the last twenty-four hours, I never thought I’d be happy about being in a cave. But you know what?”

Dare’s gaze fastened on her, simply but definitely, and suddenly, she realized, she’d missed that. His interest, steadfast as it was. The fact that someone cared about her…and about what she thought.

His voice was gentle. “What, Abs?”

She stared at him, still suffused with the wonder of being safe. And enjoying, for the moment, being in the tight circle of his concern. “I’m so grateful that we’re alright. That you’re okay. And that…” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “…you came back for me.”

It was all too emotional. Too much. His steady gaze, a million thoughts she couldn’t read. She asked quickly, “How is it that you got back in one piece? All by yourself? The ocean was a mess.”

He shrugged, but his face hardened. “I’ve sailed in rough seas before. Beaufort six is doable. Not easy, but doable. Though finding the cove they told me to use was interesting. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from the camp. It took some effort to stay vertical through that wind to find you, but there was no way in hell I wasn’t going to find you.” Muscles clenched along his jaw line.

Abby smiled at him, despite herself, and the chains around her heart loosened.

But not all the way.

She was beyond grateful he’d come back for her. It meant a lot. An incredible lot, actually.

But the memory of that silky black thong from three years ago still danced in her head.