Page 91 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

“Let’s go,” Grant said as he strode back to the foyer. Kyle followed behind him.

Within minutes they were suited for a trek through the rain and back in their respective vehicles. His stomach twisted and turned as they navigated the winding roads toward a large, flat peak rising in the distance. Sheer rock faces surrounded it, and he swallowed hard, wondering if Sierra had tumbled from the top.

“Where did Alicia go?” he asked as Julia whipped the car into a small parking lot that seemed to lead to nothing.

“South side,” Julia answered as she slid her seatbelt off and tugged her hood up over her head.

“It’s that big that she had to go a different way?”

“It’s that big,” Julia answered him as she climbed from the car and tightened the hood around her. “Come on.”

The rain pounded the pavement around them as she led him from the parking lot to a barely-there trail marked with a wooden sign announcing it led to the north ridge. With the heavy rain, it was a muddy mess.

He stared at it like it’d come out of a horror movie.

“You good?” she asked. “If you want to wait here, I can–”

“No, I don’t want you going alone.”

She smiled at him as she reached for his hand. “Okay, let’s go. I’m going to go fast, but if you need to slow down, just let me know, okay?”

“Slow down? I’d really like to get to wherever we’re going and see if Sierra is there.”

“Okay, just…in case.”

They started down the messy trail, calling for Sierra as they went. Twenty minutes into the hike, Julia showed no signs of slowing, but Grant was beginning to understand why she’d given him the option to slow down.

He pushed himself, hoping they would arrive soon, but the path took a steep turn, requiring scrambling up them to continue.

“Careful, these rocks will be really slippery when they’re wet.”

“Right,” he said, setting his hand on them, only to have it slide off as if he’d set it on ice.

“Told you. Just take your time and try to follow the path I take.” With ease, she scrambled up the steep side using a tiny foothold.

She reached for him and pulled him up as he set his foot on the solitary spot available to climb. He arrived on the path nearly on top of her.

She grinned up at him as she patted his chest. “Good job. You good to keep going?”

“Yes.” As he followed behind her, he imagined her doing this with Luke, though he assumed the sailor probably didn’t need her help to climb up the path. He probably helped her up. Grant wrinkled his nose. The man probably carried her up. They were all so outdoorsy, so used to wandering around in nature.

He wondered if Julia hated living in New Orleans as they continued upward. The climb grew intense a few times until they finally reached a wooded plateau at the top. Land spread out below them in a dizzying array.

If Sierra hadn’t been missing and it wasn’t pouring rain with wind gusts and thunder and lightning, he would have enjoyed the view. If only they had climbed this before all hell had broken loose, he may have cracked open the ring box and made sure he didn’t lose the woman he loved.

“Sierra!” Julia called, cupping her hands around her lips.

He strained his ears but heard nothing.

She stalked further across the top toward an opening with no trees. “Sierra!”

No one answered. He heard nothing outside of the rain beating against the trees and the ground.

She twisted to face him, her eyes still searching before she pressed her lips together, her features pinching. “Damn it.”

No one was here. They’d hit a dead end.

“Okay, we can head down to the T and up the other side toward the east face. Maybe someone found something there.”