Page 94 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

Her stomach twisted and turned with every step away from them, but she had to leave them behind to save Sierra. There was no way she could reach her with anything they had. This was the fastest way to help her, though every step sent a pang of dread into her heart.

She continued at as quick a pace as she could to safely make it through the woods. Before she hit the trail, a sob escaped her. Crying wouldn’t help, but she wasn’t certain she could hold back tears any longer.

She paused briefly, collapsing against a tree trunk. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she gathered her strength and thoughts. She glanced back, the ridge disappearing into a misty veil of rain.

She’d been strong with Grant because she had to be. He needed that from her, but she’d felt as nervous as he did. What if they couldn’t get to her fast enough?

The tears blurred the world as she tried to continue forward at a quick pace. As she skirted a tree, she smashed directly into another figure. She bounced back a step, wiping at her cheeks as she glanced up, her heart skipping a beat.

“Luke!” She flung her arms around him as he pulled her closer.

“Julia, what’s wrong? Are you out here alone?”

“No,” she said as she pulled back, wiping at the tears that had fallen when she’d hugged him. “Grant’s with me. We found Sierra, but…she fell. She’s trapped on the north face.”

“She fell over? Is she hanging onto the rocks?”

“No, she’s clinging to a fir tree. It’s not going to hold for long, though. I’m surprised it held this long. We’re going to need climbing gear to get to her, and I can’t get a hold of anyone–.”

“I have some,” he said, poking a finger at his backpack.

Her eyes went wide as she stared up at him. If their relationship hadn’t been so complicated, she would have kissed him. “Really? We need to go then.”

“Wait, Julia, we should call Ally and Ethan.”

“There’s no time for that. With this storm, she could fall at any second. We shouldn’t put it off. Let’s get her and then worry about getting in touch with someone else.”

Luke nodded as she spun to lead him back through the rain-soaked forest. “She hurt?”

She wiped rain from her forehead as they hurried back toward Sierra. Once again, she found herself trapped between the past and present, clinging to both. “I don’t know. She’s conscious and talking. I couldn’t assess anything beyond that. Well, I wasn’t willing to. I wanted to get help as soon as possible. I’m really worried about that tree not holding.”

“Right,” Luke said as they reached the edge of the trees.

Grant still huddled over the edge, called to Sierra.

She hurried across the slippery surface toward them, dropping to her knees when she reached him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m back.”

“Hey, did you already–” He caught sight of Luke who peered over the edge at Sierra.

“She’s down pretty far. We’d never reach her without gear,” Luke said.

“Shouldn’t we be getting that?” Grant asked.

“I have some,” Luke said as he shed his backpack onto the ground.

Julia twisted to face him as he pulled it open. “What do you have?”

“Enough to get her, I think,” Luke said as he pulled rope, pickets, and more climbing gear from his backpack.

Julia assessed it before she formed a plan. “Okay, we’ll anchor on the opposite side of that fir and descend to her. Do you have a second harness?”

“No, I’ll have to tie her to me with the rope.”

“To you? Luke, with this anchor in that wet ground, you’ll be too heavy.”

He shook his head as he pushed his wet hair from his face. “You’re not going.”

“I have to. I’m the lightest one of us. And I have just as much climbing experience. With both you and Sierra on that rope, you’ll pull the picket right out of the ground.”