Page 97 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

Pebbles skittered down as the tree Sierra clung to shifted. A worried moan escaped Sierra and she shot Julia a panicked glance. “Julia!”

“It’s okay,” Julia said as she reached for Sierra. “I’m going to wrap my arms around you, okay? I want you to grab onto me as tight as you can, okay?”

“Okay,” Sierra said, her head bobbing up and down with nervous energy.

Julia shifted forward, keeping on hand on her rope as she reached for Sierra’s waist. “Okay, when I tell you, I want you to grab onto me, okay?”

Sierra’s voice trembled as she said, “Okay.”

Julia braced herself against the rocks as she tightened her arm around Sierra. “Now, Sierra.”

Sierra pushed away from the tree and grabbed onto Julia, flinging her arms around Julia’s neck and wrapping her legs around her waist as she sobbed.

The force sent them spinning in a circle. The tree Sierra had been clinging to fell from the rock face, tumbling the long distance down to the trees below. The pair of them slipped further down the cliff as Sierra’s extra weight tugged on the rope.

Shouts resounded from above them. Julia clung to her stepdaughter, stroking her wet hair. “I’ve got you. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

They slipped another few feet before the rope jerked to a stop.

Luke called to her. “Julia, this isn’t going to hold. You’ve got to get back up here.”

She lifted her eyes up to the edge where Grant and Luke peered down, trying to hold back the building tears. She’d known from the first slip that she’d never make it back up. She’d barely made it over to Sierra without slipping a few times.“We’re not going to make it up there. The rocks are way too slick for me to move that fast.”

“Julia–” Luke said.

“Luke, there’s no way.” They slid another few inches.

“Julia, what’s happening?” Sierra cried.

“We’re going to go for a little ride.”

“What?!” Sierra screeched in her ear.

“Julia, you can’t,” Luke shouted.

“There’s no choice. We’re never going to make it back up there before this thing lets loose.”

“You’ve got to try. We can pull you,” Luke said.

“That’s not going to work and you know it,” Julia said with a shake of her head as the rain pelted her, each drop stinging Julia’s skin like icy needles. Thunder rolled ominously, a deep rumble that seemed to shake the rocks she braced against.

“Wh-what’s she saying?” Grant asked, the fear raw in his voice.

“Julia…” Luke tilted his head in warning. “Please.”

“It’s a quick drop or a fall, Luke. You know where we are. You can find us.”

“No,” he said. “It’s too dangerous.”

“So is waiting,” she said as tears filled her eyes. She swallowed hard and firmed her voice. “Every second counts now.”

“No,” he said, his voice filled with a sob.

“What does she mean? What’s happening?”

“We’re going to be okay, Grant. Go with Luke. Sierra, I need you to hang on tight.”

“What?” His voice was filled with raw emotion, his features pinched.