Page 98 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

Julia trained her eyes on them as she blinked away the tears filling them. Fear choked her heart and formed a lump in her throat. “I’m going to open the lever. I’ll see you on the flip side.”

She hesitated, her hand hovering over the device. The world seemed to pause, the rain’s drumming the only sound. She took a deep, steadying breath, aware of every heartbeat.

“Wh–” was the last sound she heard before she released the brake on her rappel device, sending her and Sierra plunging at a frightening speed toward the earth below.

She squeezed her stepdaughter closer as the ground rushed toward them, a surge of fear ripping her heart in half.

CHAPTER 21

GRANT

Grant’s heart pounded as his wife dangled from the rope over the cliff’s edge. She’d managed to grab his daughter before the tree she clung to plummeted to the tree-covered ground below.

The subsequent crash of the fir into the other trees reminded him of how precarious the situation with Sierra remained.

Luke’s warning–before Julia had gone over the edge–continued to ring in his mind.I wouldn’t let my wife go over that cliff.

But he had, and his heart was aching with guilt over it. He’d wanted Sierra back, and he’d risked Julia’s life for it. No wonder she’d left him. He was selfish. Everyone was right about him. He used anyone he could to solve his problems, no matter what it could cost them.

Still, the scene below tugged at his heart as Julia held his daughter, reassuring her even as she dangled precariously.

They suddenly dropped a few feet before they jerked to a stop. His heart dropped right along with them.

“Oh, no,” Luke murmured next to him.

“What?”

“That anchor’s not going to hold them.” He raised his voice before he called to Julia. “Julia, this isn’t going to hold. You’ve got to get back up here.”

Julia lifted her eyes to them, something clouding them. “We’re not going to make it up there. The rocks are way too slick for me to move that fast.”

His heart dropped at the words. What was going to happen?

”Julia–“ Luke said.

“Luke, there’s no way,” she answered before she and Sierra fell a little further.

Sierra and Julia exchanged a few words, but he couldn’t understand what Julia was saying to her.

Luke didn’t like it, though. “Julia, you can’t.”

“There’s no way. We’re never going to make it back up there before this thing lets loose.” Her voice sounded frightened but firm.

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

The rain pounded harder around them as Julia shook her head. “That’s not going to work and you know it.”

His mind stretched to understand the conversation they were having. What was she saying? Where was she going to go if she wasn’t climbing up?

“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. Every second counts now.”