Page 3 of Raven’s Claw (Raven’s Cliff #2)
It wasn’t as if they all couldn’t use some. But Kash was lucky. He had his team. Had a chance at finally putting down roots — exchanging some of the bad memories for better ones. Making sure he didn’t waste the second chance he’d been given.
Damn. He really should have asked Jordan out. Taken the chance while he’d still had time. Instead, he was hanging on the side of a cliff, rain pouring down around him, nothing but missed opportunities to cushion his fall.
“Tucker!”
The rope went slack, the end fluttering down the side then into the water.
“Crap.” Kash scanned the rock. No large handholds. No relief. Just smooth stone continuing fifty feet down.
Nyx whined, the rocks beneath his feet shifting.
“Easy girl. I’ve got this. No big deal. We’re just gonna shimmy over…”
The whole cliffside went. Sloughing off. Crashing toward the water. Kash gave a firm shove, pushing away from the rockslide — juggling Nyx onto his chest a second before they hit.
The icy water curled in around them, holding them captive before ripping them apart.
Nyx rolled with the next massive breaker, tumbling out of sight as the current dragged him along the rocky bottom before shooting him back up.
He crested the surface amidst a shower of white foam, another incoming wave crashing over him.
He blinked back the salt and the spray, searching the white-capped surface as all that sand in his hourglass slowly slipped away.
It couldn’t end like this. Not after all they’d been through together.
Nyx was more than just his partner. She was his best friend.
The part of him that never broke. Never faltered.
Kash struck off, barely making any headway as one breaker after another took him under, repeatedly dragging him down before spitting him back up. Thunder sounded in the distance, the last of the light already fading into the growing darkness.
He gave one last push, pouring everything he had into cutting through the current, when Nyx bobbed to the surface, ears tucked back. Legs beating at the water. He dug deep — battling the pull, the fatigue, until he narrowed the distance. Grabbed her harness.
Nyx licked his face, eyes bright. Unconditional faith staring back at him.
He gave her a nod. “That’s my girl. On my back.”
Nyx clawed at his chest, finally shifting onto his shoulders. Steady. Strong. He kicked against the added weight, barely keeping his mouth above the surging tide as the irony hit him full force.
“I swear, Nyx. If I get us out of this…” He paused as he drew in a few choppy breaths.
“And I don’t go to jail for strangling Tucker, I’m gonna ask Jordan out.
No more excuses. No more second guessing myself.
I’m just gonna march into that café and kiss her.
” He bobbed beneath the force of the next wave, nearly losing Nyx, again, before pushing back up.
“What do you think? That sound like a good plan?”
Nyx nudged his head, and he swore the mutt understood every word.
“I thought so.”
He closed his eyes, picturing every moment of how that kiss would play out. How the next fifty years of his life could be if he just held on. Kept moving enough to stay afloat. Counter the roll of the ocean.
The rain picked up, clouds blowing in across the horizon when Foster’s chopper ghosted out of the storm, screaming toward him ten feet off the deck.
His buddy didn’t even slow down, just shoved the aircraft into an aggressive flare before he was hovering over top, the downwash kicking up more spray.
The side doors opened, Chase hanging on the edge as the basket all but fell out of the helicopter.
Kash snagged it once it hit the water, helping Nyx up and over the side.
The dog slipped on the wet metal, nearly tumbling back into the surf before Kash gave her a firm shove — toppled her over the edge.
He grabbed the railing, heart pounding. His hands so numb he wasn’t sure if they were even working.
Chase yelled from above, looking as if he was a second away from jumping in when Nyx locked onto Kash’s hood, pulling and grunting until he slipped over the rail and onto the base.
He closed his eyes, coming to with Chase leaning over him, pushing a syringe into his arm.
His buddy huffed, shaking his head as he moved in close. “You jackass. I wasn’t sure I was going to get you back.”
Kash coughed, grabbing his ribs as pain shot through his torso. “Jesus, I close my eyes for five seconds and you’re freaking out.”
“You were out for ten minutes, dumbass.”
Ten minutes?
Kash pressed his head into the seat cushion, every muscle seemingly cramping at once. “The kids?”
“Mac’s got them.”
Mackenzie Parker. Ex-Coast Guard pilot, and the love of Foster’s life. They’d been living together a few months now, and Kash suspected it was only a matter of time before they either got hitched or pregnant. The kind of future Kash could have if he held true to his promise and grew a set.
“What about…”
Chase sighed. “ He’s with her, too.”
Kash nodded, looking around the chopper. “How’s my girl?”
Chase thumbed at the cockpit. “The minx called shotgun while I was working on you. I swear that dog’s half-human.” He smiled. “She’s fine. Might have a bit of a limp for a few days, but she’s better than you, all things considered.”
His buddy sighed, shifting on his seat for a few moments before shaking his head. “We need to talk about Tucker.”
Kash grunted. “Does he still think he’s back in Afghanistan?”
“Zain managed to calm him down — snap him back but… Shit, Kash. If I’d thought, for one second…”
“Not your fault. Not really his, either. We’ve all been there. But he needs to deal with whatever’s riding his ass before he goes back into the field.”
“Atticus already has some kind of intervention planned.” Chase snorted. “Old coot speak for a few beers and a good pep talk. But it’s a start. If you’re okay with that.”
Kash shrugged. “All good, brother, because I’ve already got plans.”
A mission, really, and far more pressing than worrying about nearly dying.
Every one of them had nearly died a dozen times.
It was still living that mattered. And he wasn’t going to wait for the universe to hit him over the head, again.
Because life was too short to wonder if a woman like Jordan might say yes.