Page 39 of Trusting Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #8)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Ash

O nce he’s laid his weapon down beside him, I begin to move in. Quietly. Stealthily.

I slow my breath, moving an inch at a time as I watch his every move. The minute he’s on his stomach, reaching for Lexie, I pounce.

Only seconds pass before I have him kicked over the edge.

He yells out, but the fucker doesn’t fall far.

“Lexie. Lexie, give me your hand,” I hear him plead.

I lean over the cliff and see him holding onto the rock where Lexie is perched. She’s clinging to the wall just as I instructed her to do.

“Don’t move,” I tell her.

“You can’t let me die, Lexie. You’re not a murderer. Please, just sit down, and put your foot against that little tree there. I just need something to steady myself. You don’t have to pull me up.”

She slowly turns her head to look at the tree he’s talking about.

Rocks slip beneath his feet, the angle of the mountainside too steep for him to get a good foothold.

“Lexie, don’t move,” I warn her at the same time I pick up his gun and point it at him. “Stop talking to her. You only have two options here. Fall or be shot. You might survive one of those things.”

I begin counting back from three. At two he lets go. He knows it’s his only chance of survival, because I won’t miss. He slides several more feet before falling backward. His body disappears into the top of some trees, and I lose sight of him.

“You okay, Lex?” I yell down. She’s curled up in a little ball. “Lex?”

She remains quiet and unmoving.

I spend fifteen minutes trying to coax her to look at me, to speak, but she’s silent.

Fuck, what do I do now?

There is no way I can go back and leave her here like this. The club should be here soon. I trust that they’ll find us.

I’ve got to get to her right now. She must be in shock.

Before I lower myself down beside her, I grab Graham’s bag and toss it over my shoulder.

When I reach the end of the rope, I untie it, landing on my feet. I approach her cautiously, not wanting to startle her. There isn’t much room for error here.

“Lexie?”

She’s trembling.

“Lexie, I’m going to hold you. Is that okay?”

Her head snaps back and forth as she continues to bury her face in her hands. “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want this,” she repeats.

I’m instantly beside her, pulling her onto my lap. “None of this is your fault,” I tell her.

“I knew it was wrong, but I was so lonely, and when he looked at me, it felt so good.”

At least she’s talking. That’s good. I shrug the bag off my shoulder and scoot back against the rocks, keeping her cradled in my arms.

“He was the first person who noticed me,” she admits softly.

“Lexie, you were a kid. He was an adult. The responsibility to do the right thing was his. He took advantage of you because he knew no one was looking out for you.”

“I didn’t want this,” she cries again.

Her sobs break my heart because I know she doesn’t see it yet, but soon she will. She’ll have no choice but to face this head on.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted. It’s what he wanted. He chose this.”

That’s where our conversation ends. I can’t get her to say anything else, but I do manage to get a granola bar into her and a bottle of water.

I’m fighting sleep when I hear a familiar voice yell out, “Ash! Lexie!”

“The club’s here,” I tell her, scooting her off my lap carefully. “Wake up, hun. They’re here.”

She moans and falls limply to her side. Shit, she’s burning up.

“We’re down here!” I shout back.

A few seconds later, Jackson’s face peeks over the edge. “Thank fuck,” he says, running his fingers through his hair. “I found them! Tell rescue to get down here. We won’t be able to get to them without their help!” he yells.

“Do you need me to throw down some water?” he asks, his face coming back into view.

“We’ve got water, but she’s hurt. I think she broke her ankle. She’s burning up.”

“The cops and every other rescue vehicle you can think of are here. Everyone has been searching for you. Where is he?”

I point down the mountain.

“You got your stories straight?” he asks.

“We’ve got the truth.”

He nods, and then his eyes go to Lexie before coming back to me. “Her parents are here. The authorities called them in a couple of days ago for questioning.”

I place my hands on my hips. “They playin’ the good parents now?”

“You know it.”

“Fuck. She’s real fucked up over this, Jackson.”

“She’ll be okay. Let’s just focus on getting you both out of here.”

After that everything moves fast. Before I know it, I’m watching the love of my life ascend above my head. She’s slowly being pulled up into a world of chaos that I know I can’t protect her from.