Her fingers burned, red and raw, and her joints felt like splintered wood within her cracked skin. Her muscles wept as she continued to climb. The next shot didn’t affect her at all—her concentration was absolute.
“We’re close.” So close.
The sound of shoes scattering against rock jolted her concentration. She looked down and gasped when she saw Tanner’s leg dangling. He managed to find a hold, and then leaned his forehead against the wall.
“You okay?”
“Peachy. How much longer till it blows?”
She glanced at her watch. The seconds were ticking down in time with her pounding heart. “Not much. Keep climbing.”
Another shot near her head pinged a pebble into her chest. She grabbed for the next edge.
Come on, dammit.
A rumbling kaboom made her freeze. The sound spread across the landscape, echoing across the rock. The reverberation shook the wall, and she had to fight for purchase.
Don’t look at what’s coming. Don’t look.
“Come on!” She reached frantically for the next hold. When she pushed herself up with her feet and reached again, she finally saw the opening. It was only a few feet away.
“We’re here!” The rumble of snow thundering down the mountain echoed in her ears. She forced herself to keep climbing, her muscles burning with effort. When she reached the small cave, she dragged herself up and in, sweat burning her eyes. She crab-crawled on her elbows until she could turn around.
“Oh, God,” she chanted, her brain screaming at the crashing and thundering outside. “Tanner!” She leaned over the cave’s mouth, balancing her weight.
The roar of snow thundering down Killer Pass pounded in her eardrums. The blinding mushroom spread fast, blotting out the sun. Trees turned cartwheels amidst rock and debris in the sea of white.
“Meredith! Get inside!” He yelled at her from below as a wall of snow fell on him.
She plastered herself to the floor of the cave and leaned out. He was still a few feet away, dangling by one hand.
“Hold on!” She wiggled out farther and curled against the rock face, snow misting her face.
“Get back, dammit!” His hand found the rock and slipped. Searching, his fingers clenched around the jagged edge, and he pulled himself up, the muscles in his neck cording. He groaned as his hand gripped the mouth of the hole. She reached for his fleece and pulled until her shoulder sockets screamed.
A shot hit the wall near Tanner. Pop. Then another. Pop. He lifted his chest up and over, balancing on the edge with his hips. Then a third shot ripped through his shoulder with a thud, the impact knocking him forward. He plowed into her, crying out.
“Tanner!” she screamed, her eyes widening at the sight of the gaping hole in his jacket.
She dragged him into the cave by inches. His weight had her muscles straining like rubber bands, but she kept at it, even as another bullet plowed past her. She leaned back on her haunches and tugged with all her might, moving him out of range of Kenny and Barlow’s shots.
The pounding from the avalanche continued. Trees broke like sticks, and chunks of snow and ice catapulted across the basin. The snow level rose in front of them, and Meredith experienced a moment of pure terror when it looked like they’d be sealed in. God, they needed air.
She pulled Tanner’s dripping head onto her lap and pressed her hands on his wound to staunch the bleeding.
He opened his eyes, which were clenched in pain. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed over deafening noise. “I love you,” she read on his lips.
She feathered back his hair, her heart settling into place even though the world outside was coming to an end. “I love you too,” she mouthed back.
Chapter 54
Tanner came to on his stomach, a throbbing pain in his shoulder. The utter silence after the explosion made his head swim. Wet, penetrating cold flooded his system. He groaned.
“Oh, thank God!” Meredith cried. “You’re awake, you’re awake, you’re awake.”
Her voice bordered on hysterical. When he tried to roll over, Meredith’s gentle hands helped turn him. She pressed a bloody cloth to his shoulder.
“You passed out. I was trying to stop the bleeding.” She sniffed and wiped his wet face. “Thank God, you’re awake. I didn’t know what to do when you passed out.”
Since her voice was still shaking, he peeled his eyes open. His whole body felt like it had gone through a meat grinder.
He realized she’d put her scarf under his head. “Where’s your coat?” She was shaking, her teeth chattering.
“I hung it out of the hole with a stick. I know Grandpa will figure everything out. He has to.”
When he heard her sniff again, he put his hand on her thigh, eager to channel comforting energy. “He’ll come. He threatened to come after me if I hurt you. Trust me. No one messes with Arthur Hale’s granddaughter.”