Flash Point - Savannah Kade Page 0,1

good hard yank and he heard a grunt from above him as Kade and Huston finally managed to do their jobs.

Leo stopped moving for a moment, trying to catch his breath and close enough now to the fallen hikers to wonder if he’d accidentally kicked Lindy in the head. “You okay down there?”

“Yes,” Lindy replied.

Leo was pretty certain that Mark’s screams were still echoing off the cliff walls. They were certainly echoing in his skull. He stopped to regroup and found that one of his fingernails had been bent backwards. Now that he’d seen it, it hurt. Leo muttered another swear under his breath.

His breath soughed in and out of his lungs as he clung to the rock like a monkey. When at last he had himself together, he looked up to find Sebastian Kane looking down to check on him.

“Sorry man,” the firefighter called to him. “That was me.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. He'd never seen Kane make that kind of error before. Was the firefighter taking the blame for his new buddy? Didn't matter though. Leo had to get down the rock and he had to get the two people up.

It took another ten minutes until he had his foot firmly on the ledge where the hikers had managed to stop themselves. The two were clinging to each other, wet, cold, teeth chattering, and muscles shivering with wide contractions that he hadn't been able to see from above.

“I've got you.” He reached into the pack at his waist and felt around for a moment until he found the small plastic bag. He ripped it open hastily using his teeth and watched as the plastic fluttered away.

Son of a bitch, he thought. But littering the pristine wilderness was the least of his concerns right now. The man reached out for the blanket that was unfurling beneath Leo’s rig, but Leo quickly yanked it back and ground his teeth. “No, wait for instructions. I'm harnessed. You're not yet.”

He snapped the blanket open, the sound of raindrops hitting the foil reminded him that they didn't have much time. “We're not out of the woods yet.”

He was finally able to look them in the eye, sinking his weight a little too deeply into the harness. Rather than holding on for himself, he was once again trusting those above him. For a moment, Leo took another look down. Tall tree tops rose to extreme height but were still well below him, reminding him how far up they were; they would snap bones and die before they even hit bottom. He was reminded why the hikers were so petrified.

“I've got you,” he told them. But even as he said it, he felt the line on his harness go slack.

He was no longer tethered, and his fingers dug into the edge of the rock trying to hold on.

Chapter Two

Jo Huston watched as the heavy, static polycord began to pull out in front of her.

“Crap!”

She wasn't sure if she said it or if her new partner Sebastian Kane had muttered the word. He was reaching for the rope just as frantically as she and with his stronger upper body he had a better chance of stopping Leo Evans from plummeting to his death.

But Jo acted quickly. She might not have the arms for it, but she had the brains. Whirling around, she stomped on the line as it unraveled from the coil next to her.

Between them, they’d stopped the fall, but maybe only momentarily. She hadn’t felt it give the hard tug she’d expected at the bottom, so maybe Leo hadn’t plummeted. But this was not going well. She needed perfect execution, not slips and errors.

Foot still firmly in place, she grabbed the line as Sebastian pulled up the slack and she tugged it tight again. This rig was not exactly standard operating procedure. It was cornered around a tree trunk, at least giving her some leverage. It should be enough for her to hold Leo Evans alone, to keep him from falling and bashing into the rocks below.

She tried to listen above the sound of the rain and see if she could hear him. He was probably swearing up at her. He hadn't seemed too keen on having the new guy holding his rope, but Kane vouched for her. And now this …

She was only three shifts into her new job in Redemption and she did not need to lose the local beloved Park Ranger. Gripping the rope tightly, she hollered behind her to Kane. “Don't