Page 143 of Risky Obsession
The wind whipped around us as if warning us not to do this. But Lacey showed zero apprehension, and in a demonstration of incredible strength, she eased the rest of her body over the cliff until just her left hand and two fingers on her wounded hand were on the top.
“Grab my wrist on my right hand,” she said, looking up at me with an expression that was both resolute and just a fraction crazy.
I gripped her wrist, and as I lowered her down with my heart hammering in my chest, I decided that Lacey must’ve been just like this when she ran away with the bikie gang leader–blindly determined.
“I’m here. Let me go.”
I released my grip and peered over the edge.
She swept her gaze up at me. “Your turn.”
With my heart hammering, I followed her move over the cliff, carefully controlling my descent.
“I’ve got you,” she said, gripping my ankles.
“Get back,” I yelled down to her.
Her fingers released me, and I dropped the final section onto the small platform.
“Nicely done,” she said.
“I hope this is worth it.”
“It will be. I’ll lead the way.” She strode down the steps that were barely two feet wide.
As I followed her sexy ass down the steep and uneven stairs, I tried to picture men carrying supplies down to the ocean on these during the war. It would have been damn hard.
She turned a corner ahead of me in a switchback and when she waved up at me, she showed zero fear. Clearly, she wasn’t scared of heights. Maybe her comment about her claustrophobia was also bullshit.
The cry from a pair of seagulls drifting in the updraft nearby was the only sound.
Ahead of me, Lacey stopped. Shit, the stairs had ended.
“We’re lucky this ladder is still here.” She pointed over the edge.
Below us, an ancient rusty ladder clung to the cliff face.
“Do you reckon it’s safe?” She scrunched her nose in that cute way that distracted me more than I liked.
“You try first and let me know,” I said.
“Yeah. Funny. I’m serious.”
“Well, how the fuck should I know?”
“All right, ya cranky ass.” She kicked the bracket attaching the ladder to the cliff face. It didn’t budge. “I guess we don’t have a choice, do we?”
“Nope. We can’t get back up that cliff.”
She huffed and peered down at the ocean. “At least we are closer to the water now. If we fall, I mean.”
“True.” I examined the water below, searching for wrecks concealed beneath the swell. If there was anything there, it wasn’t visible. “I’ll go first.”
“Oh no, you don’t.” She waggled a finger at me. “You’ll probably rip the whole bloody thing away. I’m going first.”
I swept my hand toward the top rung. “Fine. Don’t blame me if you splash down with a metal ladder on your head.”
She stepped onto the ladder with so much confidence I couldn’t decide if she was brave or reckless. Working quickly, she climbed down the ladder, showing little respect for the age or condition of that rusty metal.