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It was no excuse. I’d dealt with arrogant assholes before, and I should have done better. Should have known how todobetter...

“You should have made them!” Overcome with distress, she doubled over as Erin crouched at her side.

“Get away from the side.” I sounded like a record stuck on repeat as I moved to usher them away. Gingerly, they edged away on their knees, the sound of Chelle’s sobs the only noise audible over the rushing water. “I’m not losing anyone else.”

“Oh, God.” Heaving in air, Chelle’s grief crashed over her in painful, visible waves. “How can this have happened?”

Erin’s eyes were filled with the same question as she turned to me. “Who do we call? An ambulance won’t make it up here.”

“An air ambulance can land on the edge of the park.” I’d only had to call one once before, but that experience had taught me how the scenario worked. “They can hike to the bottom of the falls and find them.”

“They’re dead!” Chelle trembled as she spoke. “What good will an ambulance do?”

“They might have survived the fall.” Erin’s voice was soft. “We have to try.”

“That’s right,” I confirmed, reaching into my trouser pocket for my phone.

Neither one of us mentioned the probability that Chelle was right. Even if by some miracle, they had both landed in water and avoided the rocks, they’d have likely been unconscious on impact and therefore drowned before they could take a breath and swim.

I stared at my phone. “I’ll call for help.”

There was no comfort in the truth.

Not on the tiny clearing by the waterfall. Not when my single most important objective had plummeted to death along with the men I’d been charged with guiding and protecting.

My failure had cost their lives.

That thought resonated as I unlocked my phone and dialed the number. It wasn’t the first time I’d fucked up in my life, butIhad been in charge.

Everything that had happened was my responsibility. Hurt reverberated in my chest as the idea ricocheted. I’d seen death before, but it hadn’t hurt like that.

“What’s your emergency?”

I moved away from the cascading torrent to hear the responder. “We’re at Niantes wildlife reserve,” I started. “Two of our party have fallen from the first waterfall. I need an air ambulance.”

“Please hold while I check your location,” the woman answered, but I was scarcely listening.

Tracking my phone to identify our location was commonplace, and I wasn’t even sure why she was telling me. All I could think about was what had taken place and what I could have done to prevent the bleak outcome that saw our party of five trimmed to three.

Glancing up at the two women who remained, I tried not to dwell on how I’d grapple them both back to safety, especially while one was so overwrought.

“I have your coordinates.” The responder’s voice broke my desolate mental landscape. “I’ll dispatch the ambulance. Does anyone else have any injuries?”

“No.” I pulled in a breath. “There are three of us left. I’m a guide here. I’ll get the remaining people down to safety.”

“It will be a good idea to have you all checked over,” the woman said. “Once the initial casualties have been assessed.”

My stomach lurched at the way she made that sound. James and Miles didn’t need to be ‘assessed’. Hell, we’d be lucky if we found their bodies in one piece.

“What’s your name, sir?”

Leaning against an ancient trunk for support, I blinked at her question. From the corner of my eyes, I thought I noticed another dark shadow, but I didn’t lift my head to confirm. “My what?”

“Your name, sir,” she repeated. “I’ll need your name and number in case we get cut...” The signal dropped suddenly, and straightening, I shifted from the tree and wandered back into the clearing.

“Hello?” I stared at the device to ensure the call was still connected before holding it back to my ear. “Hello, are you there?”

Apprehension amplified as the tone rang out to indicate that the call had ended.

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