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Eli cast an eye over Miles’s predicament. “Erin.” The full weight of his attention landed suddenly on me. “Run and grab my pack, please.”

“Sure.” Heart hammering, I moved, wanting to do what I could to help while preferring not to see Miles’s precarious fate for longer than I had to. A brief look had told me what I needed to know. One shift in any direction would see him tumble to the water below and hit God knew how many rocks along the way. It was a miracle he’d survived the initial slip over the edge.

Collecting the straps of Eli’s bag, I tugged, sensing the thing weighed a ton. Deciding to save my strength, I dragged it the short distance to where he was standing. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Eli crouched to open the pack. “I told you both to move away, James. Why didn’t you listen?”

“What?” James yapped, his eyes wide with panic as he looked between Eli and the edge. “What does that matter now? Miles needs us!”

“It matters because I can’t trust you.” Pulling out a length of rope, Eli rose to his full, foreboding height. Not for the first time, I was stunned at how tall the guy really was. “It matters that you choose to please yourself without a thought for the consequences.”

Glancing around, Eli headed toward the tree he’d been leaning against, wrapping the end of the rope around it and securing it into a knot.

“Chelle,” he called to my shell-shocked friend. “Over here, please. I need you to keep an eye on this knot and shout if you see it starting to unravel.”

“Okay.” Chelle threw me a worried glance as she walked to join Eli. “I can do that.”

“What’s going on up there?” Miles sounded desperate. “I’m getting soaked!”

“Miles.” Eli paced to the edge with the remaining rope in his hands and shouted down to him. “I’m going to throw down a line and see if it’s long enough to reach you.”

“Fine.” Miles stared up from the ravine, and fleetingly, my gaze locked with his. Drenched by the showering waterfall, he could scarcely move an inch in any direction without potentially plummeting. “Just do it!”

“He’s right!” James shifted frantically from one foot to the next. “Drop the rope.”

“We need to do it slowly,” Eli warned as he lowered to his stomach and peered over the ledge. “A sudden drop could risk knocking him off balance. Get ready, Miles!”

We waited in stony silence, watching Eli slowly lower the rope. Its descent was suddenly pivotal, as though it was our lives that depended upon its successful journey. Only Chelle remained by the trees, unable to witness the rope’s descent.

“What’s happening?” she called, momentarily drawing my attention from Miles.

“Miles has the rope,” I confirmed when he grasped the end.

“Thank God.” James looked ashen as, shoving me aside, he joined Eli on the ground.

“Hey!” I countered, irritated that even then, with his friend in peril, he was still being a dick.

“Try and wrap the end around you, Miles,” Eli commanded.

“I can’t!” Miles whined. “It’s not long enough.”

“Shit.” Eli’s eyes closed for a fraction of a second.

“You should have secured it to a closer tree,” James protested.

“There is no closer tree!” Gesturing to where Chelle stood, my jaw tightened. James was utterly insufferable. Once we were through the turmoil, I’d definitely speak to Chelle about her life choices.

“Then we’ll have to work with what you have.” Ignoring our spat, Eli remained calm. “Get a good grip of it, Miles, and wrap it around your hand and wrists. James and I will pull you up.”

Eli was on his feet in seconds, followed soon after by James.

“Are you ready?” James cried.

“As ready as I’ll ever be!” came the hollered reply.

“Let me lead,” Eli suggested as he collected the rope in his large hands. “I’ve been involved with this sort of rescue before.”

“He’smyfriend,” James retorted. “It’s my face he wants to see when he makes it to the top.”

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