Page 36 of Suddenly Tempted
“Four-eleven, foxtrot, tango,” Devlin said. “That’s four-eleven, foxtrot, tango, over.”
He let go of the button and the radio hissed with static.
“Come on,” he pleaded. “Come on.”
“Please,” said Darcy. “Please let somebody hear us.”
The radio bleeped, then a voice broke through the white noise.
“Mr Storm, this is Officer Allaman of Mountain Rescue,” it said in a French accent. “We hear you, loud and clear. Over.”
Devlin whooped, punching his good hand into the air. Darcy did the same, laughing and crying at the same time. Devlin grinned from ear to ear at her as he spoke into the radio again, his cheeks dimpled, his eyes crinkling.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to hear your voice,” he said. “For a little while there we were starting to think . . .”
He paused, shivering, although Darcy wasn’t sure if it was the cold that did it, or just the thought of what might have happened to them.
“For a little while there, we were starting to think we weren’t going to make it,” he went on. “We’re here, we’re safe, and awaiting rescue. Over.”
The radio hissed. Devlin sat back. His lips were still a deep shade of blue. She pulled his jacket from her own body, hushing him when he protested.
“I’m really fine,” he said. “I don’t need—”
“I won’t have you come all this way just to die of hypothermia,” she scolded. “Come on. Just until we’ve finished here and you can get out of your own clothes and dry off.”
But before she could take off the coat to use as an extra layer for Devlin, the radio bleeped again.
“Mr Storm, that’s a negative on rescue.”
Darcy and Devlin froze.
“What?” Darcy mouthed. “They can’t just leave us here for ever, can they? You’ll be missed, you’ve got . . . fans?”
Devlin looked at Darcy curiously as the radio came to life again.
“There’s another storm moving in. It’s probably already reached you. All our birds are grounded. We had teams out all day, but they were way off track. I can’t risk sending my people out in this. But the ranger station should have everything you need. They’re kept fully equipped at all times, and there are instructions for heat and water. My advice is make yourself at home, keep warm, keep fed, play some pool. We’ll get to you when we can. Over.”
Darcy saw Devlin’s brow furrow, and she knew what was about to happen. He was going to start tearing strips off the man on the other end of the radio. He was going to demand immediate rescue at any cost, because he was Devlin Storm, and nothing else would be good enough.
Instead, though, he nodded.
“Thank you,” he said, his eyes catching again on Darcy’s. “We’ll bed in and wait it out. And Officer, please don’t risk a rescue trip unless it’s safe. There’s no emergency here. We’re not in any hurry. Over.”
“Received,” said the voice. “Over and out, Mr Storm.”
Devlin placed the radio receiver back in its cradle, and Darcy’s heart felt like it was escaping out of her rib cage.
“We’re not in any hurry?” she asked.
He shrugged, still shivering slightly. His eyes darkened as they studied her face.
“I’m not in a hurry,” he said. “Are you?”
Darcy shook her head. She stared at him and stared at him, then stared at him a little more. No, she wasn’t in any hurry to be rescued at all.
Chapter 19
DEVLIN
