Page 2 of Corbin
Breathing hard more from stress than physical strain, Corbin admitted, “I’m still descending, but I’m not the fastest at this.” He felt the need to point out, “We’re running a little behind on time.”
Fifty-two minutes to go, to be exact.
Adrian had quieted. Clicks and thumps sounded as if he were rigging up to descend.
Glancing over his shoulder, Corbin considered the tall evergreens soaked in dark shadows far below and sighed. He’d only volunteered for this crazy stunt to build goodwill with Adrian in case Ares did something stupid.
None of that mattered now. Corbin had to admit the obvious. “Since I’ll land before you two, I’ll take off to locate the kidnapper’s shack.”
Cursing burst in his ear from Adrian and Ladrón arguing about his point.
He whisper-shouted, “Too loud. Cut it out.”
Both quieted.
Adrian grunted something, then came back to say, “I’m on my way down to free Ladrón. We don’t know what we’re going up against with this bear shifter, Corbin. He could be a behemoth grizzly.”
Corbin’s nylon rope made a soft whirring noise as he kept dropping at what felt like a fast pace, but in truth was more steady than quick. “I’m going to get as close as I can and then wait near whatever structure he’s using to hold the woman captive.”
Damn bear shifter had a human female he’d threatened to kill and eat if her family did not pay the ransom of a million dollars. A private security firm had advised her father to contact Adrian’s boss, the Guardian, for help because he couldn’t get his hands on even half that much cash.
Ladrón spoke up. “Is good idea, Adrian. You and I would do the same if we landed first.”
Coming from a military background where Adrian had probably led his men into battle, he’d stayed back at the peak to make sure Corbin and Ladrón descended safely first in case someone ran into a problem.
Like the one right now.
A frustrated Adrian agreed. “Okay, but don’t engage. I didn’t bring you here to be a sacrifice.”
No, that had not been the plan, but they’d had little time to plan at all for more than one option. The bear shifter had holed up in an old shack in the valley below and would likely expect a threat to come from the lowlands spreading outward from his position.
Not the mountain Corbin had just descended.
“I know you didn’t, Adrian.” Corbin chugged deep breaths and kept his boots moving against the mountain with every foot of rope he fed out. “We volunteered knowing we were going up against a bear.” Corbin would not regret his intention of paying it forward because of the support he might need later. He still had a deadly group of Romanians hunting him. If they ever found him after this, Adrian and Ladrón might fight to help him survive.
That was more than he’d expected the day he crawled into the compound.
On the other hand, Adrian’s mate, Jaz, might kill him herself if he brought a deadly threat to the pack.
“Be careful and watch out for booby traps,” Adrian sent back between harsh exhales. He had to be dropping at a fast rate.
“Roger that.” Corbin sharpened his focus on making it off this mountain without breaking bones.
Ladrón added, “Cuídate, amigo.”Take care, friend.
“Thanks.” Corbin smiled to himself. His Spaniard pack mate had barely spoken to him when they’d been paired up to train in mock battles. Adrian worked daily to teach the pack how to win a fight without shifting from human form to wolf.
Corbin won the last match-up with Ladrón, leaving the bruiser puzzled.
Keeping both hands busy, Corbin began considering places he might encounter traps. If the kidnapper anticipated an attack from between the cabin and the mountain, anything was possible.
His feet slid too quickly over a smooth section. He scrambled to prevent losing his footing where he might land in a worse situation than Ladrón. Stupid mountain. Drawing in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he tossed another quick look over his shoulder. Damn, he hadn’t thought the trees would grow so close to the base of the mountain.
Two directly beneath him were forty feet or more tall with an umbrella of leaves preventing him from seeing any opening to the ground.
How was he supposed to get down through that?
“One more thing, Corbin,” Adrian said in a tight voice. “If Ladrón and I don’t make it in time before the bear calls her father ... try to draw him away from the structure if you can but stay ahead of the bastard.”
