Royal Line by Carrie Ryan (lightweight ebook reader .txt) 📗

into the back of my car. I started to pull over to exchange details, but instead, it came around the side of me, sped up, and hit me again. I lost control. And here I am. Then you came along.”

Jesus Christ. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I do hate to be late.”

“Hot date?”

“I mean, not as hot as my current situation, but sure.”

I grinned at that. She still had a sense of humor. That was good. And I liked her accent. Her voice rolled over me like a nice shot of scotch, warm and smoky. It made me think of doing dirty things to her, making her light up like fire.

Stop it. She clearly needs help. Fantasizing about her was definitely not the best idea at the moment. “I’m going to take your hand. Put as little pressure on your ankle as possible. I’m going to tie you to me, and then I’m going to climb us out of here, okay?”

“How are you going to do that?”

“We’re going to climb up. Mostly me. You’re going to climb up onto my back and stay there. But you’ll still be attached to me, even if you fall off.”

“What if I fall? Will you fall too?”

I shook my head. “The grappling hook will hold our weight. You’re just a little thing. And it held my weight coming down, so we’ll be fine climbing back up.”

“Dare I ask why you have a grappling hook?”

“For situations like this.”

“Oh my God, you’re a serial killer, right? But I’m an easy target. It’ll be much better for you if you hunt your prey. And, as I can’t run on this ankle, I make a terrible serial killer target.”

My lips twitched. “Sweetheart, if I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead already.”

She blinked at me before deadpanning, “That’s not as comforting as you think it is.”

I shook my head. “Come on. Do you have everything you need?”

She had a sturdy cross-body bag strapped on. It was bulky though. Like a camera bag.

“I couldn’t get out of the driver’s side, so I shimmied over here. I just need this bag. I’ve got my phone in here. I have a few things in the back, but they’re not urgent. I didn’t want to attempt climbing in there and have the car fall farther down.”

“Smart girl. You’re sure that bag is urgent?”

Her nod was insistent. “I’d probably give my life to secure it.”

I lifted a brow but didn’t question her. I’d find out soon enough what was in there. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

“Kannon, that’s an interesting name. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Kannon.”

“Well, not everyone can be as handsome and unique as I am.”

“Are you flirting? That sounded like flirting. Bad flirting.”

I ignored that, not sure what I would say in reply. Instead, I focused on the task at hand. It was easy enough for me to do simple knots and loops around us. The scent of her perfume, the light floral base with spicy accents was a distraction I couldn’t afford though.

Then she climbed onto my back. She was light. But that wasn’t what I noticed the most. It was her scent again. Something flowery and light with a hint of vanilla? Jasmine? It clouded my brain for just a moment.

Her voice was soft in my ear. “Like this?”

I cleared my throat. “Like that. Hold on tight.”

“Are you sure you can hold me?”

I angled my head so our gazes met for a moment. “You don’t think I’m strong enough?”

Her lids lowered for a moment, and then she met my gaze. In the moonlight, her skin looked incandescent despite the cuts and bruises. “You’re clearly solid enough. I just… I don’t want to be too much.”

“Miss London, I don’t think you are ever too much.”

She laughed then. “In that case, I don’t think you’ve met my brothers. They would disagree.”

“Well, maybe we’ll get you home and I can meet them.”

She said nothing in response. I credited that to nerves or the fact that I didn’t make much sense. And then I began our climb up. Without gloves, it was murder on my hands, but I was careful. Choosing which rocks to trust and which ones to avoid. When I lost my footing once, London held on tight, spider monkey style, and squeaked. She had a strong grip.

She didn’t panic or scream, which was beyond helpful. When we reached the top, we lay there panting for several moments.

“Oh my God, I honestly thought I was going to die down there. I’d been screaming, but no one heard me. I guess it was all in my head.”

“Well, you have so much more life to live. Don’t die on my account.”

She reached her arms around me and squeezed me tightly. “This doesn’t mean I’m a fan of your pickup lines. I’m just really grateful.”

Her warm, soft body was pressed up against me, and I didn’t know what to do with my hands. Gently, I used one to pat her back until she released me. I eased us apart as much as the rope allowed. “Let’s get this rigging off you.”

When I had the rope off of the two of us and the grappling hook disconnected, I grabbed my supplies and helped her stand. “Okay, put your arm around my shoulders, and I’ll walk you to the car. We’ll get you to a hospital so you can get checked out.”

“Oh, I don’t need a hospital. I just want to get to my friend’s place.”

I glanced down at her, caught off guard by her tone. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

She frowned. “No, I just want to get to my friend’s. I’m fine.”

“These cuts need to be cleaned up, and you are going to bruise come the morning. You’re going to look like Barney’s cousin.”

She lifted a brow. “Who’s Barney?”

I sighed. “Giant eggplant-colored dinosaur.”

Her lips quirked. “I’m going to look like a dick?”

The laugh tore out of my throat before I realized what I was doing. “Jesus.”

She snorted a laugh. “Yes,