He shook his head, his grave expression telling her he expected the worst. “Those skinny runts shimmied through that hole carrying ropes and Maglites,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Said they didn’t know there was another level until their friend dropped out of sight.”
Lani swore under her breath.
Cale spat a stream of chewing tobacco. “A couple of us crawled in. The entrance is blocked with loose-packed gravel and stone. It’s pretty unstable, but the cave opens wide once you’re through the mouth. About twenty feet inside, it bottoms out. We shined our lights around, but it was too deep to see much. We need to climb down.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for, huh?” Lani said, willing confidence into her voice.
He nodded. “No one knows caves like you do—that’s a fact. You better have a look for yourself.”
Randy Brandt, another member of the department, leaned on his shovel. “Think we’ve got this hole wide enough for your butt now?” His grin stretched across his handsome face.
Not for the first time, Lani thought Randy’s lean, muscled frame and sun-tinted brown hair belonged in a firemen’s calendar. “Better put your back into it.” Lani gave him a teasing glance. “Gotta make room for that big head of yours, too.”
The men chuckled.
Lani took no offense. She’d long ago figured out she was one of the team when the men included her in the insults they traded. Besides, the banter helped drown out the voice that ate at her composure. The sooner she was in the cave—her world—the sooner she’d be in control.
“How are you, Lani?”
Lani stiffened at the low-pitched voice, rough as sandpaper. She didn’t turn. “Just fine, Sheriff,” she said, her own voice gruff as she forced the words past her frozen vocal chords. She’d known sooner or later their paths would cross in the line of duty but had hoped for more time to steel herself against the pain. “Give me a minute to get out my gear, and I’ll see about bringing up that boy.”
His hand fell on her shoulder, and she finally turned to meet his gaze. No one else was close enough to see the heat in his angry glare. If anyone did look their way, all they’d note was his usual hard-edged mask. Only she could see the turmoil roiling in his eyes. Why was he making this so damn hard?
“You’re not thinking of going down alone, are you?”
“Probably.” She lifted her chin. “I do my best work in the dark, don’t I?” she said softly. No way could he miss the sarcasm in her voice.
His expression didn’t change, but his hand tightened.
Lani shrugged him off and stepped away. She slung her duffel to the ground, ignoring him and the slight tremor in her hands as she unzipped the bag. From the corner of her eye, however, she was aware of every breath he drew, of the tension that stretched his tan and black uniform taut across his shoulders, and of the strength of his tall, hard body.
A body she knew too damn well. One she’d clung to in the darkness.
Randy came up, squatted beside her, and reached inside the bag for webbing and a carabiner clip. “I’m gonna anchor the rope around that oak.” He pointed toward the tree just to the right of the cave entrance.
Lani nodded and swallowed to ease the dryness in her mouth. “Be sure to make two loops around the base with the webbing.”
“Think I don’t know what I’m doing? Maybe I should make it three since it’s your ass going down there.”
She forced a grin and shoved at his shoulder. “Just make sure you don’t tie it off with a slip knot, rookie.”
As Randy walked away, the sheriff’s long shadow fell across her gear. “The kid’s name’s Matt Costello. He’s sixteen.”
Lani’s stomach tightened. “What the hell were those three doing out here on private property, anyway?” Determined not to let him rattle her further, she kept her gaze averted.
“Having fun. Danny McKelvey hired them to move his cattle to the last stock pond he has with any water in it. They were wrangling livestock on this hill yesterday. Someone nearby was dynamiting—it shook the ground and opened up that cave.” His booted feet shifted in the sand. “Matt and his friends decided to make an adventure of exploring the cave today.”
Lani drew out her vertical pack and stuffed a first aid kit inside. “Some adventure. Let’s hope Matt isn’t already dead.” Then she pulled out a long length of new kernmantle rope and threaded one end through the metal slats of her brake bar rack, leaving a tail to tie off the rope.
“Lani…” His voice dropped—intimate, tight.
She didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see the accu
sation in his dark eyes. “Can we leave this ’til later?” The pain of their last parting was still too raw.
“Dammit, when will ‘later’ be?” he said, his voice hard-edged and bitter. “You don’t answer my calls.”
“Later,” she said, the word sounding like a curse. She needed time and distance to remind herself why it had to be this way. His husky voice and warm, spicy scent tended to steal her resolve. If she closed her eyes, she could still remember how it felt to lie inside the circle of his strong arms—cherished, safe.