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Without a word, she flings her other leg over the rail and drops.
White-hot nausea drops down in my belly. “No!”
I rush to where she dropped. My heart thrums in my ears and my palms dig into the stone, my fingers clinging to the edge of the rail. I look down.
Thank God…
I’d forgotten about the arbor that sits against the wall, the curved top of it just below the balcony. Is it strong enough to hold her weight? I’m not sure. She’s facing the house, her hands pressed against the wall, trying to balance herself.
I glance from her to the water, the moon sparkling over the darkness. Her plan comes together before my eyes. She is planning on climbing down, then making a run for it. To the docks.
“Lindy.” I reach down, grabbing her wrists in my hands.
She glances up at me. “Let me go!”
“No!”
Will I dislocate her arms, scrape her face by dragging her up the stone wall so I can grab her off the railing, pulling her to safety?
I don’t know that I care right now, the doctor can deal with it later. Anything to keep her from falling. The thought of her falling, running away in the dark, or worse, getting hurt, makes my heart lunge into my throat, my mouth go dry, my brow break out in a cold sweat.
“I’m pulling you up,” I say.
“Don’t!” she screams. “Don’t.”
I hold her wrists tighter. Is she this terrified of me? “I’m not letting you go.”
“Don’t pull me up!” Her screams are so heartfelt, I pause. Then she says, quieter, “You could squish the kitten.”
“The kitten?” It’s then that I notice the small black backpack she wears backward, the pouch on her front, the straps on her back. “You have Angel in the backpack.”
“Of course I do! I’m not leaving her with a monster like you. Who knows what you’d do to her when you found out I left. Let me go. Please. I signed the NDA. I won’t say anything. Just let me go.”
“Hell no.” I glance down, making a plan. “You’re wearing sneakers.”
“Yes? Why?” she asks.
“I hold your wrists,” I say. “You scale the wall.”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Why not?” I ask.
Finally, her big brown eyes reach mine. “I’m scared.”
“Of me?” I say. “Or of falling.”
She blinks back tears. “Both.”
I don’t blame her for fearing me. I was furious when I first came out here.
Now?
My anger has dissolved.
I just want her safe. “Plant your feet on the wall.” I tug on her arms, not giving her an option.
“Ooh.” She does as I tell her, scaling the wall like a spider. I pull her over the rail, taking her into my arms for safety.
