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“—you’re down here, too.”
“I swear to god?—”
“And now it’s raining.”
“Jesus!”
The rain was heavier now, the hole’s sides glistened with moisture, and some of the mud was beginning to slip. It wasn’t dangerous yet, but we should consider getting out.
“How do you plan on getting me back up top with myhands cuffed?” I asked, all innocent, and his mouth fell open. I smirked, knowing my attitude only infuriated him more.
“I’ll call a damn helo out here to drag you up by your feet.” Neil’s jaw clenched, his eyes blazing with anger.
“Tied up in handcuffs and ropes?” I raised an eyebrow.
His lips thinned. “If that’s what it takes to get you out of here without you messing up more evidence, then yes, I will.”
I leaned closer, lowering my voice to a whisper. “If you wanted to get kinky, Neil, you just had to ask. I’ll even skip the beer.”
His face turned an even deeper shade of red, and for a moment, I thought he might explode. Instead, he took a deep breath, clearly trying to regain his composure. He knew as well as I did that he had to take off the damn handcuffs and that whatever had been exposed by the landslip had been compromised by years of earth and erosion.
Ignoring his anger, I crouched by the nearest case, balancing easily enough despite my hands being cuffed. The luggage closest to me was closed and smothered with mud, the other slightly open with contents visible. I glanced at the opposite side of the hole, where the bones lay partially exposed.
“This isn’t a game, Connor,” Neil said through gritted teeth. “Step away from the evidence.”
“I’m not touching it,” I replied, scanning the case. “Just observing. Isn’t it in your sheriff handbook that you can learn a lot from just looking?”
Neil stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous. “Get. Up. Now.”
I sighed again, pushing myself up to a standing position. “Fine, fine. But you’ll need to uncuff me if you want me to climb back out of here.”
Neil looked as if he were about to argue, but then he muttered a curse and reached for the keys. As he uncuffed me, I couldn’t resist one last jab.
“Admit it, Neil. You enjoy having me around. Makes life more interesting.”
He glared at me, but something else was in his eyes, almost like fire. “You’re still under arrest, Connor. Just shut up and start climbing.”
“How about we ask your deputy to throw down the evidence bags, and then we rope this stuff up and both get out of here before the rain makes the hole sink in on itself?” Neil’s jaw clenched. “We’re down here now, so we may as well get the job done.”
He gripped my arm before I could crouch again. “Get thefuckaway from the crime scene.”
I bit my lip, forcing back concerns about potential guns and how I wanted to be here when whatever was here was collected. I couldn’t resist one last comment.
“So, you don’t want me in your hole.”
He took a step back and rested a hand on his holster, and I swear I saw murder in his expression.
I guess that was my answer.
Chapter Twelve
NEIL
What I hatedthe most was that Connor had a point. As much as I wanted to stay furious, to wallow in my anger and embarrassment, I couldn’t ignore that nagging truth. People were peering over the edge, watching me struggle to maintain control of the situation, and it infuriated me.
“We can’t wait for CSI,” Connor said. The scene was close to collapse and evidence could be lost entirely.
“I fu—I know that.”
