White-hot pain tore from Xander’s foot up his leg. Sparks flashed in front of his eyes and, for a moment, it felt as though his body were hurtling through space. He couldn’t tell which direction was up or down until his back slammed against the wall of the cave.
He forced his eyes open and focused on David, who had taken a step closer. A maddened grin had spread over his face.
“Aw, did that hurt? How about another?”
He lifted the gun higher, aiming for Xander’s abdomen, when the cave filled with a deafening roar. The ground shook. Rocks crumbled all around them.
David’s eyes grew wide. Using both hands, he aimed for Xander’s head and slipped two fingers over the trigger. Something whistled through the air. Then came a thud.
Xander wasn’t sure what he was seeing at first. A long staff protruded from David’s stomach. The man dropped the gun, his mouth hanging open. The mountain continued to shake beneath them, as if trying to buck them off.
A hot, violent blast of wind rushed past, and David fell to the ground. The floor broke apart piece by piece, vanishing into a glowing abyss. The moving edge neared his motionless form.
“Xander!” a familiar voice cried out.
Leila. Xander rolled, ignoring the shattering pain that seared in his leg. His pulse raced. He couldn’t see her in the smoke, fire, and falling rock.
“I can’t hold on.” Her voice cracked.
Panic flooding through his veins, he dragged himself toward the voice, until he reached the brim of the brand-new cliff. Just below the edge, Leila held on for dear life. Her eyes were wide, full of terror, her arm muscles visibly straining to keep hold of the rocks that jutted out from the cliff face. Flames and smoke danced a hundred feet below her.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled. The pain sliced up his leg, and he used the surge to tighten his hold on her. She slid over the edge and they collapsed into a heap together as the world shook around them.
All he could do was stare. Was she really there, crying on his chest, a ghost of who she used to be?
In the orange glow of the fire, her skin looked ashen, wet stripes trailing down hollow cheeks.
She was real. She was alive. Her lower lip quivered, a slender hand reached for him.
“Xander,” Leila rasped, snapping him out of his stupor. “There’s no way back. The path is gone.”
He dug his fingers into her tangled hair, her words not registering. The thick and gritty strands felt as though they were those of a stranger. His gaze roved over her face, searching for traces of the woman he’d last seen three months ago in London. His eyes locked on hers, the sandy browns watching him under a shimmering pool.
Her cries stopped when he pulled her toward him and their lips met. Despite the difference in her looks, how weak and desperate she seemed, the taste of dried blood and dust, it was still her, his Leila. Their lips moved in perfect sync, their dance familiar and perfect. He’d missed this so much, the feel of her, the lingering scent of her skin, even through all the grime, the feel of her body. The way she kissed him back. Relentless tears fell down her cheeks and coated their lips in salt, but it didn’t matter. Tears were proof she was alive.
“I’m so sorry,” Leila croaked out the moment they pulled apart for breath. What was left of the mountain continued to shake and crumble.
He ran a thumb beneath her eye to wipe the wetness, glancing away only for a moment. She was right. They were surrounded by flames. David had vanished into the abyss. More chunks of mountain broke off into the fire. Unbelievable. There hadn’t been a volcanic eruption in Egypt for nearly ten years. It was impeccable timing for another one. The cherry on top of this whole ordeal. If the fire didn’t kill them, the smoke or falling ash certainly would.
He locked his eyes on hers again. “Don’t you dare apologize.”
She opened her mouth, probably to do just that, but instead buried her face into his chest, her body shaking. As hard as he had tried, he wouldn’t be able to save her. Not from this. He’d failed. The mountain shook and rumbled, and fire and ash rained down around them. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.
CHAPTER 47
What could they do? Wait until the rest of the mountain swallowed them up? Xander stroked Leila’s hair, breathing in the scent of sweat and ash. He wouldn’t let her go. No matter what happened next.
A rhythmic thumping met his ears, growing louder and louder. He looked up. That was not the sound of a volcano.
Leila lifted her chin. The wind picked up, blowing the loose strands away from her face. She tightened her grip on his shirt.
“What’s that noise?”
Xander craned his neck, peering into the cloud of smoke billowing above them. A bright, round light shined through the gray swirls.
“A helicopter,” he said hoarsely, though she probably couldn’t hear him—his voice was lost as the violent chop of the machine became deafening.
The black beast dropped until it hovered a few feet above the ground a dozen yards away. The side door opened and a face appeared.
“Get in, you dorks!” Emma screamed, her dark hair whipping around in all directions.
Xander’s mouth dropped open. It couldn’t be real.
“Hurry up!” Emma waved her arm in a barrel roll.
Xander snapped out of his daze and loosened his hold on Leila. Gripping her arms, he pushed her back, gently yet firmly. She pulled him to his feet. Together, they limped to the aircraft and climbed on board. Before the door shut, the helicopter lifted, and the flames grew smaller. The last chunks of the mountain vanished in the fiery inferno.
Emma laughed and cried, wrapping them in tight hugs, then bundling them up with blankets. She pushed them into seats while a man in military uniform slapped a pressure cuff around Xander’s arm and squeezed the hand pump. Another emergency worker checked on Leila. The man questioned her about injuries—a few deep scratches on her arms and legs might require stitches but nothing major. His own were worse. Thank God she fared better.
“‘I’ll just be two hours,’” Emma complained in a fake deep voice while Xander’s foot was being examined. “Yeah. Sure. Well, guess what I can get done in two hours?”
Xander smiled. Her voice was like a symphony.
“Hey, Xander, your friend.” Emma pointed with a thumb over her shoulder toward the pilot. “He found me at the police station where I was freaking out because you never came back like you said you would. He was looking for you, too.”
Xander threw a glance at the pilot, confirming his suspicion. The man’s eyes of steel concentrated on their flight path, one hand clutching the cyclic-pitch lever between his knees. His new boss. His stomach lurched as if it was trying to burrow its way out of his skin.
Emma settled down next to Leila and offered her a granola bar. Leila took it and turned it over in her hands as if she’d never seen one before.
