Chapter 44

Xavier had done a lot of crazy, dangerous shit in his life. He'd risked his neck dozens of times, survived things that most people wouldn't even dream of attempting. And he'd done most of it without even blinking, without the smallest amount of fear.

This was different.

This time, it wasn't just his neck on the line. This time, it was Penny's, too. And nothing was going to stop him from getting her to safety.

Her arms were tight around his neck. Almost too tight, but as long as he could breathe, he wasn't going to complain. Her job was to hold on, and she was admirably good at it.

His job was a little trickier.

By himself, he could have made this climb easily. But he wasn't used to climbing with an extra weight on his back - and precious weight, at that. He was far more concerned for her than he was for himself.

He picked his way up the side of the canyon carefully. There were plenty of hand holds and foot holds, but shifting their combined weight even the slightest bit in the wr