The haggard girl at information hands me a map of the trails and tells me Jaz has already hiked out to her staging point. Half a mile later, I find Jaz under the wide span of some golden aspen branches that sprawl a few paces away from the rock wall. Jaz is bent over her pack, every inch of her and her gear emblazoned with the Arc’teryx bird skeleton insignia. Leaning against the aspen’s white trunk, I tilt my face up to the sky and breathe in the fresh Colorado air. It’s beautiful here, all azure heavens above and forestry and craggy mountains spreading before us. Breathtaking. Invigorating.
Peering over at Jaz, I find the same placid look on her face as I’m sure I’m wearing on mine and feel like I’ve known her forever.
“Next year, you’re competing,” Jaz informs me.
I’m about to agree when a familiar voice cuts in from behind me, making my mouth dry out on the spot as I turn to see Liam not ten feet away. Dressed in a tight Rescue shirt, tactical pants, and enough rescue gear to stop a train, Liam’s beautiful face is hard as stone. “Number 479. Jazmine Keasley,” he reads off his clipboard. “Gear safety check.”
“Liam. What a lack of pleasure to see you.” Striding up to the Trident god, Jaz lays her equipment out for the official safety inspection. Liam goes over each piece of gear. Yes, of course the Tridents would be here. All four of them.
Crap.
I step backward until my back hits the stone, my chest tightening. We aren’t in middle school where I could pretend Liam is invisible, but I have nothing I want to say to the man either. Nothing I want to hear him say to me. Pressing my hand into the rock, I wonder idly if perhaps the mountain might turn me invisible if I beg it hard enough.
“All checks out. Good luck on your course.” Taking a bright red sticker, Liam initials it before attaching it to Jaz’s bib. Then, just when I think I’m safe, his hazel eyes lift toward me. Hard. Unreadable. Demanding. “Skylar.”
“Liam.” I refuse to flinch away from his gaze, but I have nothing to contribute to the conversation either. Fortunately, I’ve got Jaz the Incredible by my side.
Stepping right between Liam and me, the petite woman manages to somehow glare down her nose at the former SEAL. “Skylar is not gear, asshole. I realize the difference between women and objects might be too difficult for your brain to handle, but just trust me on this one.”
Liam gives Jaz the coldest glare I’ve seen from him yet. “When I need your opinion on something, Jazmine, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Is this jerk bothering you?” A second familiar voice whips me around, this time to find Jaden striding up in all his broad-shouldered glory, a media badge swaying on a lanyard over his gray shirt. Without waiting for Jaz’s answer, he scoffs at Liam’s uniform. “Move along, ambulance driver. Can’t you see that lady doesn’t want you here?”
Liam actually snorts with amusement, though there’s a gleam in his eye that promises a very painful end to any escalation. Which is the last thing we need right now.
“Everything is fine, Jaden,” I say, stepping away from the stone. “We have everything under control. Liam was just leaving, and you should too.”
Jaden’s gaze slides to me, his smile broadening in an open boyish grin. “Lar, baby. I didn’t expect to see you here.” He glances at the mountain. “But I’m glad you are. Though you should be climbing, not watching.”
My stomach churns uncomfortably. Jaden is lying about being surprised—I can read it in his face. He knew I was here today. Just as he’d known where I live. Whatever else, the asshole has always been good at getting information and even better at crafting it into an engaging story. It was one of the things that attracted me to him in school. Now, he just seems like a master manipulator.
“I’m not your baby,” I tell Jaden firmly. ”And no one is bothering us except you. Please leave.”
Jaz, seeing my reaction, loyally offers Jaden a death glare.
Jaden smiles wider. It’s the type of grin that reminds me of a shark, all sharp teeth and dead eyes. “I’m on assignment, babe. You know that. And I’m not about to leave without an interview with last year’s female champion.” The asshole offers Jaz a half bow. “Jaden Harris, the Manhattan Post. Ms. Keasley, what can you tell me about your competition this year? Do you expect another easy win as you had in Memphis at the High Point climb?”
He did his homework.
Jaz looks Jaden up and down as if singularly unimpressed with what she sees, and I have to stifle a laugh. “What I expect, Mr. Harris, is that you leave as my friend asked you to.”
“Your friend and I happen to be engaged,” Jaden says. “Please accept my apologies for any confusion. It’s been a stressful few months. Pre-wedding jitters and all.”
My mouth drops open. In the corner of my vision, I see Liam stride away, my mind trying like hell to absorb Jaden’s claim. Engaged? What reality did that come from? Probably from the same reality that told him it was okay to lie passed-out drunk while his marine buddies assaulted me, then take their side of the story.
Jaz narrows her brows. “Seems to me Sky doesn’t agree with that assessment.”
“Of course I don’t!” I wheel on Jaden. “What the hell are you talking about? We aren’t engaged. We aren’t together. We’re one more word away from a restraining order.”
“That’s enough.” Stepping toward me, Jaden has the audacity to wrap an arm around my shoulders, his posture rigid. “Come on, Lar. It’s time for us to leave.”
My heart pounds. I go to pry his arm off me, the thick muscles unyielding. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I snarl. My blood rushes into my ears. “Let me go.”
Jaden’s face goes from hotly furious to cold as ice. “That wasn’t a question, Skylar,” he says quietly, emphasizing my name in a way that makes my stomach drop. I know that tone of voice. Know the consequences it brings. My body longs to freeze, to do nothing that might provoke him further. As I’ve always done.
But if training with Cullen and the guys taught me one thing, is that doing nothing guarantees only one thing—being knocked none too gently onto my ass. My hand closes into a fist.
Apparently of the same mind, Jaz grabs a quickdraw carabiner off her harness. Holding one end of the quickdraw, the petite climber whips the other end across Jaden’s cheek, the metal hitting flesh with a resounding whack.
Jaden grunts.
Shoving me away from him, Jaden grabs Jaz’s arm, yanking so hard that she screams.
“Jaden, stop!” I shout at him, even though I know he won’t. My pulse pounds, Jaz’s cry echoing through me. No. Hell no. This can’t happen. Not again. “Let her go!”
Jaden raises his free arm, ready to backhand Jaz across the face. He isn’t even paying attention to me. He knows I’m irrelevant. Or was.
Not letting myself hesitate a moment longer, I push off my toes and jump right on the bastard’s back. “Let her go!” I shout again, trying to snake my arm around the asshole’s neck and choke him the way I saw the guys do in Liam’s training.
Jaden jerks in surprise. Curses. For a second, I think I’m making progress, but Jaden recovers before I can finish the move.