Page 159 of Wicked Lord

“Axel!” she screamed.

The sound ripped through me.

I lunged, my boots skidding over loose gravel, and threw myself forward as Brock let her go. For one horrifying heartbeat, she vanished from the ground completely, her body tipping over empty air, blonde hair whipping around her face.

My hand shot out.

My fingers clamped around her arm hard enough to bruise.

“I got you, Lore.” My voice came out shredded as her weight nearly dragged me down with her. “I got you.”

Her body slammed against the cliffside, knocking a cry from her lips, and my shoulder screamed as I hauled her back toward me. Dirt broke loose beneath my knees, and pebbles rained into the black below, swallowed by the violent crash of waves.

I wrapped my other arm around her waist and yanked with everything I had.

She came up hard, trembling and gasping, her hands clawing at my jacket as I dragged her against my chest.

I had her.

She was alive.

She was in my arms.

My heart thundered as I staggered away from the long drop, keeping her safe in my arms. “Lorelei, baby, are you okay?”

“It’s going to take a lot more than some psycho rich prick to get rid of Lorelei Battenberg.” She gave a shaky breath, her body trembling.

The relief flowing through my veins was enough to make me float a hundred feet off the ground.

She was okay. My fucking heart was still alive and well. She hadn’t left me to rot.

I reluctantly set her on her feet and then buried my face in the crook of her neck. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“I’ll try, Ax,” she whispered.

“Help me! Please.”

Icy fear prickled my flesh at the panicked voice echoing from beyond the cliff. I released Lorelei and inched toward the edge to find Brock trying to climb back up, his feet on a narrow ledge.

How the hell had he gotten down there?

Every move he made loosened the soil even more. Blood trickled down his pale face, and true fear permeated his gaze. He looked like a man terrified of death—probably because he knew the devil had a special place for him in hell.

“Please, Axel!” he shouted. “I don’t want to die.”

Lorelei shook her head. “I don’t trust him.”

But as I stared at the churning water below, that night came rushing back, and instead of Brock, Peter was the one barely hanging on.

If only Peter had been able to grab hold of something.

If only I could have saved him.

I didn’t think. Didn’t ask myself whether the monster dangling from the cliff deserved mercy. My body moved before my mind could catch up.

I flattened myself against the cold, damp earth and reached over the edge for the asshole who had tried to ruin our lives. Tried to kill us.

“Take my hand, Brock.”