Worth the Risk (22 page)

‘He’s down on that ledge.’ Lucy shone her torch down the side of a gully onto a lump perched on a narrow ledge above a sheer drop.

‘Oh, great!’ Jack brushed snow out of his eyes and breathed out heavily. ‘Well, now we’ve got a problem. That ledge is too bloody narrow to take a chicken, let alone one of us. OK, let’s think this one through.’

They argued the options for a few minutes and then one of the team hurried over, his face anxious.

‘We’ve managed to talk to him, but he’s threatening to jump if we try and rescue him. He says he just wants to be left to die.’

Jack closed his eyes and muttered something unprintable. ‘Oh, great. This I really need. Right, then, we need the doc.’

‘I’m here.’ Ally slipped off her rucksack and huddled deeper inside her coat. It was freezing. The darkness and bitter cold seemed to seep inside even the most sophisticated outdoor clothing. They had to get Geoff down the mountain fast or he’d die of hypothermia.

‘Go with Ted and see if you can talk some sense into him,’ Jack ordered, flashing his torch at the equipment officer. ‘We’ll prepare for the worst.’

Ally frowned. ‘What’s that?’

‘Some poor sod having to rope up and go over the edge to save him,’ Jack said wryly, walking over to consult with his team.

Ally moved as close to the edge as was safe and called down, her words muffled by the falling snow. ‘Geoff—it’s me, Dr McGuire.’

For a moment there was no answer and she thought he couldn’t have heard her, but just as she opened her mouth to shout again she heard his voice.

‘I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to talk to anyone.’

‘Geoff, please!’ Ally lay down and wriggled closer to the edge. ‘I just want to help.’

‘No one can help.’

‘For goodness’ sake, someone get a rope on the woman before that cornice gives way!’ Jack’s voice drifted through the darkness and Ally shifted to allow them to secure a rope to her waist, her mind on Geoff rather than her own safety.

She thought fast, choosing her words carefully. ‘Geoff—this isn’t the way. Think of Mary!’

‘I am thinking of Mary—that’s why I’m doing this. She’d be better off without me.’

‘That’s not true.’ Ally shivered slightly and wondered what state Geoff was in. If she was this cold then he must be freezing. ‘She loves you so much.’

‘Well, I don’t deserve it.’ Geoff huddled down, his outline barely visible in the darkness. ‘Nothing I do ever turns out right. Look at me now! I tried to throw myself off the edge but I got caught on this stupid rock.’

Ally exchanged a look with Jack. ‘Are you hurt, Geoff?’

‘I don’t care if I am!’

‘Well, I care. I care a lot. I blame myself for this.’

There was a long silence. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘I should have seen how depressed you were.’ Ally raised her voice above the wind. ‘If you fall off that ledge, Geoff, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.’

‘Don’t be stupid!’ Geoff’s words were barely audible.

‘Let one of the boys come down and get you off there.’

‘No!’

‘Geoff, please!’

‘I’ll jump—I swear I’ll jump.’

Ally closed her eyes and tried again. ‘Me, then. Will you let me come down and talk? I know I can help you, Geoff, if you’ll let me.’

There was another silence. ‘OK. You. But no one else.’

‘No!’ Sean’s voice was hoarse. ‘Dammit, Jack, you can’t let her go down there. It’s too dangerous.’

Jack thought for a moment, indecision written clearly on his craggy features. Then he shrugged, his mind made up. ‘I’ve got no choice, mate. She knows what she’s doing and we’ll have a tight hold on her.’

‘No way!’ Sean’s eyes were black and furious and he stepped towards Jack menacingly. ‘She’s not going down there—’

‘Oh, yes, I am.’ Ally was already standing still while they fixed a harness around her hips and secured a rope.

‘Now, you listen to me, girl!’ Jack’s jaw was rigid. ‘You climb down and you assess him and you talk. You don’t unclip the rope at any stage. You don’t do anything heroic. Do you understand me?’

Ally nodded. ‘Yes, but—’

Jack shook his head. ‘No. No buts at all on this one. You don’t unclip your own rope. We’ll drop a spare rope for him and you can use that. Clear?’

‘Yes, boss.’ Ally gave a wry grin and moved towards the edge, but Sean grabbed her, his fingers closing like a vice on her arm.

‘I’ll go instead.’

‘Don’t be daft! You heard the man. He’ll jump if you go.’ Jack put a hand on Sean’s arm and pulled him back, his voice gruff. ‘You’re not being rational, Sean. Think, man. Think.’

Sean stared at him for a long moment, his jaw tense, and then his eyes swivelled to Ally who was poised ready to go over the side.

‘Right. Well, in that case, I want her roped to me.’ He strode over to her, his eyes fierce. ‘You do everything I say when I say it—do you hear me?’

She nodded mutely, wondering why she wasn’t arguing with him. Despite the fact that her harness had been securely fitted and checked by one of the team, Sean checked it again, running his fingers along it and tugging until he gave a grunt of satisfaction. ‘If he jumps, you let him go. Do you hear me?’

She stared at him. ‘But—’

‘Dammit, Ally, do you hear me?’ He shook her slightly, his voice a deep growl of frustration. ‘No heroics.’

‘OK.’ She nodded and wiped the snow out of her eyes. Aware of Jack standing slightly to one side, watching them both, she waited quietly while they checked and rechecked and made the final preparations. Geoff had gone over the side of a deep gully but the jagged, rocky sides made it unsuitable for abseiling. She was going to have to scramble down to him and join him on the ledge. Squinting down into the snowy darkness, she felt a moment of panic. Was there even room for two people on that ledge?

Taking a deep breath, she walked gingerly towards the edge and went over the side, using her hands and feet to feel for a way down, relying on Sean who was shouting instructions from above her.

It felt like for ever but finally her feet found the ledge and she flattened herself against the side of the gully to try and protect herself from the elements. The wind was rising, and without doubt the ledge was the most exposed place she’d ever been in her life.

‘Geoff?’

He was huddled next to her, and with the light from the torch on her helmet she registered that there was no room for manoeuvre at all. The ledge was just too narrow. How on earth had he managed to fall onto it? By rights he should have been lying in a mangled heap at the bottom of the mountain.

‘Geoff?’ Was he unconscious? Certainly he wasn’t moving at all, and gingerly she crouched down next to him, feeling a rush of relief when he lifted his head, his ravaged features visible by her torchlight.

‘Leave me alone. I don’t know why you’re risking your neck for me. You should have just let me die.’

‘You’re not going to die, Geoff.’ Ally was finding it almost impossible to manoeuvre on the ledge with a rope attached to her waist, but she knew better than to risk removing it. ‘First things first. Are you hurt anywhere?’

Geoff was silent for a moment then he shifted with a grunt. ‘My ankle. I can’t stand on it.’

‘Right.’ Ally slipped her gloved fingers into a handhold as the wind gusted against them. ‘Well, let’s get you to safety and then look at it. Will you let me put a harness on you?’

‘No!’ Geoff straightened and winced as his injured ankle took his weight. ‘Dammit, I don’t want to be rescued.’

‘Geoff, nothing is ever this bad!’ She was yelling now, her voice deadened by the wind. ‘We can make it better. You’ve already beaten the alcohol.’

‘Mary’s better off without me.’

Ally thought for a moment and decided to use a different tack. ‘Geoff Thompson, don’t you dare pretend you care about Mary!’

He stared at her, bemused. ‘Of course I care about Mary. That’s why I’m doing this—so she doesn’t have to be shackled to a loser any more.’

‘If you cared about Mary you’d be thinking of her now. How do you think she feels, Geoff? She’s been worried sick about you since you disappeared without letting anyone know where you were going. Then she gets a report that you’ve been sighted up here.’ Ally flinched as the wind buffeted her against the rock, bruising her arm. ‘She thinks you’re already dead, Geoff, and she’s beside herself. She adores you and she blames herself for not helping you.’

Geoff stared at her, his face anguished. ‘She did help me. It wasn’t her fault—’

‘Well, she thinks it is!’ Ally knew she was being brutal but gentle kindness hadn’t worked at all. ‘If you die now you’ll be leaving Mary with a lifetime of grief and guilt. Is that what you want?’

Geoff shook his head slowly and groaned. ‘No, it isn’t. Of course it isn’t what I want.’

‘Then let me get you up this rockface to safety and then we can sort the whole thing out.’

He stared at her and then sagged, all the fight gone. ‘All right. All right.’

Ally felt a rush of relief and fumbled with the spare harness on her waist. Unclipping it, she stepped towards Geoff, helping him into it and clipping it into place, checking it was secure before attaching the spare rope and yelling up to Jack.

‘He’s roped up. We need help to get him up—he’s fractured his ankle.’

Jack’s words were lost in the howling of wind that followed, and with a cry of alarm Ally lost her footing and went over the edge. Supported by the rope, she swung like a pendulum against the rockface and then the world went black.

* * *

‘Ally? Ally, for God’s sake!’ The voice was male, urgent and very, very familiar.

Feeling as though an elephant were sitting on her eyelids, she opened her eyes briefly and closed them again as pain ripped through her head.

‘She’s awake, thank God!’ That was Jack’s voice, unusually strained. ‘OK, let’s get her off this mountain.’

‘We’re not moving her until I’ve checked her thoroughly.’

This time Ally’s eyes flew open and clashed with Sean’s.

‘Tell me your name.’ His voice was like a pistol crack and she blinked slowly.

‘Minnie Mouse.’ Her poor attempt at a joke fell on stony ground and he muttered under his breath.

‘Ally, don’t do this to me!’

Her smiled faltered as she saw the anguish in his dark eyes. He seemed to be hanging onto control by a thread.

‘Sean, I’m OK. Really.’ She saw the stubborn look on his face and sighed. ‘OK, my name’s Ally McGuire, I’m twenty-eight, I have a little girl called Charlie and—’

He frowned as he checked her pupillary reaction. ‘And what?’

She swallowed. ‘And I’m pregnant. Oh, Sean, what if I lose the baby?’

His jaw tensed. ‘You won’t lose it.’

‘What’s she worried about?’ Jack came closer and frowned at them.

Sean opened his mouth but Ally shook her head. ‘No! Nothing, Jack. How’s Geoff?’

‘Fine, thanks to you.’ Jack waited for Sean to finish examining her and then secured her to the stretcher. ‘Broken ankle and severe depression, but both those should heal with time. Lucy’s with him. Do you want to supervise what they do with him, Sean?’

‘No.’ Sean shook his head, his eyes on Ally. ‘I’m staying here.’

‘But I’ll…’ Jack glanced at the lines of tension on his face and nodded slowly. ‘On second thoughts, don’t worry about it. I’ll sort Geoff out. No problem.’

Ally watched Sean as he gave instructions to the rest of the mountain rescue team, tears suddenly clogging in her throat. She loved him so much. He was so strong and dependable and yet such a large part of him was locked away. And she didn’t have the key.

‘Are you in pain?’ In seconds Sean was crouched down beside her, his eyes searching hers.

‘No.’ She closed her eyes but tears carried on seeping out from under her lashes. ‘No, I’m fine.’

‘Ally, for God’s sake, talk to me!’ Sean cupped her face with his hands and forced her to look at him. ‘Why are you crying? Are you hurt?’

Yes. But not from her fall. She stared up at him. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry?’ He frowned. ‘Sorry for what?’

‘For getting pregnant. I wasn’t trying to trap you.’

His jaw clenched and he brushed away her tears with his thumb, a strange look in his eyes. ‘Don’t think about that now. We’ll talk later.’

She had to let him know that it wasn’t his responsibility. ‘I don’t want to marry you, Sean. You can relax.’

He didn’t look relaxed. Far from it. In fact, if anything he seemed tenser than ever, his gaze a mixture of anger and frustration as he scowled at Jack. ‘Are we ready? We need to get her down.’

Nobody spoke much as they made their way down the mountain. They were all too busy concentrating on the path in the darkness and foul weather, and all the way Ally was conscious of Sean right next to her. And he stayed right next to her until she was wheeled into a cubicle in the A and E department.

The consultant, Malcolm Roberts, strode in, and Sean gave him a brief nod, reporting Ally’s condition succinctly and watching like a hawk while she was examined.

The consultant questioned her carefully and frowned at the cut on her head. ‘I’ll get someone to stitch that for you.’

Sean tensed. ‘I’ll do it.’

The consultant took one look at Sean’s face and nodded. ‘Fine. I’ll get a nurse to help you.’

‘I want to take her home tonight.’

Malcolm glanced up from the notes he was writing. ‘Will someone be with her?’

Sean was looking at Ally, his expression unreadable. ‘I’ll be with her.’

‘In that case, I don’t see why not.’ The consultant carried on writing and then slipped the pen back into his breast pocket. ‘You know what to look for. Any worries, just bring her back.’

‘One other thing.’ Sean cleared his throat, his eyes still on Ally. ‘She’s pregnant. She’s had no lower abdominal pain but I’d like her scanned.’

Malcolm paused and then nodded. ‘No problem. I’ll ring the labour ward and arrange it for you.’

* * *

Ally lay still during the scan, not daring to look at Sean. She’d expected him to make his excuses when it had come to the undeniable evidence of their child, but he’d stayed firmly by her side while she’d been wheeled into a side ward on her own, and was standing out of her line of vision. Was he watching?