You can ask questions when you get her out.
At the broken guard rail, I attached the grappling hook before knotting the rope around my waist. Then I eased down into the ditch. It was steep. Climbable if you had the right shoes, but mine were slippery, so the rope would help us climb back up if needed. And if I had to secure her, it would definitely come in handy.
“I’m coming down.”
“It’s rocky. Be careful.”
When I reached the car, it was on the one flat spot of the steep embankment. There were some grassy patches, but the incline wasn’t easy.
A woman was leaning out of the passenger side of the car. “You didn’t have to come down here. You could have just called the police.”
“You want me to go back up? I can leave you if you want,” I muttered sardonically. Who declined help when they were in a ditch?
I couldn’t see her that well, but I could sense the frown in her tone. “Oh, an American, fantastic. Aren’t you hilarious?”
She had an accent. I wasn’t sure what. It sounded vaguely British, but I couldn’t be sure. “What’s your name?”
“I’m London.”
“What? Like the city?”
“Oh my God, you have all the original lines.”
This was going fucking fantastic. “Well, I guess I’m lucky you didn’t meet me in a bar then. I’d be bombing.”
“Yes. Yes, you would,” she said with a chuckle.
“I don’t know about that,” I said as I edged over to her, testing the strength of the rope so we wouldn’t slide farther down the ravine. “You haven’t really seen what I look like yet. My face is hard to turn away from.” I didn’t know why I was saying these things, but hell, if it helped her not panic, I’d keep going.
“Oh, lucky me, you’re modest too.”
“Well, you are lucky. I am here to save you.”
She licked her lips. “And if I don’t need saving?”
I chuckled. “Of course, you don’t need saving. You’re just down in a ravine, with the possibility of sliding down even farther. Plus, it’s rocky and practically impossible to climb without a rope. But you’re fine.”
“I’ll have you know I am fine. If I hadn’t twisted my stupid ankle, I would be out of this ravine already.”
I frowned then. “You’re hurt?”
“Mostly bumps and bruises. I don’t think anything is broken, but my ankle hurts a little. I don’t think it’s a proper sprain. It’s just twisted.”
When I reached her side, I could see her better in the moonlight. She did have some cuts and bruises. I knelt in front of her. “I’m Kannon. Kannon Adams.”
“Oh, names again? You know mine.”
“Well, at least I’m not going to offer to buy you a drink—yet. But from the looks of it, you could probably use one.”
“You’d be right. Of course this would happen on a night like tonight.”
I assessed her foot. Slim. Delicate. Well arched. A dancer’s foot. Except, they were too smooth for her to be a dancer. I lifted her ankle and found it was mildly swollen.
She winced. “Careful.”
“Easy does it.” When I looked up, her gaze on me was intent. Her blue eyes bore into mine, and that kicked my heart rate up even higher.
What the fuck?
Her hair was in a tangled mess around her face, spilling onto her shoulders. I had to focus to ask her the necessary questions. “Okay, London, how did you get down here?”
She swallowed hard. “I think some idiot ran me off the road.”
My brows snapped down, senses going on alert. “What do you mean, ran you off the road?”
“I was driving on my way to a friend’s house, and out of nowhere, a car came up and banged into the back of my car. I started to pull over to exchange details, but instead, it came around the side of me, sped up, and hit me again. I lost control. And here I am. Then you came along.”
Jesus Christ. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too. I do hate to be late.”
“Hot date?”
“I mean, not as hot as my current situation, but sure.”
I grinned at that. She still had a sense of humor. That was good. And I liked her accent. Her voice rolled over me like a nice shot of scotch, warm and smoky. It made me think of doing dirty things to her, making her light up like fire.
Stop it. She clearly needs help. Fantasizing about her was definitely not the best idea at the moment. “I’m going to take your hand. Put as little pressure on your ankle as possible. I’m going to tie you to me, and then I’m going to climb us out of here, okay?”
“How are you going to do that?”
“We’re going to climb up. Mostly me. You’re going to climb up onto my back and stay there. But you’ll still be attached to me, even if you fall off.”
“What if I fall? Will you fall too?”
I shook my head. “The grappling hook will hold our weight. You’re just a little thing. And it held my weight coming down, so we’ll be fine climbing back up.”
“Dare I ask why you have a grappling hook?”
“For situations like this.”
“Oh my God, you’re a serial killer, right? But I’m an easy target. It’ll be much better for you if you hunt your prey. And, as I can’t run on this ankle, I make a terrible serial killer target.”
My lips twitched. “Sweetheart, if I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead already.”
She blinked at me before deadpanning, “That’s not as comforting as you think it is.”
I shook my head. “Come on. Do you have everything you need?”
She had a sturdy cross-body bag strapped on. It was bulky though. Like a camera bag.
“I couldn’t get out of the driver’s side, so I shimmied over here. I just need this bag. I’ve got my phone in here. I have a few things in the back, but they’re not urgent. I didn’t want to attempt climbing in there and have the car fall farther down.”
“Smart girl. You’re sure that bag is urgent?”
Her nod was insistent. “I’d probably give my life to secure it.”
I lifted a brow but didn’t question her. I’d find out soon enough what was in there. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“Kannon, that’s an interesting name. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Kannon.”
“Well, not everyone can be as handsome and unique as I am.”
“Are you flirting? That sounded like flirting. Bad flirting.”
I ignored that, not sure what I would say in reply. Instead, I focused on the task at hand. It was easy enough for me to do simple knots and loops around us. The scent of her perfume, the light floral base with spicy accents was a distraction I couldn’t afford though.
Then she climbed onto my back. She was light. But that wasn’t what I noticed the most. It was her scent again. Something flowery and light with a hint of vanilla? Jasmine? It clouded my brain for just a moment.
Her voice was soft in my ear. “Like this?”
I cleared my throat. “Like that. Hold on tight.”
“Are you sure you can hold me?”