“So you thought, what, that I might fling myself off the edge and you called Aidan to run in and save the day?”

“Better to be safe and apologize later,” he said. “Except a rescue call came in. A climber was reportedly stuck on a ledge above the river. Aidan’s S&R team caught the call, and everyone thought it might be you.”

“Except that I’m not actually climbing anymore,” she said again, this time through her teeth.” A thought occurred to her, and she narrowed her eyes. “So if you thought I was out there being stupid, why were you at my place?”

“Because maybe I knew that you and your smart-ass mouth aren’t really all that stupid.”

This actually slightly mollified her.

Gray used his Bluetooth to try calling Aidan again. No go. He made another call and then Penny’s voice filled the air.

“Hey,” she said. “I thought we were meeting for a quickie on your break—”

“You’re on speaker,” Gray said quickly. “And I didn’t give you the safe word!”

Penny laughed. “Sorry. Whose ears did I burn? Tell me it’s Aidan. I love messing with his head.”

“It’s me,” Lily said.

“Hey you! We still need to grab that drink.”

“Later,” Gray said tersely. “Baby, where are you?”

“In your office, where you’re supposed to be.”

“I’m going to be late,” Gray said. “We’re heading up the mountain. Aidan’s on an S&R. I’ll be at Incident Command. Call if you need me.”

“Is he okay?” Penny asked, all serious now.

“Yes, but he thinks they’re looking for Lily and I’ve got her right here.”

“I can read between the lines on that one,” she said. “You’re worried his head isn’t in the game. And it’s one hell of a storm coming too. Go take care of our boy, I’ll handle things here.”

On scene at the top, Aidan and Mitch peered over the edge and found the victim curled into the fetal position as the wind beat at her, her head and face covered by the hood of her thigh-length sweatshirt.

Aidan’s gut tightened. “Don’t move!” he yelled down, not at all sure she could hear them. “We’re coming! Keep your head covered!”

There was some discussion with Incident Command on whether the wind was too strong for a rappel and rescue. If so, they would have to pull back and wait out the storm.

Aidan was vibrating with impatience. Mitch put a hand on his shoulder and met his gaze. “I’m going down there either way,” Aidan told him.

“Of course we are,” Mitch said.