Chapter 8

Cole and Carter hauled Maya to a bungee platform built over a mountain cliff. The drop was hundreds of feet, with nothing but rock and air beneath her shoes. The moment her toes hit the grated deck, her face drained of color, and her knees knocked together. Cole and Carter remained stone-faced. They took the safety rig from a staff and buckled it onto her themselves, then marched her to the edge. Staring into the void, Maya went rigid. All she could hear was her own heartbeat, loud and ragged in her ears. "Cole," she said in a shaky voice, "you know I'm terrified of heights..." "I know," Cole answered indifferently. "You tried to shove Valerie. So, I'm going to let you feel what falling really is! "Maya, this is a lesson. The woman who marries into our family can't be cruel. Change your attitude, and the wedding will go on." Carter pressed his lips into a hard line, his eyes unreadable. "Don't panic. You aren't going to die." With that, they shoved her. The bottom fell out of the world. Something locked tight in Maya's chest. For a few blank heartbeats, her heart didn't seem to work at all. Fear hit so hard she couldn't even scream. Only a broken sound slipped out of her as the wind tore at her face and scattered her tears into nothing. Her gaze was hollow, carrying only despair. When the cord snapped her upside down, the canyon spun into a gray blur. She dangled there over the cliff for what felt like forever. After half an hour, when her breathing turned shallow and the edges of her vision went dark, the winch finally reeled her up. She crumpled onto the deck and dragged in air, trying to fight the pins-and-needles sweeping her limbs. Just then, a staff member stepped in. "Ms. Reed, before Mr. Hale left, he said you had to complete ten jumps. Then, you can go." The words barely landed before they pushed her again. Then came the third time, the fourth, and the fifth... Each time, they left her hanging over the rock face for another half an hour. The short breaks did nothing to clear the fog in her head. She was starting to black out. By the time the tenth drop ended, night had swallowed the mountain. A single white floodlight glared down from the platform, keeping her consciousness dangling by a thread. Only one staff member stayed behind. As he unfastened the harness and turned to go, he felt a tug at his pant leg. "Please... Take me to a hospital..." The plea was a whisper, like a candle guttering in a draft. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Reed. Mr. Hale said that no one is to help you. This place belongs to his family. I can't risk my job." With that, he walked away. The floodlight burned her eyes until they watered. After a while, Maya rolled to her side, braced against the deck, and forced herself upright. She started down the mountain one shaky step at a time. Halfway down, a group of hikers on their way home found her and took her back to the city. She didn't go to the villa. She went straight to the hospital and, with a small flashlight in hand, combed the grass under the patient wing for her pendant. Branches from the shrubs scraped her skin, while mosquitoes left welts across her arms and ankles. She acted as if none of it existed, searching inch by inch. As the hours dragged on, panic clawed up her throat. Her eyes reddened, and tears threatened to spill. "Hey! Who are you? What are you doing?" a voice barked behind her. A security guard strode over. With his help, she found the groundskeeper. "There was a necklace," the groundskeeper said. "I figured it was junk and tossed it." "Where did you toss it?" Maya asked, her breath catching. He shook his head. "It's already been cleared and sent to the landfill. You won't find it now." The tears finally spilled. "Which landfill? That pendant matters to me! I have to get it back!"