"Get on that rope and start moving!" he yelled over another reverberating clap of thunder.

When she didn’t respond, he demanded. "Come on, damn it. Climb down!"

She shook her head again. She couldn’t do it. Jess glanced in his direction, then turned and stepped into the house out of the rain. She hoped he didn’t see the fear in her eyes. She had just killed a man, yet here she was cowering like a child. She tensed when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back outside into the downpour.

The rumbling of engines signaled the approach of cars in the front and knew he was right, but she just couldn’t do it. She shook her head again.

"Do you want to die? Because if you don’t get on that rope, that’s what’s going to happen. Now, take this!" She looked at the pistol he was holding out to her. It was the same gun she used to . . .

"I know you can shoot."

She accepted the pistol and stuck it in her waistband.

With hair plastered against her face and needles of rain pelting her skin, she glanced over the side again and felt dizzy. “Please!” she begged. “There’s gotta be another way.”

Jess knew even as she spoke the words that she had to do this, but could she? There were more bad guys out front. Jess closed her eyes, stood straighter, and hoped she wouldn’t throw up again. A gentle touch lifted her chin and she knew she would be pudding if she looked into eyes as blue as the deepest sea.

“Jess. Open your eyes,” he commanded as if he could read her mind.

When she opened them, Dan had moved very close to her, and she was only inches from the hero of her dreams. She couldn’t speak. His timbered voice washed out everything around her.

“There’s no choice. If you don’t, you’ll die. Take it slow and you’ll be fine. Grip just above the knots. Don’t look down. When you’ve reached the ground, head east and I’ll find you.”

Thunder cracked above her and the wind shot stinging rain against her skin, but all Jess sensed was the touch of his callused fingers and the deep piercing gaze of his blue eyes. He broke her trance when he placed his hand under her elbow. “Now go!”

Bowing her head against the rain, she threw one shaky leg over the railing, then the other. She held her breath and slid over the edge, holding tightly to the rope. Jess lowered herself to the next knot, her body shaking. Now eye level with the railing, she glanced up to see Dan watching her. “I’ll find you,” he said urgently. “Hurry, there’s not much time!”

Somewhat reassured, Jess moved down to the next knot, then the next. When she lost the protection of the porch, the wind attacked her with fearsome force. It whipped wet strands of hair against her face, obscuring her vision. The rope swayed back and forth and she froze, clinging to its rough, thick length. She pleaded with the wind to stop its assault, but her pleas went unheard. Forcing her stiff fingers from the rough-woven twine, she felt for the next knot and slowly moved down.

Fear made her clumsy, and suddenly she was falling. The rope tore through her tender skin as she frantically grabbed for a knot, burning her palms like fire as she dropped closer and closer to the ground.

She gripped as hard as she could on the next large knot and thankfully jerked to a stop. She hung only by her burning hands, her feet dangling. Tightening her thighs around the rope, she moved her feet to find the next knot. Once secure, she leaned her head into the rope, swinging freely with the wind. She just needed a moment to slow her racing heart and catch her breath. Blood oozed from her stinging hands and mingled with the rain in streams of pale red.