Free High Risk by Vivian Arend

use this arm as well as I used to. In exchange,
     I will train you, and we’ll get to the bottom of whatever the hell happened to you.”
    “What if it never comes? What if everything stays a mystery?” she demanded.
    “Then we concentrate on getting you back to climbing.” He broke eye contact, focusing
     instead on freeing his own rope. “The mind is a curious thing, Becki. Maybe you won’t
     ever know exactly what happened during the accident. Doesn’t mean you can’t learn
     to climb and not have to worry about freezing.”
    She blew out a long, unsteady breath. “So that’s what happened?”
    “Yeah.” He was finally loose, straightening the rope and allowing it to fall smoothly
     into place against the wall. “Wait. That’s another thing on the list.”
    “There’s a list?”
    He glanced up, pleased to see she was smiling a little. “There’s always a list with
     me.”
    Oh yeah.
Her eyes heated. “What did I miss this time?”
    “You will not apologize if—and that’s
if
, not when—you need to be saved again.”
    Becki stared at the wall. “Bloody sadist.”
    “Not at all. I won’t enjoy a minute of it if you don’t want me to.”
    She snorted, then gathered her things. “Why do I feel as if I signed up for something
     way worse than what you put your team through? And by the way, even if you’re not
     a sadist, you’re a mean son of a bitch. You called them out of bed after taking them
     for wings and drinks last night?”
    “Also made them do repeats while we had breakfast. Don’t forget that part.”
    An aura of sadness and fear still clung to her, but she seemed far more willing to
     keep moving forward with him than a few minutes before. Becki lifted her gym bag straps
     over her shoulder, settling the bag against her hip. She glanced around at the gym
     and shook her head. “Never thought this place would end up breaking me.”
    “It’s not going to. You’re going to come out on top.”
    She raised a brow and nodded curtly. “I am. I will.”
    The determined line of her jaw said it louder than her words.

CHAPTER 7

    She was out the door and headed for the dorms, frustrated energy making her stride
     quick and wide. Her mind was stuffed full and yet empty—everything as tangled together
     as the ropes had been: Unusable. Impossible.
    The first holds had been perfect. The sensation of her body obeying her commands a
     thrill as always. She’d planned on testing her limits to see what she had to regain.
    It seemed a whole hell of a lot. Everything that had defined her now lay in a mess,
     her identity tangled and tattered.
    She hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to have her abilities questioned all over
     again, and it didn’t matter that Marcus said he didn’t doubt her. She doubted herself,
     and that meant she was back to square one.
    A rock kicked up beside her and she startled to discover Marcus pacing at her side.
     “Shit. Have you been there the entire time?”
    “We need to talk.” He adjusted the bag he carried.
    “About the team’s schedule. Right. This afternoon.”
    “Well, there’s also the issue of our training, details of which we can add to the
     official meeting. In the meantime, I need a workout. Want to join me?”
    A workout was exactly what she needed. Sweaty, mindless, physically demanding activity
     to wipe away her need to analyze and reanalyze every second of what went wrong this
     morning. “Another run?”
    He shook his head. “A swim.”
    They were at the doors to the dorms. “Deal. Where?”
    “Back at the school?” Marcus stood and waited, his strong body at ease like some kind
     of hunting cat waiting for the exact right moment to pounce. “Or the Banff Centre,
     or the rec centre. Your choice.”
    She wasn’t going willingly back into the school, not today. No matter what she’d said
     about not letting the place beat her, she needed a breather. “Rec centre. We can do
     a few weights as well.”
    “Deal. I’ll meet