Twin Cupids at Work Daddy Come Home novel Chapter 629

“Don’t talk like that. This can’t be permanent. Once we get out and make it to a hospital, the doctors will fix your eyes, you’ll see.”

Madeline lowered her head. Her voice was small, tinged with worry. “I hope so.”

Deep down, she prayed it was just a phase, that nothing was broken beyond repair.

Luke glanced around at the walls, eyes narrowing. “First, we need to figure out how to get out of here. Just stay put. I’ll look around.”

“Don’t wander off,” Madeline said quickly. She still couldn’t adjust to the suffocating darkness. Not being able to see in this unknown place made her panic rise, sharp and raw.

“I know. I’ll stay close.”

Luke walked a short circuit, then came back. His face was tight, jaw set. Madeline heard his footsteps and lifted her head. “Well? What did you find?”

Luke hesitated. “We’ve got a couple of real problems. Want to hear them?”

Madeline almost laughed. What could be worse than this—her blindness, his injuries, being hunted, no way to call for help, lost who-knows-where in the mountains?

“Just tell me already,” she said, rolling her eyes at herself.

“We fell into a pit.”

Silence.

“It’s deep. The dirt on the walls is loose. No way to climb out.”

More silence.

“We’re stuck, at least for now.”

Madeline should have felt surprised, or maybe hopeless, but honestly, what else could go wrong? Blind, injured, lost, hunted, no phone, no compass, and now a deep pit?

She tried to laugh. “And the other problem?”

Luke let out a soft sigh. “I saw lightning earlier. Looks like it’s about to pour.”

Madeline closed her eyes and let out a breath.

“And temperatures drop close to freezing at night out here. We might, uh, freeze.”

That night stretched on, slow and brutal. Somewhere outside, Julian never stopped searching for her. Claire’s hiding spot had to be good—too good. There was no map for this kind of hopeless searching.

Julian’s head pounded. He closed his eyes, forced a breath, tried to think straight.

Miles came up beside him, voice lowered. “Boss, there’s a call from the estate. Christian is pretty upset. The family doctor’s been to see him. Your mother wants you home.”

Julian’s face grew tight. “Call in more doctors, whatever it takes. I’m not a doctor. There’s nothing I can do by being there.”

Miles nodded. He could tell Christian was just looking for a reason to drag Julian back to the family house.

A sudden roar cut through the night. A helicopter appeared overhead, descending fast. Before the rotors even stopped, a man jumped from the open door.

Julian’s gaze locked onto the newcomer. They sized each other up, tension thick, anger rolling from both men like a storm.

Their eyes met. The air grew colder.

Casey stood there, his coat whipping around him, voice like a knife. “Stop searching. You could spend your whole life in these woods. You’ll never find her.”