Chilled (Bone Secrets, #2)(46)

She smiled patiently at him and waited, her gaze losing a small degree of its joy.

He tried to speak. And couldn’t.

Her face fell and her eyes pleaded with him. “Come on, Alex. Where are you?”

He wanted to please her, he wanted that brightness back in her gaze, but he still couldn’t speak and he didn’t know where he was. His eyes closed in frustration as his brain silently screamed.

He was so f*cked.

Brynn couldn’t feel her hands anymore. The cold of the snow was making them numb. I won’t stop. I won’t stop. She dug, ignoring the splinters of pain from her upper arms. A picture of Alex, lifeless and gray, flooded her brain and she shoved it away.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

“Good girl, Kiana. Where is he? Dig him out!”

Kiana paused to shove her nose into the deep hole she’d dug and started digging again. Kiana was like a little snowblower, shooting snow in an arc behind her. The dog’s determination calmed Brynn. Surely Kiana wouldn’t be digging if nothing were down there.

Jim sat back on his heels and huffed. His face was red, and he wouldn’t meet Brynn’s eyes. “Just catching my breath.”

She nodded and kept digging. A second later she jumped to her feet, scanning the area. “I’m so stupid. Where are the packs? Why in the hell aren’t we using the shovels?” A small collapsible shovel was standard equipment in their packs.

Jim grimaced. “Already thought about it. Don’t know where they are. The avalanche spun the body of the plane in place, but it sucked up the packs that were beside it.”

Brynn stood still. “No packs?” Their lives were in their packs. They weren’t going to survive out here if they didn’t have them. She looked at the hole at her feet. Was she digging Alex out to die in the elements? She glanced over at the big piece of the plane where she’d dropped her pack before hiking up to Ryan. Sure enough. The avalanche had caught the edge of the plane and rotated it ninety degrees.

And stolen their backpacks.

“Thomas, did you see where the packs went?” she called over to the other diggers. The big man simply shook his head, his face grim. He didn’t lose a beat in his digging rhythm. Ryan did.

“What? No packs?” Ryan worriedly looked around, his eyes wide as they stared at the plane. “Mine’s still up top,” he said slowly.

“Better than none,” Thomas stated.

“Shit.” Ryan attacked the snow with fresh vigor, and Brynn imitated him.

Her gloved hands hit a hard patch, and she punched the snow with her fist to break through. Blue. She could see blue through a layer of snow. Kiana barked.

“I’ve got him!” she shrieked and attacked the snow. Jim lunged closer.

“Which way’s his head?”

“I can’t tell. Hang on.”

Ryan and Thomas were instantly at her side, digging faster. The blue haze under the snow grew larger and she touched the fabric. Thank you, God. Thank you.

“That’s not him.” Thomas spoke just as the realization punched Brynn in the gut.

It was one of the packs. The four of them sat back, utterly drained. Kiana barked and dug at the blue fabric.

“It’s mine,” Brynn whispered. “It’s got Kiana’s food in it.” Tears traced hot paths down her cheeks. They’d been wasting time and muscle power digging in the wrong place. Thomas stood, strode back to his hole, and began to dig. Ryan followed.

“Brynn, get your shovel out of the pack and get over there.” Jim’s voice was tired. “I must have seen the blue of your pack getting tossed in the avalanche. So maybe Thomas saw the blue of his coat. Fuck!” He rubbed his palms over his eyes. “I screwed up.”

“No, you didn’t. Look how accurate you were in locating this. We’re gonna need it.” Her voice was calm as she located the collapsible shovel, but her heart was crying. “This shovel might be what we needed to find him. Go on.” She gestured for him to join the others. “I’ll be right there.” She forced her breaths to stay even.

Jim pushed to his feet and jogged over. Ryan slapped him on the shoulder and made room for him to dig beside him. The agony on their faces broke her heart.

Brynn maneuvered her shovel out of her pack, and her fingers brushed Kiana’s sack of food. She wrenched it out of the half-buried pack and held a handful out to her dog. “Here you go. Good girl.” Kiana wagged her tail and attacked the food.

Brynn grabbed the shovel and headed over to the men. She held the shovel out to Thomas, who silently accepted it and attacked the growing hole. Brynn fell to her knees and started to dig. Her back ached in protest.

“Alex! Can you hear us?” Ryan shouted and the others held still, listening. “Alex!” Silence.

“Call him again,” Brynn whispered. Her throat felt too swollen to yell. Come on Alex. Where are you?

“Alex!” Ryan yelled and then froze. “Call him…shit. Anyone know his cell phone number? Maybe we’d hear that.” “There’s no coverage up here.” Thomas kept digging. “There’s some. I got through to Collins a little while ago.” “But you were higher.” Brynn’s heart lifted a fraction. “It’s worth a try! Jim, do you have his number?” Jim shook his head. Ryan turned hopefully to Brynn. “Brynn?”