Chilled (Bone Secrets, #2)(49)

Darrin rubbed his gloved hands together, annoyed with the bitter cold. It had been several months since he’d last seen Alex, and it’d made him irritable. Even with his pending escape, Darrin had been short-tempered. He’d known he’d have to give up the visits from Alex once he entered his new world in Mexico with a different identity, but that glorious future hadn’t kept away his irritation about permanently severing the bond with Alex.

There was some freaky compulsion that had pushed the two of them together. One angry man searching for answers and one empty man searching for emotion.

Brynn was past tears. Her face had dried as she dug, and she ignored the other men. She didn’t miss their furtive glances at her and at each other. She knew exactly what was on their minds.

How long do we dig?

She glanced at her watch. It’d been about twenty minutes since they’d started to dig. That wasn’t too bad. Surely Alex had ended up with some sort of oxygen cushion. He might still be breathing. I won’t give up, I won’t give up. She got a small burst of energy and bit her lip as she pushed her frozen hands deeper into the snow. Ryan rested on his knees and breathed hard.

“Take a break. You’re not a hundred percent,” Jim ordered.

“Just for a second.” He was out of breath and looked paler than Brynn liked. She figured she looked pale too. Every member of the team had shadows under their eyes.

Thomas paused and leaned on the shovel. “Maybe we should look somewhere else.”

“Where?” snapped Brynn. “You pointed here. You got another spot where you think you saw something?”

Thomas shook his head. “I’m just sayin’.”

“Well, unless you saw something, I vote we stay with this spot. There was a reason you led us here. Don’t start doubting yourself.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Skepticism and uncertainty swept Thomas’s face and he dropped his gaze. She’d put too much pressure on him. Now he’d feel responsible if they didn’t find Alex.

“No one else saw anything. This is our best spot,” she amended.

Thomas nodded without looking at her and started to shovel.

“Wait. Did you hear that?” Ryan held his hands out for silence.

Everyone froze and strained their ears. Brynn closed her eyes and heard silence.

“I don’t hear anything.” Jim’s gaze was searching in all directions. “What’d it sound like?”

“A soft ding. Like a chime.”

Brynn’s eyebrows shot up. “A chime? From what? Are you sure you heard something?”

Ryan’s face was tight with concentration. “I heard it. I know I did.”

“From where?”

Ryan glanced into the hole. “From there?”

“You don’t sound very certain.” Brynn pushed her hair over her shoulder. Had he heard something?

“Keep digging,” was Jim’s advice.

The group was silent as they dug. Everyone’s ears stretched to the limit. A minute later Thomas jerked. “Was that it?”

“I didn’t hear anything!” Brynn cried. How could she miss

it?

“Yeah.” Ryan was nodding. “It did come from below us.” He attacked the hole with the strength of a healthy man. Thomas did the same, an excited light in his eyes.

“What’d it sound like?” Brynn asked between hard breaths, digging faster. The others’ excitement was contagious. Please. Please. Please.

“Just like he said. A soft chime.” Thomas plunged the shovel in hard and halted. “There’s something here. Ryan! Dig right here!” He loosened the snow, and Brynn helped get the excess out of the way. They’d dug nearly four feet down.

She saw blue.

Please don’t be a backpack.

“It’s him! I know it’s him.” Ryan’s words were strangled as he fought back tears. Both he and Jim were in the hole, digging frantically. More blue was exposed, then the black of Alex’s pants. Thomas moved to dig at the other end of the blue parka.

“Oh, thank God. Thank God.” Brynn’s face was wet again. Please be all right. “Hang on, Alex, we’re almost there.”

Thomas uncovered Alex’s face. His white face. His eyes were shut, and he was so still.

“Is he breathing?” Brynn whispered. She felt nauseous; her arms and legs shook with exhaustion. Thomas shook his head as he brushed the snow away from Alex’s nose and mouth.

“Get him out, now!” Jim shoveled the last of the snow off Alex’s boots and gestured for Thomas and Ryan to grab his shoulders. Brynn grabbed a leg while Jim grabbed his belt. “On three. One, two, three. Out!” They all heaved at the same time. Alex’s left shoulder got hung up on the hole’s wall halfway up, and Brynn moved from his leg to free the shoulder. It was tight maneuvering in the hole. They hadn’t prepared a big enough space for several working bodies, but Thomas and Ryan yanked Alex out with sheer brute force.

“He’s not breathing. Jim, get the mask from my pack. Left top pocket.” Brynn ripped off a glove and put two fingers below Alex’s jaw. Her arms shook, and her fingers were nearly numb. She couldn’t feel a thing except the pounding of her own heart.

“Can you feel it?”

“Shhh!” She hushed them and slowed her breaths to concentrate on feeling the ends of her fingertips. Alex’s chest wasn’t moving. “Get his airway going.” She closed her eyes to concentrate as Jim pulled Alex’s jaw upward and slapped the safety mask for resuscitative breathing over Alex’s nose and mouth.