Chilled (Bone Secrets, #2)(52)

She kicked a fir branch out of her path.

Their walk out of the forest was going to be twice as long if they went down to the railroad river crossing. Maybe they should go back and check on the river footbridge. Maybe the river level had dropped enough. But would the footbridge be stable? It had been slammed with the force of a runaway semi. A shallow wave of dizziness swept through her brain, bringing back the image of the raging water. She breathed deeply and focused on the snow, putting one foot in front of the other. Water didn’t have to be raging to do damage. She knew that all too well.

She dropped to her knees and dug at a shadow under the snow.

A stick.

She continued her rhythmic steps, mentally inventorying their supplies and needs. Her pack held enough food for her. Ryan’s pack held three times as much, but he ate three times as much. Usually. Their food situation was pretty good. The human body could go for weeks without food. Not very efficiently, but well enough for their purposes. Water was abundant. Everyone was dressed for freezing temperatures. And the plane made an excellent shelter for the night. Too bad they couldn’t drag it with them for the next few nights. Now everyone just needed to stay healthy.

Alex looked like he was going to be fine. He’d said he had awoke underground and found breathable room around his face. He’d said he didn’t know how long he was conscious while below the snow. He’d looked away as he said the words, and she had a hunch he knew all too well.

A shudder rippled through Brynn’s chest.

Could she have handled that terror? She’d been aboveground during the avalanche and was going to have nightmares for weeks. She snorted. Alex would have nightmares for the rest of his life. What if they hadn’t found…She firmly placed the thought out of her head.

Kiana’s frustrated barking startled her, and she glanced around for her dog. Out of sight. Probably spotted some small prey that’d darted up a tree and out of reach. As the dog had dug beside her on that first hole of Jim’s, Brynn had been so certain Kiana believed there was a person below the snow. She’d never done any formal rescue training with the dog. Maybe she should. Maybe they would’ve found Alex sooner.

Thank God he was OK.

A rush of confusion and relief swamped her. The same feelings that overpowered her every time she thought about him. She twisted her lips and glanced up the hill at the piece of plane that still sounded with bellows of male laughter at odd intervals. A sort of zing had rattled through her nerves when Alex had made eye contact for the first time at base camp. A warmth had started in her stomach.

He’d been so silent, so serious during the first part of their trip, but she’d felt his eyes on her. And she was more aware of him than she should have been. She’d noticed when he’d start to limp then fight to hide it. She’d noticed his eyes light up as Kiana would tear off in pursuit of something only she could hear.

The other men didn’t pull her attention like that.

And when he’d looked at her after they’d pulled him out of the snow…Brynn stopped and closed her eyes, breathing deep. She’d never felt better in her life than she had at that moment. It wasn’t just the adrenaline from the save. It was the person. If they’d never found him it would have been like part of her had lost something precious, but something unknown. Like losing the sparkling center diamond from a ring before she’d ever put it on her finger.

She shook herself and continued her steps.

Alex made her palms sweat when he turned that serious gray gaze on her. He made her wish she wasn’t in the forest with three other men around. That she could sit across from him at dinner and huddle together in front of the TV. Simply talk and…

Shit. She stopped her pattern and stared at nothing, blinking rapidly.

She and Liam had been together for years, but it hadn’t started with an instant rush of attraction and curiosity. They’d been together because they were so similar; they liked the same things. They were an outdoorsy couple with mountain bikes and a dog. But when was the last time they’d biked together? Liam had changed. Over the past year he’d grown increasingly paranoid and protective of her.

He made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

They’d had the latest version of an old argument the night before this rescue. He’d wanted her home, not in the woods. Why didn’t she find a regular job in a hospital? Why did she work at a job that took her to bloody car accidents in the middle of the night? Why did she insist on doing search and rescue when she could get hurt?

These questions from the pilot who flew a helicopter for his country into unknown situations on a moment’s notice.

She kicked at another shadow in the snow. Another stick. She sighed and moved on. The snowfall was picking up again. The entire day had alternated between showers of heavy snow and light icy pellets.

Brynn frowned as she scanned the ground. Until that rockslide last year she’d never been injured while out on a SAR mission. She’d always felt in control when out in the wilderness, but that time she’d ended up with a broken collarbone and concussion. At the emergency room, Liam had been furious. He’d stated the first ultimatum then.

Give up search and rescue or give up him.

She didn’t care for ultimatums.

Their argument had echoed through the emergency room. A doctor had interrupted, glaring from Liam to Brynn, asking if she needed to call the police. Brynn had shaken her head, and Liam had stomped out of the hospital. Later the same doctor had a well-intentioned but misguided talk with Brynn about abusive men.