“Only my pride,” he responded, realizing with a little shock that his mouth had tightened at the corners in the start of a return smile. The ache in his chest lessened.
Beside him, Bo whined, probably unsure of why her person looked less grim than usual.
He turned to hush her and spun back just in time to catch Leo’s arm as she took her own unsteady step and started to go down. For a second, they stood there, tense and ready to drop, holding on to each other for dear life.
“Crap.”
“Room spinning?”
“Pretty much. I’m not sure I can take another hit to the head.”
His body finally found its equilibrium. “True. That lump gets any bigger, it’ll look like you’ve got two heads.”
“Ew.” She wrinkled up her nose, still grinning. Still crushingly beautiful. Their gazes caught and held. His pulse picked up. “Thanks,” she finally said in a whisper.
“For what?”
“For helping me out here.”
He tightened his hold on her arm. “Let’s patch you up. Get some rest.”
“Okay.” She inhaled shakily and gave him the sort of smile that had probably left a pile of broken hearts the size of Denali in her wake. “But I’m scooting across this ice on my butt.”
She put up a hand when Elias tried to help her down, so he stepped back and watched her slide toward the rock cave on her ass.
Ah hell, Amka, he thought as he scooped up the backpack and followed her, hopeful in a way he hadn’t been in forever. Which scared the crap out of him.What were you thinking?
Chapter 9
Back in the cave, he threw the pack down with athunkand bent to find the first aid supplies.
“How long will we stay here?”
“They’re out there. Storm’s coming. Nobody’s moving tonight. Beyond that, got no idea.” He rifled through the pack—noting that she’d turned it inside out—pulled out the first aid kit and then snagged a few of the energy bars he’d stocked for an occasion like this. “Hungry?”
“I could eat.”
He handed Leo a bar, a water bottle, and a couple pain pills, all of which she accepted with a nod, then set food out for Bo.
The cave was tight, maybe fifteen square feet total. The low ceiling hemmed them in even further, making the space small, though not warm and nowhere near as cozy as the cabin he’d been forced to destroy.
Without the blue tint of the glacier cave, Leo’s skin had taken on a wan, gray cast. But the stubbornness to her jaw said that it would take more than a couple bumps on the head to stop this woman. “So, where is Campbell Turner?”
He sank to the floor beside her and let his head thunk back against the stone wall, cushioned by the thick fabric and fur of his hood. “How’d you know I wasn’t him?”
He didn’t have to see her features to hear theOh, pleasein the air between them.
“The man’s last driver’s license—which he got sixteen years ago—says he’s five eleven.” She handed him the water, eyes closed, and breathed for a few beats, then leaned her head back and gave him an exaggerated up and down. Though he didn’t think it was meant to be sexual, the attention licked at his nerves. “I don’t need a tape measure to see that you’re well over six feet.” She let out a humorless laugh. “And even in my current state, I know you’re not fifty-three years old. Or blond.” She arched one fine eyebrow. “Natural or otherwise.”
He thought about making a stupid crack and reconsidered. Instead, he gave her silence.
“Do you know him?”
For the first time since this whole thing broke open, he was tempted to spill it all. But what if Amka had made a bad call and Leo wasn’t one of the good guys? What if Amka hadn’t sent her at all? That possibility pricked at his spine, alongside the pull of hope he couldn’t quite tamp down.
“What’s Amka call that plane you were flying?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Dolores.”
