CHAPTER 30
Wyatt heardthe voices before he saw anyone.
“Over here!” he called.
Two members of the medical team appeared through the trees, a portable stretcher between them.
“Adult female?” one of them asked as they closed the distance.
“Hypothermic,” Wyatt said. “Disoriented. Weak on her feet. She’s been out here a while.”
“Let’s get her down.”
They worked quickly.
Wyatt crouched beside the woman as they lowered the stretcher into the snow. “You’re okay. We’re going to get you out of here.”
Her eyes moved to him, unfocused but aware enough to track his voice.
“Stay with me,” he added.
Garrett moved in on the other side, and together they guided her onto the stretcher. She winced as they adjusted her legs.
“Easy,” Wyatt murmured.
They secured the straps, then lifted.
The trail felt steeper on the way out.
Wyatt took the front left position, his boots sliding slightly with each step as he compensated for the uneven ground. The stretcher shifted once, and he tightened his grip.
“Watch that patch,” he warned. “Ice underneath.”
“Got it.”
They moved slower now—but steady.
By the time they broke through the last stretch of trees, Wyatt’s shoulders burned.
Then he saw the flashing red and white through the branches.
The ambulance was waiting.
Relief washed through him.
“We’re almost there,” he told the woman.
They cleared the tree line and stepped into the open.
The ambulance sat just in the parking area, engine running and rear doors open.
“Bring her straight in,” a paramedic called.
They carried the stretcher the final distance and eased it down beside the gurney.
“On three,” Camryn Masters said as she moved into position. “One—two—three.”
Wyatt lifted with the others, guiding the woman onto the gurney.
