Logan grimaces, but I can tell he tries to hide it.
Oh God, no. If something happened to him, send me back out on that mountain and leave me to die.
I have no fucking clue how I ended up here. The last thing I remember is being tossed around like a rag doll in a crushing snow globe. But all that can wait.
“Hanlon?” I force myself to say, even though it feels like my internal organs are being tickled with glass when I do.
Logan’s eyes cut somewhere to my right, but when I try to turn myhead, a sharpness that makes me see stars and suck in a breath stops me immediately.
“Talk,” I command in a raspy voice.
“Hanlon’s in the ICU in a medically induced coma. He’s stable, but he suffered a life-threatening amount of cerebral edema from struggling for oxygen for so long. Although the altitude wasn’t that severe, his compromised lung capacity and weakened diaphragm made it impossible to get what he needed. How could you not tell us…tellme,he has cerebral palsy, Stone? His death would have been onmyhands!”
“Why…was he…struggling to breathe?” I ask, not following.
“Well, the cold and altitude, coupled with his physical exertion from digging you out, made it next to impossible for him. The doctors were…” he trails off, clearly not wanting to upset me, but I need to hear it.
“Finish.”
Logan’s eyes snap to mine, and he blows out a breath before continuing.
“They were surprised he was still alive when we brought him in.”
The heart rate monitor I’m hooked to begins beeping wildly as my chest constricts painfully and a sob tears from my throat.
Logan grabs my hand and carefully sits on the edge of my bed.
“Shh, it’s okay. Chase is upstairs with him. Hanlon’s going to pull through. He’s the toughest sonofabitch I’ve ever met.”
The realization of his words washes over me like a tidal wave, threatening to pull me under all over again. Once I get myself under control enough to try to speak through the glass again, I clarify.
“Hanlon found me?”
Logan nods.
“When we lost you guys, Hanlon grabbed the last set of snowmobile keys and was determined to get to you. I knew that wasn’t going to go well, and if he triggered another avalanche, we’d never find you guys, so, uh, I flew him to your last known location.” Logan looks away because he correctly guesses that I’m going to be irate that he put Hanlon in danger.
“How could you do that?” I want to yell, but I physically can’t. Maybe it’s for the best since this is the most Logan and I have talked in weeks.
“I didn’t know!” Logan says emphatically. “Besides, Stone, I would’ve sacrificed everyone on that stupid fucking mountain to get you home, including Hanlon and myself. Hanlon felt the same way.”
“I love him so much,” I choke out, clutching Logan’s arm, making my heart rate monitor spike, which causes a severe-looking nurse to enter my room.
“Mr. Addario, I’m glad to see you’re awake, but I need you to take some deep breaths for me and calm down, or I’ll have to sedate you.”
“No, please,” I whisper. “Can you update me on Hanlon Winchester?”
The nurse looks to Logan for clarification that I’m allowed access to this information.
Logan nods.
“He was brought in by Ricochet Ski Patrol. Last I heard, he was in ICU room 324. Are you family?”
With a snort, Logan answers, “In so many ways it would make your head spin,” but for once, there’s no bite in his words.
“He’s my brother,” I answer, knowing it’s the relationship that stands the best chance of giving me the access I need.
The nurse turns to the rolling cart housing her computer and pulls up Hanlon’s chart.
