“You okay, Sunni?” Topher asked, as Jericho hung on to the edge.
“Barely.”
“We’ll get you to the cabin and get warm.” Jericho’s voice was so terribly reassuring, terribly calm, that even Harley felt the tension wheedle out of her.
And now he made her feel safe too.
Oh, she was clearly a mess.
Focus.
They worked together to pull the duo up onto solid ground. Sunni’s face was gray with pain and cold, but she managed a wan smile as Topher helped unfasten the harness. She looked at Jericho. “My hero.”
“All part of the service.” Jericho had crawled over to his pack, breathing hard, but he started digging into it, his hands trembling with fatigue. He fitted on a headlamp, the beam cutting through the gathering gloom. “Let’s get to shelter.”
The wind howled through the trees, drowning out whatever he said next. The storm roiled on the horizon, the ceiling falling, darkness settling fast. So, yeah, the cabin seemed their bivouac for the night.
Jericho pulled another headlamp from his pack and reached for Harley. His fingers shook a little from the cold as he settled the band in place.
“You know these woods better than anyone.” The beam illuminated his face in harsh shadows, but his eyes held warmth.
No,no—
“Lead the way.”
Right. Okay then.She hadn’t been here in years. But Orlando was already alert beside her, waiting. And Jericho was lookingat her like he actually believed she’d lead them to safety. Not into trouble.
Huh.
“The cabin’s not far.” She clicked on the headlamp, its beam cutting a path through the white darkness. “Stay tight, this storm’s only getting worse.”
Jericho leaned down, and Topher helped Sunni climb onto Jericho’s back. “Toph, you go behind me. Winter, stay on Harley’s tail. Harley...”
She’d already started through the snow, Orlando beside her. The wind tried to steal her words, but she called back anyway. “Don’t lose me!”
The snow crunched under her boots, Orlando’s bell cutting through the deep moan of the storm in the distance. Darkness seeped through the forest, deepening.
Please, please let her remember the way...
The beam of her headlamp caught snowflakes like falling stars, each crystalline moment of brightness swallowed by the dark. The world narrowed to the small circle of light, the efforts of the team behind her, the rasp of her own breathing.
A quiet, almost lethal hush fell over the forest.
Her ribs had started to ache with her efforts.Oops. She groaned, braced herself against a tree a little longer than she should have.
“You okay?” Jericho’s voice, strained but close. She glanced over her shoulder. He’d come up behind her. Snow fell upon his eyelashes, his jacket. He looked like some crazed mountain man.
“I’m fine.”
“You were shot.”
“You’ve mentioned that. More than a few times.”
“Yesterday.”
She gave him a withering look. Winter’s eyes widened.
Harley held up a hand. “Just calm down. I’m fine. The cabin isn’t far.” She turned back to him. “You’re a walking worrywart.”
