by Nicole Casey
I was stumbling now, blindly even as the light of the flashlight tried to get through the near blanket of snow piling down around me. It wasn’t pretty anymore—it was terrifying and the thought that I was on another planet, isolated and alone was more than just an idea. It was my reality.
Taking one more step landed my leg into the grip of something out of a horror flick and my screams reverberated through the valleys, echoing for miles.
“Oh shit! Oh shit!” I howled, grabbing my leg. With shaking hands, I raised the phone and almost fainted with shock as I saw the black, steel jaws of a bear trap around the fur of my boot. It had been white lining but the blood seeping through was staining it red faster than the driving snow around me.
“Oh Jesus,” I gasped, forcing myself to my feet through the pain. Adrenaline had kicked in and I was trembling violently but my survival instinct overrode all else and I knew I had to keep moving.
Shit just got real.
If I was discombobulated before, I was delusional now and for all I knew, I was limping around in circles, blood flowing hotly beneath my pants and pooling inside my boot.
I have no idea how far I went but at some moment, I realized that I had left my phone on the ground where the bear trap had snapped me.
A new fear gripped me then.
If there was a bear trap, there would be bears, wouldn’t there?
Would they smell my blood? Would they come to feast on my carcass when I inevitably passed out?
I was barely walking now, the snow sweeping over my feet as I stumbled like a drunk man toward the cabin ahead.
Wait what?
I had to be hallucinating. Ice had formed on my eyelashes as I froze in my spot and gazed beyond the flatlands toward a long, log cabin that seemed to stretch on forever.
It didn’t make any sense but nothing happening to me in that moment did. I was going to die if that place didn’t exist anywhere else but in my mind.
With the last ounce of energy I could muster, I made my way forward, gasping as dizziness overwhelmed me. My eyes were nearly frozen shut and I couldn’t feel my fingers underneath my mittens but none of that compared to the pain radiating from my leg.
As I lumbered up to the structure up ahead and fell inside the door, I had a terrible feeling that I was going to die anyway.
6
Dan
My heart was still racing even as we approached our residence and I knew it wouldn’t stop until we were safely inside and shielded from the pelting snow and sleet pouring down on us.
It was a miracle we’d made it home from the expedition at all and no matter how much time I’d spent in Iceland, I’d never really get used to the unexpected brushes with death we seemed to encounter by the way of weather.
Jim stopped the van in front of the cabin and we all hurried into the cabin, exhaling in unison as we fell inside the door. The equipment could wait on the truck. Our safety came first. Our gear was used to inclement weather, even if we weren’t.
“Guess we’re going to be off for a few days,” Jim commented and there was a murmur of consensus among us as we shook the snow off our burly bodies and hung up our coats in the mudroom.
“I’ll get the fire going,” I said to no one in particular as our crew dispersed in different directions to find the warmth they sought.
I heard someone banging around in the kitchen but suddenly a cry of alarm caught my attention.
“There’s someone in here!” Jim yelled from our shared dorm.
“What?” I asked, hurrying toward his voice. “Who?”
The thought that an intruder would be in the middle of nowhere was absurd but what would they take?
My question was quickly answered as I swung my massive frame into the room and paused mid-step, gawking at the bloodied, unconscious girl in my bed.
“Sweet Jesus!” I muttered, regaining myself. “How the hell did she get in here?”
Instantly, I saw from where the blood was pouring and anger spiked through my veins when I realized what was on her leg.
“You idiot!” I yelled at Jim who hovered near the unconscious girl. Her skin was as white as the snow which fell outside, a stark contrast to her ebony hair which lay dripping over a mouth of surprising redness.
“How many times have I told you that those bear traps are an accident waiting to happen?”
I dropped to my knees and barked at Harry to grab the medical kit from the bathroom.
“Yeah but the polar bears,” Jim whimpered and I glowered at him.
“Does she look like a polar bear to you, Jimmy?”
I didn’t listen for a response and I looked at the wound around her leg. I needed to pry the clamp off her before she got sepsis. There was no way of knowing how long she’d been there or how hurt she was just by looking at her.
Harry returned and handed me the kit as I struggled to unhinge the jaws from her leg.
“Be careful,” Jim muttered and I shot him a scathing look.
“I wouldn’t have to be careful if you’d be more sensible!”
“I’m sorry,” Jim muttered and I softened, knowing it was never his intention to hurt anyone. That didn’t change the fact that there was a woman bleeding to death in our dorm.
“Stand by with towels. Blood is going to go everywhere. She’s lucky the brunt of it caught her boot. I don’t think there’s much damage to her bones.”
Jim did as he was instructed and slowly, I pulled the trap off her calf, my dark eyes darting up toward her face to see if the pain would rouse her but she remained in a deep, slumber and it scared me beyond reason.
As I predicted, gushes of red began to spurt from the wound and we were on the blood, holding towels to her as I managed to slip off her boots.
“Her pants need to come off too,” Harry offered and I nodded.
“Get out,” I told them. “I’ll deal with this.”
No one moved as they looked at one another as if they weren’t sure they should go.
“Guys get out. If she wakes up and sees seven men looming over her without her pants—”
“Oh!”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
“Come on.”
“Nothing to see here.”
They all moved out of the room with lightning speed, except Graham who lingered.
“You can go too, Graham,” I told him without turning around. “I’ve got this.”
He didn’t say anything and when I turned to look at him, he had a peculiar look on his face.
“What?” I demanded.
“You know what,” he replied but without another word, he, too, left the room. I didn’t have time to think about Graham and his weirdness at that moment. This woman’s life was in my hands.
“Come on, honey,” I breathed. “Wake up.”
Tenderly, I removed her stained, soaked outer pants and then her long johns, followed by her drenched socks.
Gooseflesh prickled her fair skin and I managed to apply pressure to her wound as I slipped off her jacket.
She was breathtakingly lovely and I had to wonder how she’d gotten out there by herself. Someone had to be missing her. I knew I would be.
Carefully, I disinfected the deep gouges but my initial assessment had been correct. Nothing was broken. It was a flesh wound, nothing more.
It only took a few stitches and some alcohol to stop the bleeding and I gave her a shot of Demerol, knowing that when she woke, she’d be in excruciating pain.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I yelled for Jim again.
“Help me move her onto another bed so I can change these sheets,” I told him. “And we need to find her some warm clothes. It’s a small wonder she doesn’t have hypothermia.”
“Where the heck did she come from?” Jim asked, echoing my own thoughts from earlier. “There’s not a town for miles!”
“We’ll ask her when she wakes up, I guess.” I looked around for a purse or bag, my eyes resting on a knapsack on the floor.
“Is that hers?�
��
“I guess.”
Together, we lifted her and placed her on the next nearest bed which was Bash’s and Jim giggled.
“This will be the first time Bash has ever had a girl in his bed,” he joked but I wasn’t amused. It wasn’t the time for jokes, even though I knew it was Harry’s defense mechanism.
“Jim, go find her some clothes.”
His smile faded and he hurried to oblige as the others slowly filtered back inside.
“Is she awake yet?” Harry wanted to know, his usually amused expression somber. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes,” I replied with conviction. I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to be fine.
“We just need to keep an eye on that wound and she’ll be fine.”
“What can we do?” Bash asked, his small voice barely over a whisper. I could see that having the girl in his bed unnerved him but his heart was good. He wouldn’t make it about him, not when someone’s life was at risk.
“Pray?” I suggested. “I gave her something for the pain but she’ll come around soon.”
I hoped.
All around me, my companions hung their heads and silently wished her well as Jim returned with a pair of his own flannel pajamas.
“Will these do?” he asked and I could read the contrition on his face.
“Yeah,” I said, offering him a brief smile. “You’re scrawny.”
Jim scoffed and the others laughed but quietly as to not wake our sleepy beauty.
Come on, princess, I begged her. Wake up so I can see your eyes.
It was only then that I noticed Graham still standing off to the side, frowning at all of us and I stifled a sigh of worry.
I hoped he wasn’t going to make matters unpleasant.
- End of Sneak Peek -
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Author’s Note
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book. I hope you have enjoyed reading this book as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
Sometimes, we just need a second chance. Even if we screwed up before, we can still make it right and find the love of our lives. Right?
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Love,
Nicole
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About the Author
Nicole Casey is a Contemporary Romance Author born and based in The City of Angels. She writes steamy contemporary romance with a happily ever after.
When she isn’t penning sultry scenes, Nicole Casey loves getting lost in her daydreams, going for long nighttime walks, and fine dining. She is also a red wine aficionada and bookworm. Above all, she enjoys nothing more than spending quality time with her loved ones in both human and cat form.
