by M. S. Parker
“It’s unmarked, and hardly anybody uses it, not even us rangers,” Lexi said, her voice flat and emotionless.
She was probably right. I really should slow things down and think. But Lexi’s all too logical, all too rational tone rubbed me the wrong way, and I couldn’t even explain why.
In an effort to cut her off, I gave her a dismissive look. “What’s the matter? Don’t think you can handle it?”
She flipped me off.
Heat punched through me, a sudden, heavy surge of lust – stronger than I’d felt in a long, long time.
Despite my distraction, I found myself grinning at her.
Fuck you, her eyes said.
I raked her up and down with a look. “Sweetheart, you only wish.”
I said it more to get a rise out of her than anything else, but instead, she gave me a cool look. “You’re an arrogant piece of work. What makes you think I would wish?”
Her cute little nose practically turned up in the air before she cut around me to continue on the trail.
I fell into step behind her, oddly content to do just that.
Her head was never still, something I’d already noticed. I knew from experience that she was taking in everything around her and keeping a close eye out for potential hazards. She was likely watching for any possible sign of the crash or survivors, although I sure as hell hoped the survivors stayed together. Although there had been only a couple of people on the small plane, they’d be safer if they didn’t split up.
In front of me, Lexi went to climb over a heavy limb that was blocking the game trail.
Her cry, sharp and loud, caught me off guard. In front of me, she started to sway, then she went down. She went down hard enough that I heard her collision with the ground, and another sharp, pained cry echoed in the air.
I swore, climbing over the tree limb to see what happened.
“What happened?” I demanded, although the snare around her lower leg made that obvious.
Her lashes fluttered, but I could tell just by her expression she hadn’t heard me.
“Are you hurt?”
All she did was groan.
Crouching down next to her, I looked her up and down. When my gaze landed on her left wrist, I immediately swore. It was already swollen. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut for a few seconds, then continued my quick visual exam. I’d gone through combat medic training as a Ranger, so before I did anything to help, I needed to get an idea of what had happened and where she hurt.
The what became obvious, almost immediately. Around her ankle was a snare. She must have triggered it when she went over the downed limb.
She blinked the snow from her eyes as I shifted my attention to her face.
She squinted a little, and I adjusted the headlamp, so it wasn’t shining directly into her eyes. She drew a deep, ragged breath. “Help me sit up,” she ordered.
Not happening just yet, princess. I didn’t say it out loud, continuing to look her over. The bright light of my headlamp showed that her pupils were dilated, so large that only a thin rim of gray showed around the edges.
Fuck. If she went into shock…
She still hadn’t answered me, and I reached out to tap her cheek. Before I made contact, she spoke, her voice slow and level, almost eerily so. “I think I might have broken my wrist.”
Don’t be broken. The thought was a plea and a demand.
“Okay,” I said, refusing to let anything show in my voice. “I’ll take a look at it.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know if I want you doing that.”
“I had medic training in the army. I know what I’m doing,” I told her.
“Can you help me sit up? This isn’t the most comfortable position,” she said, the words tight with pain.
“In a minute. First, I need to get this snare off and then check to make sure you don’t have any other injuries.”
Moving to her feet, I found the mechanism to release the damn trap. It pissed me off just looking at it, but I didn’t have time to think about illegal hunters right then. I just needed to be grateful that the snare had closed around her boot and not the more vulnerable pants above it. It could have been much worse.
“Ready?”
She nodded, and I pushed the mechanism to unlock the jaws. Lexi offered a sharp intake of breath as the trap released, then breathed out in obvious relief. I tossed the damn thing to the side.
“Other than your wrist, can you move everything okay?”
She took a deep breath, then began to flex and bend. When she rotated her left ankle, a strangled noise escaped her, and her lashes flew open, pain contorting her features.
“Left ankle,” she said. “It hurts.”
“How bad?”
She squinted up at me, and I had a feeling she wanted to deliver a sharp retort, but none came. “Hard to say,” she commented after a few more seconds. “It’s nothing like my wrist though. My ankle is somewhere in the range of ouch and hurts like a mother-fucker, and my wrist has blown the mother-fucker stage out of the water.”
“Okay. So you probably didn’t break your ankle. That’s good.” I shrugged out of my pack, then eased her into an upright position. “We can’t take that pack off until we stabilize your wrist, okay?”
She nodded jerkily.
Unzipping one of the big outer pockets, I got the first aid kit and put it off to the side where I could reach it easily. I closed my hands around her lower leg and began to prod the area. When I was able to do that without hurting her, I had Lexi move her ankle again. She could do it, but it was obvious it pained her. “Your ankle is probably just sprained. I’ll wrap it up in a minute.”
The snow had started to come down harder in the past little while, making a bad situation even worse.
I shouldn’t have pushed Lexi into coming with me. Yeah, I needed to find Cass, but I would have been fine out on my own. If I’d just gone out to search by myself, then Lexi wouldn’t be lying there in pain.
Pushing the thought aside, I took her wrist and held it gingerly above the area where it was swelling. “We need to stabilize this in case it is broken.”
“I know.” She sucked in a breath. “Go ahead and do it. I’ve got a first aid kit in my pack.
“I’ve already got mine out.” After getting out the needed supplies, I eyed the sleeve of her coat, trying to figure out how we could do this. Finally, I decided I’d just wrap her up, coat and all. It was too cold for me to cut the material away. It was even more important now to keep her warm. The splinting material that I’d carried with me as a Ranger was tucked away in the corner of the pack, and I pulled it out, tearing open the plastic wrap before unrolling the flexible aluminum material. I held it to her forearm to get an idea of how long to cut the strip, then used the utility shears in the pack. She whimpered as I put the brace into place, then folded and tucked away the material of her coat so that it added another layer of support. Once I had it taped into place, I studied her face. “Holding up okay there, princess?”
Her mouth twisted in a scowl. “You’re an ass, you know that, Roman?”
“Guilty. Is the support tight enough? Think it’s stable?”
“I’ve never broken a bone before,” she replied sourly. “I don’t have much to compare it to.”
“You’re making this real easy, you know that, Lexi?”
She made a face at me, then tipped her head back, lifting her face to the snow.
“I’m going to wrap your ankle now, okay?”
She just nodded.
Guilt tore jagged claws into me as I eased the leg of her pants up, trying to eyeball the injury. I couldn’t make out any swelling and decided the boots, which went up over her ankle, had probably provided enough support to protect from any major injury. If possible, though, I needed her upright and moving. If I had to, I could make an emergency stretcher, but that would slow us down, which wasn’t optional.
“I’m going to take your boot off. We should wrap your ankle.”
“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
There was a fine line between her brows, and I had no doubt she was hurting. I hated to cause her more pain, but expediency was crucial now.
The snow was coming down even heavier than before, and every moment she sat on the cold ground, it sapped more of her body heat away.
By the time I had her ankle wrapped, there was a fine sweat on her brow despite the cold, and I knew that as careful as I’d been, I’d hurt her. I unlaced her boot all the way, allowing the needed extra room now required due to her wrapped ankle.
A couple of times, she hissed under her breath, but for the most part, she was quiet.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m done.”
She was still pale, breathing shallowly, but at the sound of my voice, she opened her eyes and nodded.
“We’re going to have to find somewhere to put up a shelter,” I said, already skimming the area and trying to gauge the best location.
“Help me stand up,” she said.
“You need to–”
She fixed a dark glare on me. “What I need to do is get my head examined for coming out here like this. Will you just shut up and listen to me instead of trying to give me orders?”
I set my jaw, then maneuvered into place, keeping my body on her left so I could brace her when the pain got to be too much. Once she realized how much it hurt to put weight on that ankle, she’d stop arguing.
But she didn’t have any such realization.
She shrugged free of me and hobbled forward one small step at a time. After she’d moved about four feet, she looked back at me. “There’s an old ranger station not too far from here. We need to backtrack a bit.” She looked around with a frown, searching for something.
I saw what it was just as she located it – the handheld GPS. She took a step toward it. I snagged it off the ground and turned it over before she could take another step.
Stubborn woman.
“Thank you,” she said, surprising me.
I fumbled with a response, but she wasn’t even looking at me. Snowflakes laced through her hair, the ponytail falling over her shoulder as she bent her head to study the screen. She went to lift her left hand and immediately stopped, a hiss of pain escaping her. She awkwardly fumbled with it until she could use her thumb on the screen.
When she looked back at me, there was relief in her eyes. “We just need to backtrack about fifty feet, then take the old trail that leads to the station.”
“Can you handle it?” I asked.
She gave me a resolute nod. “If we can find some sort of limb I can use…”
“I’ll deal with it.” I went to the downed tree branch and studied it. Briefly, the snare caught my attention, and I scowled. I was pretty sure things hadn’t changed that much since I’d been here – hunting and trapping weren’t legal in this area. Whoever had placed this here was responsible for Lexi’s injury. Or partly responsible. We could share the blame.
I didn’t let myself brood over it just then, though. I needed to get Lexi someplace safe where she could get warm, and I could see about calling for help. I had no doubt that we’d be here overnight at least, and I wanted her out of the weather before I worried about that call.
I found the length of limb I needed and once more raided my pack, pulling out a small handheld saw. It looked like a length of chain with paracord loops on each end, and it made quick work of the branch I’d decided to cut off. In just a couple of minutes, I had a decent length of wood she could use to support and balance herself.
I turned to find her leaning against a tree, eyes closed.
She opened them when she heard me coming and looked at the makeshift walking stick. She eyed it critically, then nodded, pushing off the tree. I reached her just as she went to shift her weight gingerly onto her injured ankle. Pushing the stick into her hand, I waited close by to see how she did.
She squared her shoulders and met my eyes. “Let’s get a move on.”
It took far too long to get to the ranger’s cabin.
She was shivering just slightly, although sweat still beaded her forehead. She needed some food and water and a fire. Once inside the cabin, I took a look around while she hobbled over to the nearest flat surface, carefully sitting down on the small, utilitarian couch.
There was a small wood fireplace, and I was relieved to see a supply of logs nearby. There were no other rooms, just the one open space that held the couch where Lexi was sitting as she freed the releases on her backpack, also a bed, a table with two chairs and the very basics as far as the kitchen went. There was no electricity from what I could tell, but that didn’t matter. I had a small, collapsible camp stove in my pack and suspected Lexi did too.
I looked back over at her to see her trying to ease her way out of the backpack’s shoulder straps.
“Let me help,” I said, moving over to her.
We worked her right arm free easy enough, then I pulled the pack around, holding it steady as she used her right hand to push the strap down and over her splinted wrist.
She breathed a sigh of relief as I lowered it to the ground, although she tensed back up as I hunkered down in front of her. “How are you?”
“Sore. Tired. Hungry.”
“Alright.” I nodded and rose, slipping out of my pack and placing it near the door. “Do you know if it’s safe to light a fire?”
“Yes. The cabin isn’t used anymore, but maintenance is done as needed so the place is ready to use in the event of an emergency.” She blew out a breath. “I never expected me to be the one needing to use this place.”
“I’m sorry,” I said gruffly.
She looked at me, then looked away. “This is just as much my fault as yours. I could have just let you be stupid and go out on your own.”
“You aren’t the kind to do that.” I’d figured that out within minutes of meeting her. I’d known if I headed out, she’d follow or find some other method of keeping me safe.
She opened her mouth to comment, then stopped, shaking her head. “I’m cold. Can you deal with the fire or do I need to?”
“Might be hard with a possible wrist fracture,” I told her.
She flipped me off. I couldn’t hide my amusement, although it felt wrong to be smiling at a time like this, when she was hurting and cold and hungry. Just the thought of that was enough to make my smile fade. Turning away, I went to the fire.
Get this place warm – that was my first priority. After it was warm enough, she could get out of her coat, and I could do a better job splinting her arm.
It didn’t take long to get a fire started, using the fire starter and kit from my pack. I waited until I was sure it wouldn’t go out, then rose, unzipping my coat and shrugging out of it.
There was still a bite to the air, but I’d dealt with worse, and the coat was wet. I dragged a chair over to the hearth and put my coat on the back, angling it so the heat from the fire could help it dry.
That done, I faced Lexi.
“What do you have to eat?”
She made a face. “A few MREs, some energy bars, protein powder, ramen noodles, a couple packs of dried eggs, and some instant soup.”
I eyed her, then slid my gaze to the pack she’d been hauling around for the past couple of hours. “Water?”
“A few more liters in my pack, plus a water filter and water purification tablets,” she responded. “I’ve also got some painkillers in my first aid kit – which I need.”
I dug them out and turned them over to her, grabbing her canteen as well.
As she washed them down, I considered her options. I had mostly MREs and some powdered mix for protein shakes.
“How about I cook the eggs and soup for you? You need something hot in your belly.”
She shrugged, the gesture listless, and I could tell the pain was wearing her down.
“Mind if I get into your pack to get the food?”
“Go ahead,” she said as she squirmed her way more fully onto th
e couch, still babying her injured wrist.
Again, I wanted to kick myself for landing her in this mess. I also wanted to find the asshole who’d put the snare down, although the likelihood of finding him was small to none.
Still, I whiled away a few minutes, pondering what I’d like to do to the person responsible. Maybe break his wrist and his ankle, so he’d have some understanding of what Lexi was going through. Sure, her ankle was probably just sprained, but there was nothing like driving a point home.
Hunkering down in front of her pack, I unzipped it and wasn’t at all surprised to find it neatly organized. She told me where to look for the food, and I pulled out the packets for the soup and eggs. There was a small metal pot with the package of Ramen noodles stowed inside. I needed the pot for the soup, so I put the noodles aside and added the pot to my stash.
Lexi’s radio crackled.
I looked up as she pulled it free from her collar and listened.
Relief punched me hard as a man’s voice came over the line.
“Update. The crash site has been located, and there are no fatalities. Several non-emergency injuries were sustained. Teams have already been sent out to bring the survivors in where they’ll be transported for medical care. All other teams should report back in with location and ETA.”
Feeling like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders, I let myself relax just a fraction. My relief was short lived, crashing down to nothingness as Lexi held the radio to her lips.
“This is Ranger Lexi Evers…”
Her voice remained calm and professional as she informed the command center of her injury and location, but I could see the tension brewing inside her. It grew only worse when she was asked where her team was, and she informed them she hadn’t gone out with the team. By the time she was done explaining the situation, she’d become so rigid I thought she might break at the lightest touch.
There was a long silence after she finished talking.
Finally, a male voice came on the radio. “Ranger Evers, this is Hawthorne. I’ve received your location and am aware of your situation. Are you secure for the night?”
