Page 93 of One Last Chance

“Negative. It’s an eight-hour climb from here. We’ll assess and call for help if we need it.”

“Roger. Standing by.”

She’d stepped up to Barry. “Tell him about Echo.”

Barry shook his head. “No need for them to take undue risks. This is her first baby—she has time?—”

“No . . . no, I don’t.” Echo appeared at the door, her breaths hard, her face white. “I think the baby is coming. Now.”

Flynn turned back to Barry. “Tell Dodge to get down that mountain as soon as possible. We’ll meet him at the Copper Mountain hospital.”

* * *

Axel could admit that being dragged through the snow like a buoy felt a little like drowning in the Cook Inlet.

He might be just as cold. The snow and ice had burrowed into his thermal suit and down his neck and into his bones, and Axel shoved his hands between his knees to stop shivering.

He ground his jaw shut as London closed the door. She turned and wrapped him in a space blanket, having already secured and wrapped the climbers, who were dazed, terrified, and probably traumatized into deep shock.

Outside, Moose and Dodge had assessed the structure of the chopper, tromping around the bird in their snowshoes.

The fact that his brother had brought the aircraft down to the pillow landing despite the wind sheer and the pull of the human anchors was a testament to his Navy piloting skills.

Still, Axel probably had snow burn on his face, the way it felt on fire.

He closed his eyes, trying to shake away the churning inside him, the sense of terror that sat in his bones.

Always sat in his bones, if he was honest. He just never let it out to fill his lungs, his throat.

“You all right?” London said, sitting beside him. “You sound funny.”

“I’m fine. I just . . . I, uh . . . um.”

“I’m taking your blood pressure.” She reached for her medical bag under the seat, but he grabbed her arm.

“I’m too cold for that. I’ll be fine. I just need to get off this mountain.”

“Roger that.” She looked at the climbers, also shivering. “Probably a sentiment shared by everyone.”

Moose climbed into the cockpit. “I think we have the skids cleared. We need to get out of the snow before they ice over.”

Dodge came in the other side. “Let’s get going.”

They ran a systems check, then Moose fired up the bird. It shook to life, having been manually shut down right before they’d put down onto the shelf of snow. The loosened snow kicked up and stirred into the blades.

“Hang on.” Moose’s voice came through the headphones. Axel had taken off his helmet, now wet with ice and snow, but put his headset back on.

The chopper eased forward, broke free, shuddered, then lifted into the air.

Axel’s hand tightened around a bar on the edge of his bench seat.Breathe.Sheesh,maybe he did need his blood pressure checked, because he might be in a full-out panic attack.

Shoot—this was supposed to be in his past . . .

He focused on his breathing.

“You good back there, Axel?” Moose, in his headphones.

“Mm-Mmmhmm.” Sounded more like a grunt.

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