Page 73 of A Very Titan Christmas
“Can confirm,” Cash agreed. “Let’s sweep thermals again and make sure no one is out there.”
The chopper tilted in a low, sweeping arc. The teammates searched for signs of life and signs of their enemy, and came up with nothing.
“If she’s not there,” Roman said, “it’s one more step closer to learning where they took her.”
That was one way to spin a lack of thermals. Better than suggesting Rachel was dead. Bryce swallowed over the knot in his throat. “Yup.”
They circled back to the location, and the pilot lowered the helicopter. The blades cut through the air, kicking the snow intowild spirals and spins. Bryce checked his harness and snapped himself onto the line. Cash did the same thing. Roman and Jax readied their weapons to provide coverage from the helicopter in case they came under fire.
“You ready?” Jax called.
Bryce couldn’t get out of this helicopter fast enough. “Affirmative.”
“Ready?” Jax asked Cash.
“Ready,” he confirmed.
Roman opened the door. The vicious cold whooshed over them. Bryce gripped his rope. His fingers relaxed and tightened on the rope. Adrenaline tasted bitter in his mouth. Then out he went into the wicked chill of the blustery night. The line dropped.
“See you down there.” He lowered himself. Overhead, the helo held against the wind shear, but Bryce would not call his descent smooth.
His gaze locked onto what was below him. His optimism surged. “It’s a makeshift flagpole.”
Down, down, down he went until he could drop from the line. His boots hit the snow. The helo churned up millions of snowflakes from the trees. The ground was more packed with snow than he’d expected.
Cash landed. “Damn whiteout. Can’t see shit anymore.”
The chopper pulled up.
The swarm of snowflakes slowed, and his line of sight cleared. Bryce and Cash moved toward the ladder. “She made something to catch our attention. Where’s the—” Bryce spotted the conservancy outpost and pointed. “Over there.”
They ran toward a small rustic building but didn’t see any signs of life. No light. No movement. No nothing. The deep snow cut his speed. “Rachel!”
They reached the outpost. If she’d walked in or out recently, the snow had erased her footsteps and piled up against the door. He yanked it open. “Rachel?”
Bryce’s eyes swept over the small space. Nothing stirred in his night vision until his gaze dropped to the floor. The tarp moved. He fell to his knees. “Rach.”
As Cash dropped to her other side, Bryce pulled away the tarp and layers of burlap sacks.
“Bryce?” Her hoarse voice cracked.
“Here, Rach. You’re okay. It’s gonna be okay.”
They moved into action. Bryce opened the package that contained the self-activated heating blanket. The thin layer would slowly warm when exposed to air. Cash checked her pulse and pulled a beanie over her head.
Bryce wrapped himself around her and secured the heating blanket. He didn’t want to shock her system. She wasn’t shivering. Hell, she wasn’t talking. But she’d survived. “You did good.” He kissed her cold cheek and ran his hands up and down her arms while Cash communicated with Roman and Jax.
She turned to him and trembled. Shaking and shivering were good. Her body was kick-starting again. “You did so good, Rach. Led us right to you.”
“I didn’t know”—her teeth chattered—“if it would work.”
“The flag. I saw it. It worked.”
“I tried to stay awake. Thought if I fell asleep out here—”
“Hey.” He tipped up her chin so he could see her eyes. “You didn’t. You made it. That’s what matters.”
She nodded, but her lower lip trembled. “I want to go home.”
