Chapter 24

Nakos drew up short by a scattering of trees and quickly dismounted, taking off somewhere to their right.

Nate cut the engine and followed, having no idea what had lit a fire under the foreman. Snow tinged the air. The trickle of running water blended into the background noise of wind and leaves crackling, and he realized it was probably the creek. But he didn't see or hear...

His gaze landed on a horse grazing on grass by an oak. The horse she had been riding, in fact. But there was no Olivia.

Nakos fumbled with the sack on the horse's flank and pulled out her radio, then her phone. "Crap." His head whipped around, gaze narrowed to slits as he scanned their whereabouts. "She tied Firestorm here, so she's got to be close. Olivia!"

Nothing but nature answered and Nate's heart stopped. A strip of barbed wire fencing lined a row of trees and, just beyond that, starlight glimmered off the creek. It didn't look any wider than a hundred feet, nor very deep, but the embankment was rocky. The incline alone was nearly a sheer twenty-foot drop.

"She wouldn't leave the horse here." Nakos used his radio. "Kyle, you got anything?"

The walkie-talkie crackled. "No. She hasn't returned. Mae's here with me."

Nakos stared at Nate as he lifted the mic again, frenetic worry in his eyes that barely held a match to the sickening dread in Nate's gut. "We found Firestorm. No sign of her yet. Have Rico meet you and get a couple ATVs ready. I'll radio back if I need you."

"Rodger that."

"Olivia!" Nakos turned a full circle. "Olivia!"

Nate couldn't breathe to save his life. Wind burned his eyes and a hot ball of fear lodged in his windpipe. Swear to Christ, if she wasn't okay...

"Bones is with her. Wouldn't he go for help?" Hell, the dog was brilliant and severely protective of not only Nate, but Olivia as well.

"No. He'd stay with her and stand guard." Nakos shoved his hat off his head and fisted his ponytail. "Goddamn her. Okay, I'll head north, you go south. Keep your radio on and follow the fence line."

Nate ran to the ATV, grabbed the walkie-talkie and a gun, then took off in the opposite direction of Nakos.

"Olivia!" Nate altered his search from the trees and creek on his left to the pasture on his right, but it was damn impossible to see much. Utter isolation and deafening silence met him. "Olivia!"

Christ Almighty, let her be okay. Hand to God, he'd never let her out of his sight again. Anything, he'd do fucking anything just to know she was breathing.

Five minutes in, and he was going apeshit. There was no damn sign of her. He let out a roar, shaking with fury and panic, and stalked faster. He started calling for the dog instead, hoping to get any kind of response.

He'd just hit a slope where the tree line ended and the creek bed incline became less drastic when two sharp barks rent the air. He froze.

"Bones! Olivia!"

Again, two barks, far in the distance. That was what the dog had done to wake Nate from a nightmare, too. He ran toward where he thought the sound had come from, finding Bones between the rocky creek edge and a gentle hill. Next to the dog was...

Oh, shit. No, no, no.

Nate dodged boulders and descended the hill, his boots sliding on wet grass. He skidded to a halt by Olivia's prone form lying face-down, her lower half in the water. Dropping to his knees beside her, he rubbed his chest as his breath hitched. A sharp, desperate cry passed his lips and he clenched his fists.

Don't be dead, baby. Don't be dead.

Hands shaking, he felt for a pulse on her neck and nearly wept when he got one. Slow and weak, but there.

"Olivia?" Hell, she wasn't moving. Carefully holding her head, he rolled her to her back. A gash, still actively bleeding, marked her forehead by her hairline. It was a mere couple inches long, but deep. "Olivia, baby? Open your eyes." Please, Christ.

She moaned and her lashes fluttered. It took her a few attempts, but finally those baby blues met his. "What happened?"

He choked. "You tell me, baby." Christ, she was pale as goddamn snow.

"I was rinsing my hands and..." She frowned. "I don't know. When did it get dark?"

"About an hour ago." Her speech wasn't slurred, but she was talking slower than normal. He could barely hear her through the roar of blood in his eardrums. Grabbing a bandana from his back pocket, he dipped a corner in the creek. "You smacked your head pretty good." He swiped blood from her cheek and temple, then pressed the bandana to the cut.

She winced.

"Sorry." He tried to swallow to clear the rasp from his throat, but couldn't manage. "Nakos and I have been looking for you. We were scared to death. You wouldn't answer the radio..."

Shit. He grabbed the walkie-talkie off his belt. "Nakos, I've got her. About a ten minute run from our original position. She hit her head. She's barely conscious, but she's all right." He glanced at her glazed expression and blue lips. "Possibly hypothermic. Bring the blanket from the ATV and follow the tree line."

"On my way." Nakos keyed up to Kyle, telling him to call the doc.

"Bones, get Nakos. Go on, boy. Get Nakos."

The dog barked once as if he understood, then loped up the hill, disappearing from view.

Nate refocused on Olivia. "Does your neck or back hurt?" She shook her head, so he ran his hands down her arms and legs. Her clothes were soaked. "Do you feel me touching you?"

"Yes." Her teeth chattered.

No spinal injury, thank Christ.

"We need to get you warmed up." She was in shock and, in another couple minutes, hypothermia could stop her heart like fear had done to his. Only she wouldn't recover.

With an arm around her back and the other under her knees, he lifted her and cradled her to his chest. Carefully, he carried her up to the top of the hill and set her on the grass.

She smiled. "Told you. I was...right. You're...a hero."

Shaking his head, he gave her a brief kiss. Her lips were ice. "Stop talking and save your strength." This hero nonsense needed to stop.

"Twice now, you've...rescued me." Her teeth were clacking, she shivered that violently.

"Shit, baby. Forgive me." But he had to get her body temp up or she'd be in real trouble.

He shrugged out of his coat and took off the hoodie underneath, then removed her jacket and tee. Tossing the sopping clothing aside, he put his sweatshirt on her. Ignoring his own trembling hands, he unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs. Methodically, he ignored her slender curves and translucent skin in order to take care of her. But hell, it was hard. Even hypothermic and bleeding, she was beautiful. He put his own socks on her feet after discarding her shoes, then slipped back into his. He laid his coat over her legs and briskly rubbed them to get some circulation going.

"Finally, you got...me naked. About...time."

"Hilarious, baby." He could hardly execute basic oxygen exchange and she was cracking jokes. He pulled her into his arms to share heat and breathed in her scent. Held her. Almost expired in relief. A semblance of a normal heart rhythm returned, but the organ would never be the same.

"You shaved ten years off my life." Having the very real feel of her in his arms offered a measure of calm, but it might take fifty years to wash the memory of cold terror from his mind.

Footsteps pounded. Nakos jogged into view, Bones right behind him. "Is she okay?"

"I'm...good." She buried her cold nose against Nate's neck.

"Excellent." Nakos knelt next to them and glanced at her cut. "I can kill you now that I know you're still breathing."

She offered a weak smile. "Love you, too."

Nakos helped her into the jacket, put the hood over her hair, and wrapped the blanket around her legs to replace Nate's meek covering. "I'll get her clothes. You good carrying her?"

Like he'd let go of her now that he had her.

"Yeah." Nate lumbered to his feet and headed toward where they'd started. "Is the doc coming? This cut will need stitches and I'm certain she has a concussion." She should be going to a damn hospital, but it seemed one needed an appendage chopped off around here to even bother making the trip.

"Hank should beat us there. Mae's drawing a hot bath."

Nate could use a scalding shower himself. Now that the frigid claws of fear had retracted, he was no longer numb to the elements. She wore most of his clothes, but him being cold didn't matter. Only her.

When they finally made it to the ridge, Nakos mounted his horse and grabbed the reins of the one Olivia had ridden. "Follow me."

With Olivia in his lap, he started the ATV. "Hold onto me best you can." She didn't respond, and he glanced at her, finding her asleep. "Baby, stay awake."

"I'm awake." She didn't open her eyes, though.

"Olivia." Finally, her lashes lifted, and damn if his eyes didn't burn. Trust and affection stared back at him through her cornflower gaze. He sucked in a breath and shook his head, wondering how he thought he'd ever stood a chance of not getting wrapped up in her. "Stay with me. Keep your eyes open."