Chapter Three
Hawk wanted to breathe a sigh of relief that reinforcements were here, but Lucky was in too bad shape to think that she was out of the woods. He’d barely tended to her multiple wounds. She’d lost a lot of blood.
It had been a long time since he was this scared.
“I’m coming down to you,” Randy called out, dropping a rappelling rope down the hill.
Hawk called up. “Take pictures as you come down. Sheriff will want them before we muck up all the evidence.”
“On it.”
The rest of the team spotted Randy on his descent and gathered all they’d need to get Lucky out of the ravine.
Hawk focused on splinting her grossly swollen knee, worrying the whole time about how quiet and still she was, despite him manipulating her injuries.
She had to be in so much pain.
It killed him to add to it. But he didn’t dare give her any meds, not until they assessed her more thoroughly.
He couldn’t see the front of her. That worried him, because she was lying in a lot of blood. Was it all from her thigh and shoulder wound? Or would he find something even more horrendous?
Randy made it down next to him. “How is she doing?”
“Not great. Did you bring a small saw to cut her away from the tree?” Just the thought of having to do it made his stomach turn and his heart clench. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain.
Randy unsheathed the tiny saw with its ten inch blade. “Want me to do it while you hold her up so I can get under her?”
“I think we’re going to have to dig some of the dirt out from under her to get to it.”
Randy leaned over Lucky and tried to see underneath her, but her full breast was kind of in the way.
That’s what worried him the most, that they might not be able to cut her loose and they’d have to lift her off the root stabbed through her. She could bleed out before they could do anything to save her.
Randy’s face reflected his dire concerns. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“We need to be able to see beneath her before we do anything.”
Randy handed over a small gardening shovel. They had all kinds of things in their tool kits. “Let’s do this a little at a time. Do you have leather gloves?”
Hawk pulled a pair out of his pack and slid them on. “I’ll protect her skin, you dig toward the root and see if you can make a big enough hole to cut it.”
“How the hell has she lain here like this for days? She’s got to have a massive neck and back ache if not worse, the way she’s bent.”
Hawk knew if he’d been bowed like this for three days he’d be in major pain. “Focus on getting her free, then we can assess her better.”
“How long has she been out?”
“Like ten minutes. Hurry.” Hawk didn’t want to feel like a perv, but he sort of did when he slid his hand under her armpit and wedged his fingers under her breast, pushing it so that Randy could shovel out dirt from beneath her. This was not how he wanted things to start between them.
He reminded himself this was all in the name of rescuing her.
They worked slowly. Carefully.
Three other SAR team members joined them around Lucky’s limp body, watching and waiting until they could move her. They were all silent, like everyone was holding their breath to see if she’d make it.
She had to.
Hawk felt Randy jab the saw blade into his glove. “Watch it. You’ll hit her.”
“I need to just get this last little bit and then I think she’ll be free, but I have to hit it at this angle to do it.”
Hawk swore. “Fine. Just go slow. She’s got enough fucking marks on her.”
Randy sighed as he lay on his belly, arm outstretched as he pushed his arm back and forth and tried to see into the tiny space he had to work in.
Suddenly the pressure he kept on her breast loosened and he moved her several inches.
Lucky screamed with the shift in her body.
He stilled, soothing her with his voice. He hoped. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you now.” He looked at the men around him. “Pete, get the backboard and neck brace. Theo, you hold her head. Kash, you take her legs. We’ll roll her slowly and gently.”
Randy got out of the way as they all braced her.
“Lucky, we’re going to move you. Just be still. Let us do all the work. Okay?”
“K.” She barely breathed out the reply.
“On three. One. Two. Three.” Hawk stabilized her shoulders and used his hand on her chest to roll her with the guys.
She moaned in pain and shouted when the root protruding from her shoulder hit the backboard.
“Put some padding under her shoulder to stabilize it. We don’t want to knock that thing loose. She’s lost enough blood.” He was standing in the evidence of it, now that they’d moved her.
“Head wound is bleeding through the bandage you put on it.” Pete winced.
He nodded. “It’s a deep gash. It’s going to need stitches.”
“What are we looking at here?” Kash stared down at the marks all over Lucky’s body.
“Focus on what’s new and needs attention.” Hawk hated everyone staring at her naked body. “Where’s the blanket? We need to get her warm.”
Theo draped it over her and tucked it in around her, leaving her shoulder clear for them to pack gauze around the seeping wound.
Kash adjusted the knee splint, tightening it up. He cracked several ice packs and placed them around her knee to try to bring the swelling down.
Hawk took a second to assess her again. He was finally able to open her eyes and shine a light in them. Her pupils were even and reactive, though she squinted away from the bright light.
“You’re doing great, Lucky. We’re almost ready to get you out of here.”
Her fingers brushed his leg. “Come with…”
“Yes. I’m coming with you. You and me. Remember. Promise?”
She tried to nod, but Pete had put the neck brace on her, keeping her from moving.
“Save your strength.”
Randy put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “Any idea how she got here?”
He shook his head, then stared down at the woman who’d captured his heart. “What happened?”
Her gorgeous blue eyes met his. “Drugged. I think.”
He fumed. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Linc. Nice t-to m-me.”
Yeah, he bet his brother was. It doesn’t bother me one fucking bit, he snarled in his head, lying to himself. “You missed your meeting with him. He’s worried about you. So are your coworkers. They tried to file a missing person report.”
“Where am I? No one h-here…until y-you.”
“Chopper’s coming in.” Theo pointed to their right. “Let’s get her down to the ravine. They’ll drop down the basket and we’ll get her loaded.”
Things moved quickly now that she was free and they could move her. He and Theo dropped down between the two trees to the trail below. They each took a side of the board Lucky was strapped to and pulled her down to them as Randy and Kash dropped down and took her feet end.
The wind kicked up with the rotor wash and the helicopter dropped down, keeping above the trees, but making sure they didn’t have to raise Lucky higher than necessary.
Hawk made sure the blanket was tucked against her and brushed the stray hair away from her face, not that it did much good with all the wind created by the chopper.
Theo caught the edge of the basket as it descended into the ravine.
They quickly secured Lucky. Hawk grabbed the rope and balanced himself on the edges of the basket, making sure he didn’t touch any of Lucky’s injuries.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Randy asked.
Normally, they’d send the victim up alone and whoever was in the chopper would tend to them on the ride back.
“I’m not leaving her. She’s…” He didn’t know how to say it.
“We’ve had a thing for the past two years.
” That at least was true, even if he wanted a hell of a lot more now and was going to take it because you never knew when time would run out.
He’d wasted enough keeping his distance from her the past two years.
His buddies all stared at him.
Theo spoke first. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“Well, now you do. I am. She’s…mine.” He’d given her his word he wouldn’t leave her and he wouldn’t break that promise. He gave the bird above him a thumbs up and they started to rise to the open door on the chopper.
“What the fuck is this?” Bryce raised a brow at him hanging off the rope, no tether, standing over Lucky.
“I promised I wouldn’t leave her and I won’t. Get her in. Let’s move. She needs surgery. ASAP,” he shouted over the noise.
Bryce maneuvered them into the chopper, released the basket from the rope, closed the door, then leaned over Lucky.
“Normally, he just grunts shit out. You’ve actually got him talking and making promises.
Good for you.” Then Bryce called over the radio to their pilot, Paloma, a veteran like himself. “Clear. Good to go.”
Paloma took the chopper up and away.
“You got damn lucky finding her way out here.” Bryce checked Lucky’s IV line and her shoulder injury, making sure she wasn’t bleeding any worse than she’d been when they loaded her up.
“I don’t normally take that trail.” He found Lucky’s hand beneath the blanket and held it. A soft squeeze back eased his worry. He brushed her hair back, trying to give her what comfort he could, needing to touch her and let her know he was here. He wasn’t going anywhere. Like he promised.
Bryce spent the flight keeping her stable.
As much as Hawk wished he was the one flying the chopper, because fast wasn’t fast enough for him today, he appreciated all his buddies for doing their jobs and taking care of Lucky.
Bryce watched him as he continued to run his fingers through Lucky’s oily, tangled hair. He didn’t care that it was dirty and plucked out several leaves and twigs from it, tossing them to the floor.
“She means something to you.”
It took him a second to shift his gaze to his friend. “Yeah. She does.” How much, he was just starting to realize and accept.
And that’s why he pulled out his phone and texted his brother.
HAWK: Found Lucky naked and dumped in a ditch.
HAWK: If she was last seen at the bar, WTF happened there?
BIG brO: WTF Is she okay?
HAWK: Too fucking close of a call. SAR helped me get her out. Landing at hospital in 3 minutes.