Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Vance
Claire’s excitement was obvious as we carefully picked our way toward the bottom of the ravine.
I knew now why Hank had said it was the hardest path.
The sun beat down on us, making me sweat despite the cold temperatures.
Every step had to be deliberate—one wrong move could send you flying down the side of the rock face. It was exhausting.
And I was having the time of my life.
Seeing Claire out here was like seeing the version of her that had raced Rhett on horseback. The one who threw her head back and laughed in the face of danger but got tears in her eyes when she looked at the beauty of the mountains.
Claire Hawkins was a badass adrenaline junkie. She didn’t just handle all this well—she thrived out here. Her eyes came to life in a way they didn’t at a desk.
The sheriff’s office was stifling her, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just because of her shitty coworkers.
She had to be bored senseless working for a sleepy little town where her primary job was probably responding to domestics that never went anywhere.
She needed more. Her soul was going to die if she stayed stuck there.
I knew because I had once been the exact same way.
Before I’d pursued my career in law enforcement, I’d spent six months working for my grandfather at his investment company.
I’d been bored out of my mind, needing a challenge to feel alive.
Those feelings had made me walk away from a cushy job where I made more money than I knew what to do with to a job with long hours and very little thanks at the end of the day.
But it fed a need inside me, and I loved it.
This fed a need inside her, too.
Our souls were more alike than I ever would have predicted when I’d met her.
Because of it, I knew she was right—no matter how much I hated to admit it.
Working as a grunt for my father would make me miserable, and there was a limit to how far I could go with DCI.
I loved my job, but it didn’t compare to the excitement of the FBI or the opportunities a bigger agency could offer me.
I never would have resented her for my choice.
But I also wouldn’t be happy with either of the jobs available to me here.
I hated that she’d turned me down—again. But when the initial sting eased, I knew she had done it because she cared about my happiness the way I cared about hers.
I had a feeling that someday I’d thank her for talking me out of taking a job I’d despise.
I started to say so, but Claire stopped suddenly in the trail, holding her finger up in a sign to be quiet.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered, turning to me.
I strained to listen—then I did. It was faint and still way too far away. But down at the bottom of the ravine, a frail voice was calling out for help.
Claire’s eye’s sharpened, honing in on the sound. She tried her radio again, frustration flashing when it wouldn’t work.
“Okay,” she said, slipping the radio back onto her belt and giving me a serious look.
“I can tell you’re straining at the bit there.
I get it. We’re both feeling a surge of adrenaline right now, but that makes this extra dangerous.
The terrain is just as shitty as it was up there.
We go slow, okay? Look twice before every step.
This is where we can get ahead of ourselves, make mistakes, and get hurt. And that won’t help Robin.”
“Got it, boss.” I winked at her.
Her face relaxed. “Let’s go get her.”
Although we moved as carefully as before, time seemed to fly by twice as quickly now that we had our target within sight. Adrenaline pumped through my veins the same way it did on a chase. It was an addictive feeling.
I knew that Claire felt it, too. But you’d never know it unless you knew her well enough to see that glint in her eyes, the thrill of excitement she kept contained as she did her job.
And when we finally found Robin, cold and weak at the bottom of the ravine, Claire’s energy was more calm than even I would have been able to pull off.
She spoke to Robin in soothing tones, even as her eyes darted over her, assessing—and seeing, as I did, that there was no way Robin was going to walk out of this ravine on her own two feet.
Robin’s face was pale and her lips were nearly blue.
Beyond that, her leg was broken. Sharp bone jutted out from her shin, caked in blood below the makeshift bandage Robin had made from her torn jacket.
Claire dropped to her knees, quickly pulling medical supplies out of her bag.
She covered Robin in a thermal blanket, tucking in heat packs to help bring her body temperature up.
Then she gave her a few sips of water to wet her parched lips before checking her pulse.
Claire’s lips pinched and she shot me a worried look.
“Thank you,” Robin said, her voice trembling. She cast grateful eyes first to Claire, then to me. “I thought I was going to die alone out here.”
“Not on my watch.” Claire smiled gently. “We’re going to get you taken care of.”
“I was so stupid.”
“We all make mistakes,” Claire said, her tone still calm and soothing. “Can you tell me what happened?”
A look of distress crossed Robin’s face.
“I was trying to make my way down the ravine. I lost my balance and fell. Only about halfway. But my leg… I knew I couldn’t make it back up to the top.
I called for help, but nobody came. My phone wouldn’t get a signal.
I didn’t know what to do. The skin wasn’t broken yet…
” She looked helplessly at her leg. “But I couldn’t stand on it. ”
“What happened after that?”
“When I realized no one was coming, I knew I needed to get somewhere safer to spend the night. Plus, I needed water. I knew there was a creek down here, so I worked to slide myself down. I tried to keep my leg protected, but… I got in a hurry and slid too hard there at the end. That’s when the bone broke through.
I didn’t make it to get water after all. ”
Claire winced. “That had to have hurt. I can offer you some ibuprofen or acetaminophen. It’s not much for that kind of pain, but it will help.”
Robin nodded her head gratefully. “Please.”
Claire fished the meds out of her bag and handed them to Robin along with a fresh bottle of water. “Just a sip, okay? Don’t overdo it. Do you have pain anywhere else?”
Robin swallowed the pills and handed the water back to Claire. “No. Just my leg. I mean, some bumps and bruises elsewhere.” She held up her arm. “I hit my elbow pretty hard on a rock. But nothing else feels serious.”
“Did you ever hit your head or lose consciousness?”
“No. I wish I would have lost consciousness.” She made a pathetic attempt at a smile.
“I bet.” Claire gave her a look of sympathy, then reached for more supplies from her bag and slipped on a pair of latex gloves. “I need to check your leg, okay? First, can you wiggle your toes?”
Robin winced. “A little.”
“Great. That’s a good sign. I’m going to take your shoe off so I can check for blood flow to your foot. I’ll try not to jar your leg.” She gingerly removed the hiking boot and peeled down Robin’s sock. Then she lightly ran her fingers across Robin’s toes. “Can you feel this?”
Robin made a half-hearted nod.
Claire gave me the same worried look from before.
“I’m going to clean and dress this wound to help prevent infection, okay?
I can’t set the fracture, but I’m going to splint your leg to keep it from moving.
” She caught my eye, directing her words to me as much as to Robin.
“We’re going to need a helicopter to transport you out.
It could take a couple of hours to get one here.
I can pretty much guarantee they’re going to want to do surgery on that leg, so I’ll have to limit you to sips of water.
But we’ll keep you as comfortable as we can. ”
“Thank you. I’m just so grateful that I’m not going to die.”
“Hopefully you still feel that way after this,” Claire said, chuckling. “I’m going to pour some antiseptic on this wound. It will burn, but we’ve got to do it. Hold Vance’s hand,” she said, nodding my way. “Squeeze as hard as you want. He’s strong. He can take it.” She winked at me.
I offered Robin my hand. She gripped it tightly and let out a moan when Claire poured the antiseptic over the wound.
It bubbled up, turning light red as fresh blood mixed with it and oozed out, dripping down onto the rocks below.
Claire gently wiped away the excess, then covered the wound with sterile gauze from her pack and carefully wrapped the leg.
Robin let go of my hand as the pain eased, sighing in relief. A bit of color came back to her face.
“Worst part is over,” Claire said cheerfully.
Too cheerfully. The tension in her jaw revealed the truth.
But Robin bought it and smiled gratefully.
“The signal down here is bad,” Claire said. “We’re going to walk up just a ways to call for that helicopter.”
“Please don’t leave me,” Robin said, trying to scoot herself up.
“Try not to move,” Claire said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Keep that leg stationary. I promise we won’t even be out of sight.
” She pointed to the trail we’d come in on.
“We’ll be right there. You can watch us the whole time.
But the faster we make this call, the faster we get them here—and the faster you can get some pain meds that are a hell of a lot better than anything I can give you. ”
Robin let out a breath and nodded.
Claire gave her another sip of water, then stood and grabbed my arm, heading back up our trail.