Chapter 29
Wyatt stepped in front of Kori, putting himself between the blade and her.
This was why he always chose to approach these situations cautiously.
Expect the unexpected. It was a good rule to live by.
The woman backed against the granite, still swinging the knife like her life depended on it.
She wasn’t Mackenzie. Wyatt knew that reality had to be hard for Kori. She wanted to find her sister so badly.
But right now, this woman clearly needed their help.
“Easy.” He kept his voice low and his movements purposeful. “Nobody’s going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”
The woman didn’t lower her weapon.
Up close, the woman was younger than he’d assumed. Mid-twenties maybe. Her jacket was too thin for the temperature and her lace-up boots wrong for the terrain.
How long had she been out here?
“My name is Wyatt King. I’m a park ranger.” He kept his eyes on hers. “We’d like to get you some help. Some food. A blanket.”
Something moved through the woman’s expression. Curiosity maybe. Hope? He wasn’t sure.
Either way, her knife remained raised.
“We saw you on thermal imaging,” Wyatt continued. “We’re here to help you. You’ve clearly been against that rock a while.”
Still nothing.
“I’m going to reach into my bag and get some water for you.” He took his pack off and found what he wanted. “Would you like some water? I also have some jerky and a protein bar. They’re all yours. I just need you to put the knife down.”
Her hand shook as she held the knife out. She still said nothing.
He wasn’t sure where this was going to go.
As the woman stared at them, he could see the whites of her eyes. Her nostrils flared.
What had this woman been through?
He took off his jacket. “Why don’t you put this on? I know you’ve got to be cold.”
The blade wavered.
The woman’s eyes moved between them as if sizing them up. She didn’t know whether or not she could trust them.
She’d obviously been through some kind of trauma. Her reactions jumped around as if they couldn’t find a place to settle.
“No one sent us,” Wyatt said. “No one knows you’re here but us.”
Slowly, she lowered her arm. First to her waist. Then to her side.
Then she slid down the rock face and let out a moan of despair.
Kori wanted to rush toward the woman and help her. But she waited.
Wyatt gently pried the knife from the woman’s hand.
Then he signaled to Kori that she could come closer.
She knelt in front of the woman. “Hey, you’re okay. We’ve got you.”
The woman shook in long uncontrolled waves. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and her face turned down. The sounds coming out of her weren’t exactly cries. They were more like groans of desperation and fear.
Wyatt wrapped his jacket around her shoulders and handed her the water.
Then he stepped back, radio to his mouth. Kori knew he was calling in the update to someone.
Kori focused on the woman. “Can you tell me your name?”
Nothing.
“You don’t have to. But I’m Kori.”
The woman rocked, her eyes glassing over.
That was when Kori saw the woman’s legs.
Her pants rose just an inch or so. Just enough for Kori to see the scars near her ankles.
She sucked in a breath and glanced at Wyatt.
She knew by the set of his jaw that he’d seen her injuries also.
She looked back at the woman. “Will you let us help you?”
The rocking slowed.
Kori opened the water bottle and held it toward her lips. “You should really drink this.”
The woman lifted her head. Her face was gaunt and dirty, the wild look still in her eyes . . . but something behind it had shifted.
She looked at Kori. Then at Thunder.
Then she put one hand in the snow and pushed herself up.
She swayed. Kori caught her arm—felt how little was left beneath the jacket. She was all bones.
Wyatt moved to her other side. He helped her slip the jacket over her arms. Made sure she drank something.
Then he grabbed his backpack. He had to be chilly without his jacket. But that was the kind of person Wyatt was—and Kori admired him for being selfless.
They started toward the trail.
Thunder fell in close, his pace matched to hers.
Kori kept her hand on the woman’s arm and moved.
She was so glad they’d found her. That they could get her help. If they hadn’t located her, she probably wouldn’t have survived much longer out here.
But the fact remained that Mackenzie was still missing.
They’d come out here to find her, but they’d found someone else instead.
That reality sat in her gut like a stone.