CHAPTER 6
ONE foot in front of the other. Block the pain. Focus.
Over and over, Grace repeated the same instructions to herself. She’d long since lost count of the many times she’d stumbled and righted herself, determined not to slow Rio. By now she was performing by rote, and only sheer grit was keeping her upright and moving forward.
She played this ridiculous game with herself. Each time they topped a rise, she told herself she only had to get over the next one. Finally she stopped pretending at all and she clenched her jaw and blanked her mind to everything but taking that next step.
She retreated deep inside herself, where there was no pain, no exhaustion and no fear. Only the knowledge that if she stopped, she died. They died. And this man was risking everything because of a promise he’d made to her sister. She wouldn’t let him die because she was too weak to keep moving.
Finally Rio stopped, pulled out another handheld device and studied it a moment before raising his head to stare into the distance. Her knees locked. Cramps rippled through her calves. Rio started forward and her finger slid from the belt loop that she’d clung to for the last few hours.
He pulled up and turned, coming back to her instantly. He put his hands on her shoulders and tilted her face to look into her eyes.
“Grace?”
She made a grab for his arms just as her knees buckled. She would have fallen hard if he hadn’t held her up. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as cramps knotted viciously, spreading into her feet and toes. Both legs were one gigantic cramp.
“I can’t,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m sorry. I can’t. Go on without me. Please.”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Rio demanded.
“Cramps. Oh God, they’re everywhere.”
He eased her down onto the ground and then took both her legs, bending them at the knees and putting both her feet against his legs. He pushed forward, stretching her calves. Warm hands massaged and rubbed, easing the tense muscles.
At his side, he fumbled for a canteen and handed it down to her. “Drink,” he ordered. “You’re not hydrated enough. I should have had you drinking all along. Stupid of me not to have seen this coming.”
She drank thirstily, but the longer he stood there, open, exposed and vulnerable as he massaged the cramps from her legs, the more she panicked.
“You can’t stay here like this,” she said desperately. “Go, Rio. You can’t be far. Go find your team. Leave me here and come back.”
“Bullshit,” he said tersely. “You go where I go. I’m not leaving you so shut up.”
Even the words so rudely said slid over her like the best kind of comfort. His tone told her that she was safe with him and that he’d die before leaving her. Even as she knew it was what he should do, she was relieved that he had no intention of doing so.
He retrieved the canteen and then bent down to grip her free hand. “On your feet, Grace. Get off your ass and let’s get moving. You can do this. Put the pain behind you, just like you’ve been doing. We have an hour at most until dawn. Don’t quit on me now.”
His words should have infuriated her. She should have dissolved into tears and refused. She should have rolled over and given up. She did none of those things. The harsh resolve in his tone didn’t fool her for a moment. There was worry and respect in his eyes, and she knew in that instant that if she didn’t get up, he would simply pick her up and carry her the rest of the way.
She wrapped her hand around his and allowed him to haul her to her feet. Her legs screamed. More cramps rippled down her calves, paralyzing her feet. The strips binding the splint on her broken arm had unraveled and one of the sticks slipped out. The sudden mobility sent pain streaking through her wrist and into her fingers, but she ignored it, ripped away the rest of the splint and tossed it aside.
Later, she’d never know how she made it that last hour. She didn’t remember trekking through the aspen forest or forging a cold stream that went as high as her thighs at one point. She only remembered when she realized that the sky had lightened in the east and that dawn was imminent.
Dawn had become her talisman. The end goal.
The sky was a soft lavender and the morning star shone like a ten-carat diamond against velvet. The trees took shape around her and she could make out the terrain.
She’d survived the night.
She staggered along, tripping and then righting herself before Rio could reach back. It had become important to her not to distract him. He slowed and it irritated her because she knew it was for her he had decreased his pace.
Not now. Not when they were so close. She could taste it. Could feel the sweetness of freedom and safety. Rio had promised to take her away. He’d promised he’d keep her safe. For that, she could fly.
She pushed at him, trying to force him to walk faster, but he halted and slowly turned, his hands framing her arms. His eyes were gentle, his touch even more so.
“It’s okay now, Grace,” he said softly. “We’ve made it. My men are here.”
She stared dumbly at him for a long moment, not comprehending what he’d said. Then she saw movement over his shoulder, Khis as saw Terrence step from behind an aspen. And then the others. The one named Diego and she couldn’t bring to mind the names of the others.
As they neared, it was as if the last of her mental defenses crumbled. Pain screamed through her body, making her gasp as the full shock of it hit her with ferocity
she was unprepared for.