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Something he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.
Even though the last thing he wanted to do was let go of her, they needed to get moving. Slowly, he slid her off his lap and set her on her backside so he could get access to her feet. “Okay, darlin’, this is going to hurt.”
“I can take it,” Lila assured him.
“Never doubted it, honey.” Never would he doubt Lila’s strength. He only hated that he hadn’t given her a chance to handle the whole Dark Beauty mess. Acknowledging and expressing his regret at pushing her away when he should have brought her close didn’t negate the fact that he’d hurt her. Surf was so thankful that she’d wound up pregnant and was the kind of woman who wanted the father to know no matter what she thought of him.
If it wasn’t for the way she’d so lovingly placed her hand on her stomach when telling him about the child she’d been forced to give up, he would have worried that she might not want their baby. But it was more than clear she already loved their little baby bear, as did he.
“All right, here we go.” As carefully as he could, he blocked out her pained gasp as he eased her boot off her left foot. Last night he’d wanted to examine the injury, but he’d been afraid that icing it would do more harm than good given she was already borderline hypothermic. The boot had provided as much stability as bandaging it would have, and he’d been concerned that if he pulled the boot off swelling would mean he’d never get it back on again.
Now as he removed her sock and pushed up the leg of her jeans, he wished he’d followed his instincts and put an ice pack from his first aid kit on it.
There was absolutely spectacular bruising around the joint, a display of black and blue that he hated seeing on her soft, smooth skin. Trying to be as gentle as he could, Surf probed the joint, aware of Lila stiffening and clamping her lips together so she didn’t cry out. There were no obvious breaks, and thankfully no protruding bones sticking through her skin. If anything was broken it was likely a hairline fracture or just a bad sprain.
Either way, walking on it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Lila …”
“I’m not staying here, Christian.”
“All right.” He didn’t like it, but then again, he wouldn’t like leaving her alone and vulnerable either. “I’m going to bandage this and put your boot back on. It’s going to be tight, and I’ll have to keep checking that we’re not cutting off circulation.” With the cold she was already at risk of damage to her extremities, this just made it worse. “I’ll give you an MRE and some water, then go and see if I can make you a crutch.”
“What’s an MRE?”
“Meals ready to eat. They’re not terrible, not great but edible. The spaghetti is always my favorite.” Opening his pack, he pulled out a bottle of water and tossed it to her. Last night he’d tried to get some water into her, but Lila had been too out of it. Shock and exhaustion had taken their toll, and she’d needed the rest. Although it wasn’t until he had her settled in the cave and slipped under the blanket, wrapping himself around her small body, that she had finally slipped into a peaceful sleep.
Finding a spaghetti MRE, he handed it over and got to work bandaging up her ankle. Once he found this cave, he tended to the wound on the back of her head and checked her again for injuries. There were likely bumps, bruises, and scratches under her clothes, but removing them and risking letting her body temperature drop further had been out of the question. There had been a deeper cut that probably required stitches on her arm that he’d cleaned through the tear in her sweater and bandaged, but nothing he was worried about.
So long as he got her out of there quickly before infection became a concern.
His heart broke as he watched Lila eat the MRE as though she were starving, and he wondered if she’d even been given food since she was abducted.
“I’m going to put your boot back on,” he warned, watching as she gave a tight nod and braced herself for the coming pain.
It was a much tighter fit than he would have liked, but he was able to get the boot on and the laces tied, so long as they didn’t overdo things she would likely be fine.
“I’m going to go find something you can use as a crutch. Take this.”
Her face paled a little when he handed her his backup weapon, and he suspected she’d never touched a gun before. One of the first things he was doing when they got home, and she was healed, was teaching her to shoot. When he and his team were away, he needed to know that she could protect herself and their child if she had to.
Leaving her to finish eating, Surf slipped out of the cave and into the early morning. The forest was beautiful, particularly with its display of fall leaves, but with the cold, Lila’s injuries, fear for his team, and worry that Ross and Zara might be nearby there was no way he could enjoy it.
Chances were, Zara and Ross were long gone. When they realized they were under attack, they had probably escaped into the forest with some of their guards. They’d get to a nearby town and then flee the country. As soon as he got back to the mansion, he’d make sure that Eagle had other Prey teams search any other properties owned by either Zara or Ross.
Spotting a large fallen branch a few yards away that looked about the right height for Lila to use as a crutch, Surf hurried toward it, not wanting to be away from Lila for any longer than he absolutely had to be.
As he crouched down to pick it up something caught his attention.
To the average person, it would be nothing, but to someone with his training and skills he immediately noticed the signs that someone had recently walked here.
Not just one someone.
Multiple someones.
If it was his team, they would have known he’d have looked for shelter to bunk down with Lila overnight. They would have followed the same trail Lila had made that he’d followed last night and found the spot where she fell. As he’d carried her, he’d been careful not to leave any signs behind, but his team would have searched for caves or crevices and found him.
Had Zara and Ross Duffy passed this way?
