Page 42 of Fighting for Tawny

“Broken tibia and fibula. Concussion. Pupils are dilated and nonresponsive to light. She’s bleeding from a head wound. Slow and steady pulse, but I believe she’s hypothermic. I don’t want to move her in case she might have a spinal injury. Over.”

“Copy. What’s your location?”

“Approximately two and a half miles southeast of our last location. Layla fell off a ledge. Over.”

“Copy. I’m on my way with EMTs. We’re about fifteen minutes from your location. Over.”

Captain Ward must have heard the communication and chimed in, “Evac by helicopter on its way. Over.”

“Copy. Over.” Tawny held one of Layla’s ice-cold hands. “Help is on the way, Layla.” Then she called out to Yolanda, “Captain Finnigan is coming! ETA fifteen minutes!”

“Got it, T! I’ll keep watch for her!”

Terrin gazed at her with awe in her eyes. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re not one of us.” She spoke in a low voice. “You fight like you’ve been trained, and you know this kind of medical stuff. The way you’re always lookin’ out for us. You have to be…oh my God, I can’t even say it.”

Tawny swallowed the panic rising in her throat. “Terrin, trust me, please.”

“I do. And that’s the funny thing because I’ve never met one I could trust in the past.”

She blew out her breath. “Thanks.”

“But here’s the deal, Tawny. In exchange for my silence, I want you to tell me the truth. The whole truth.”

“All right. But if you repeat anything I tell you, you’ll put all of us in danger.”

“Aren’t we anyway?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“I promise you can trust me, T.” Terrin reached out and squeezed Tawny’s free hand.

Trust no one.

Oh God, she’d broken the cardinal rule while undercover.

It couldn’t be avoided. I couldn’t pretend ignorance during a real emergency.

Yolanda’s excited shouts interrupted Tawny’s private self-recriminations. “This way! Layla is down there!” She shone the flashlight on Tawny, Terrin, and the unconscious woman.

Moira and two EMTs maneuvered down the hill with a flat board and other equipment. Tawny and Terrin moved out of the way to allow the EMTs room to assess Layla’s injuries. One secured her neck in a collar and wrapped her head wound in bandages while the other checked her vitals and examined her broken leg.

“Good job with the tourniquet,” he said to no one in particular. “She’s hypothermic. Body Temperature is ninety-three degrees. We need to move her now.” He set aside Tawny’s rain poncho and covered Layla in a blanket on the flat board.

They used the rope to haul her up the hill with Yolanda, Debbie, and Dee’s help. The helicopter approached from the east and hovered above them. A firefighter lowered a hook, and the EMTs attached the flat board. Carefully, the firefighter in the helicopter raised Layla into the opening. Once she was secure, the helicopter flew away toward the nearest hospital.

Tawny shivered in her wet and muddy jumpsuit. Moira noticed and removed the heavy jacket she wore beneath her rain poncho. She wrapped it around Tawny’s shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

“Good job, ladies. Let’s head back to base.”

Single file and vigilant of the slippery ground, they sloshed through drenched, soggy areas as they made their way back to the command base. Warm blankets, cups of hot coffee, and water bottles awaited the weary rescue workers. As Tawny sat on a rickety folding chair, her cold hands gripping a cup of coffee, she did a quick head count.

Stoneface Colfer and Joy and Precious were missing.

As she opened her mouth to point it out, Joy and Precious rushed into the tent. Tears ran down their faces. Relief replaced the fear Tawny glimpsed in their eyes.

“Oh, thank God! Thank God, we made it back!” Their bodies shook, and their teeth chattered.

Tawny gave up her chair. “Here, Joy.” Someone else unfolded a chair for Precious. “Where’s Colfer?”

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