Page 63 of Jackson

“Gonzalez and Barker! I think we went west!”

I fucking hoped we did. If I was sending them in the wrong goddamn direction, I was going to be so pissed at myself.

“West?” The voice repeated.

Stopping under another overhang, I slowly lowered Barker down to the ground and ripped the pack off of his back. I had the contents of it emptied out all over in record time and dug through them to find one of those forest ranger compasses that Mac had sent us off with.

Finding it, I held it up toward the canopy of trees, trying to pinpoint the sun through the dense smoke overhead.

“Hello?” The voice called again.

I put the speaker up to my mouth. “I can’t find the sun.” My voice cracked.

It was getting harder to breathe in the smoke billowing from the burning foliage around us. I coughed into my scarf a few times, trying to clear my lungs in order to talk again.

There was a brief pause on the other end to the radio, and then a familiar voice was talking to me.

“Ayen, what way are you facing the fire?”

Fuck, I wanted to cry.

I pointed the compass toward it. “North. Barker’s passed out.”

“Use your whistle.”

“Hurry,” I begged.

“Whistle, Ayen.”

With a shaky hand, I pulled it out from where I’d tucked it under my coveralls and brought it up to my mouth. Then, with the biggest lungful of air I could manage, I blew like my life depended on it. At this point, it did.

CHAPTER 27

Jackson

“Over there!”Mac called out, but I was already running for it.

The radio was clutched so tight in my hand that I knew once I let go of it, there would be a permanent impression left behind.

The whistle was faint, followed up with Ayen’s soft voice saying, “Did you hear it?”

I lifted the radio up to my mouth. “I’m coming.”

I crashed through overgrown brush and tangled saplings that left scratches sliced into my cheeks and hands. Behind me, I could hear Roxy and Mac and whoever else had heard the distress call following closely behind.

Giving that radio to Ayen had been an impulsive move, but one that had ultimately given me peace since I wasn’t going to be able to watch over him while we split off. Now, I was regretting not simply forcing him to partner up with me and dealing with his attitude later.

Another whistle sounded off, this time much closer than the last one. I pivoted and headed for it, the smoke becoming much denser as the heat from the fire was growing more intense.

“Ayen,” I called into my radio again.

He was coughing as he said, “Are you almost here?”

Fuck, I was never letting him out of my damn sight again. I didn’t care how much of a temper tantrum he threw. He was going to be stuck to my side like a fucking glue trap until this god forsake program was over with.

“Jax!” Mac called. “I think I see them!”

Roxy’s bark had me completely turning away from the direction I’d been heading in and moving deeper into the thick smoke.

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