Page 55 of Fourth Point Of Contact

“Piece of cake,” he grumbled. “Hardly feel it.”

That was either very bad or a big, fat lie. Which I couldn’t be sure of. “Just hang in there. We’ll get help.”

“Not goin’ anywhere.”

“Yes, you are.”

He shook his head. “You aren’t. You’ll find…another bear.”

“Probably, but I have a record of taming bears. I think I’ll be fine.”

If help didn’t arrive soon, I’d have to leave and hope I found someone. Staying here would do nothing but keep him dying slowly. I had no idea where we were, but maybe there was a map around here somewhere that would give me an idea of how far we were from civilization.

Besides, we were at a cabin. That had to mean there was a road nearby. I just had to find the drive in the morning and hike out of here. Patrick was silent, his chest slowly rising and falling. I couldn’t stay here and watch him die. That would be more horrible than anything I’d ever experienced, and even watching him suffer like this was unbearable.

I grabbed the pot of water and busied myself with refilling it. Staring out the window, I took deep breaths, telling myself everything would be fine. We both would be. We just needed a miracle. I shut off the water and grabbed the pot, turning to leave when I spotted movement outside the window. The pot nearly dropped from my hands as I leaned in closer for a better look.

Men were outside. Two of them. I couldn’t be certain since it was so dark, but they moved like Patrick. It had to be his teammates. And if it wasn’t and they were here to murder me…well, I’d deal with that like the bear. Running to the door, I flung it open and called out for help, racing down the steps and around the corner, nearly crashing into the figure who stepped out of the darkness.

“Piper?”

My eyes closed in relief at the familiar voice. “Thank God. You have to help. Patrick is delirious and saying weird shit,” I said, tugging him behind me. “His bone is sticking out and I tried to wrap it, but it’s totally fucked up and all I had were his pants?—”

“Piper!” the man shouted, spinning me around to face him. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

“A bear!” I shouted, frustrated that he wasn’t listening. The other man was already storming around us into the house. I hurried after him, explaining on the way. “The bear was going to attack us and Patrick jumped in front of it.”

“Stupid fucker,” the man muttered as we ran into the house behind him.

“The bear swatted him against the tree like a fly. His leg is broken and he has an infection.”

The second man kneeled down beside the couch and started assessing the situation, carefully removing the bandages I’d applied. “He’s burning up.”

“I’ve been trying to keep him cool, but?—”

“The other team should be arriving soon,” the first man said.

I nodded, my eyes closing hard.

“Don’t cry,” the first man said.

“Don’t cry?” I snapped, my eyes popping open. “Listen?—”

“Chase.”

“Listen, Chase. I’m not about to cry. I’m about to kick someone’s ass for leaving me alone with a man in the woods and a bear. Where were you?”

“Dragging Nick’s ass out of a tree,” he muttered, pointing at the other man. “Let’s make a litter and haul ass out of here. The road isn’t too much further. We can meet the team there.”

“They’re on the way?” I said in relief.

Chase nodded. “We ran into some hikers along the way and I used their phone. They should be here within the hour. I need you to keep him cool while we gather what we need. Okay?”

I could do that. We were leaving and that meant civilization, food and water, and most of all, a shower. I’d lost the information along the way that I’d stolen and I no longer had my purse, but all of that I could fix with time.

While the men gathered what they needed, I kept Patrick as cool as possible. By now, he was out of it, not even responding to my barbs, which worried me more than I wanted to admit. I’d never seen someone die, and I really hoped he wouldn’t be the first. Having spent the last couple of days with him, surviving a bear attack, and having amazing sex, I didn’t want all that to be further tainted by a funeral at the end.

“Let’s get him loaded,” Nick said, pulling me away from the couch. “We’re gonna be moving fast. Can you keep up?”

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