Page 86 of Raven's Curse
“Greer!”
He heaved her onto his shoulder, using the position to put some pressure on the wound as he tripped across the ties, Nyx guarding his ass. They got twenty feet away before the next bomb rocked the bridge, that platform they’d been on cleaving off — crashing into the water below.
The force knocked him sideways. He managed to turn at the last second — keep Greer from hitting the deck, as he slammed into the wood, everything winking out for a moment before he gave himself a mental shake — cleared his vision. Nyx crawled in beside him, licked his face, then barked. Her version of telling him to move his ass.
He groaned. “Christ, you’re as annoying as Kash.”
The dog yipped, again, tugging on his sleeve until he staggered to his feet. The bridge tilted, whether from the explosion or the ringing in his ears, Chase wasn’t sure, but he took a step, froze, waiting for it all to settle.
Greer groaned, the muted sound proof he hadn’t lost her yet. That if he just got his damn legs working, she’d have a chance.
He managed another foot, took a breath, then went again. If he didn’t reach the ground before the next bomb detonated…
They’d never make it. Never outrun the collapse. Even now, chunks cracked behind him, rocking back and forth before breaking off — dropping into the river.
He suspected he had about thirty seconds left when Foster roared into sight, rotors humming, engines whining. His buddy banked the helicopter to one side, skimmed past the hill, then dropped in over the river, bleeding off all the speed before planting the skids across the track ten feet in front of Chase. Not quite landing, the machine still holding its weight, but enough Chase just needed to step up — jump inside.
Kash appeared a moment later, limping along the tracks, a noticeable gash on his cheek. He reached the chopper and threw open the rear doors, motioning for Chase to pick it up.
Chase grunted, then moved. One leg, then the other. Agonizingly slowly, all that time ticking down in his head. He reached the chopper with nothing to spare, accepting Kash’s boost before stumbling inside — setting Greer down across the rear seats.
Kash jumped in behind Nyx, shutting everything tight, then yelling to Foster. Foster lifted the machine, tipped it off the bridge a second before the entire structure blew, a thunderous clap echoing around them. The helicopter shook, spinning twice before Foster wrestled it into submission, a few alarms still sounding as he banked it north — picked up speed.
Kash didn’t ask what Chase needed, just handed him some plasma and saline, readying the crash cart, just in case. Nyx laid off to one corner, head resting on her paws, eyes wary as Chase got Greer’s bleeding under control, got those IVs dripping.
Foster’s voice sounded above the hum of the blades a moment later. “Providence is on alert. They’ve got a full team waiting with an operating room cleared and ready.”
Chase grunted, watching her heart rate dance across the monitor, just like Rhett’s had. “She’s crashing.”
He pushed some meds, started compressions when he lost her pulse. “C’mon, sweetheart. You can beat this.”
Kash handed him the paddles.
Chase placed them on her chest, pressed the button. Her body jerked, hitting the seats with a low thud. “I’ve got a rhythm. Foster… brother every second counts.”
Foster sighed. “I’m pushing her as much as I can. Any more, and we won’t make it before the engines crap out.”
Chase administered more meds, kept checking her vitals, hitting her with another shock when she faded, again, that familiar tone mocking him. Images of Rhett and Eli looping through Chase’s head. Foster yelled something about being on short final, then the doors flew open, a swarm of white coats and scrubs rushing in.
A quick transfer onto a gurney, and they were racing for the building, running down those same white halls into the treatment room beyond. A nurse barred Chase from following, Kash’s hand around Chase’s arm holding him back. Chase shook it off, nearly tanked into the wall before Kash grabbed him — leaned them both against the wall.
Chase blinked, the floor shifting left and right beneath him. “I need to be in there.”
Kash shook his head. “You need to sit your ass down. You’ve got pieces of that damn bridge everywhere.” He physically stopped Chase from breaking free. “You know this team. They’ll do everything they can, but you going in there and passing out on the floor will only distract them from what needs to be done. You got her here still breathing. She’ll pull through.”
Chase closed his eyes as he let his head fall back against the wall, her steady heartbeat carrying to him from the other room. Not the rhythm he’d like, but it was still a rhythm. A glimmer of hope that he’d done enough. That this time, it’d end differently.
He blinked to find his back on a gurney, bright lights blinding him from above. He groaned, rolled, only to have someone stop him. Chase looked up, Foster’s wary gaze staring down at him.
His best friend tsked. “You’re determined to kill yourself, aren’t you?”
Chase tried to sit up and failed. “Greer…”
“In surgery. And before you undo all the hard work of yanking a thousand damn pieces of shrapnel from you, everything’s going well. They should be closing up soon, and she’s expected to make a full recovery.”
Chase relaxed against the thin mattress. “You’re not lying to me just to keep my ass in this bed, are you?”
“I’m hurt you’d even suggest that.”
