After ten minutes descending the hillside, Briar was already panting for breath. Her legs were showing signs of weakness and were starting to shake, her heart and lungs laboring to supply her muscles with oxygen.
Freaking bullet wound.
Whenever they emerged into a gap between the thick stands of trees the wind slapped at her like angry hands, kicking up snow in every direction. Schroder stayed right next to her, his firm hold on her upper arm never easing, and another man remained glued to her left side. Even if she were foolhardy enough to risk an escape attempt now, she wouldn’t get two feet before they caught her and used a much less gentle method of transporting her the rest of the way.
At the head of the team, DeLuca paused on a low ridge and looked back. She knew she was lagging and slowing them all down, her strength reserves dwindling. When she stumbled and almost fell to her knees in the snow, Schroder grabbed her and unceremoniously hoisted her over his broad shoulder.
Briar resisted at first, hissing through her teeth as his shoulder dug into her wound, then gave in and braced herself against his back.
“I know, but the pressure of my shoulder will help slow the bleeding,” Schroder told her as he trudged after his teammates.
The whole time he walked, still managing to keep his footing in the snow even with her additional weight, she tested and discarded various plans for when they got to the bottom of the mountain. She needed to talk to Janaia ASAP, maintain her anonymity and later, once she was on her own again, find out what the hell had happened out here tonight.
Now that her adrenaline had officially crashed, the blood loss and cold began to affect her. She shivered, her muscles shuddering in hard bursts in an effort to warm her. Her teeth began to chatter.
“Just another half mile or so,” Schroder said to her, maintaining pace with the others. She’d rather be moving under her own power but this way she could recharge and save her strength for when she really needed it. When she made her escape, she’d only have one chance.
Finally, when the cold had turned her hands, feet and nose numb and she was shaking all over, they finally reached the access road where the support team had set up. Schroder carried her directly to a large truck that must serve as the mobile command center and took her inside. Briar blinked against the sudden brightness as the door shut behind them. Immediately she felt the warmth compared to the frigid air outside.
Several agents stopped what they were doing, staring as they backed out of the way to give them room. Schroder set her down on a bench seat against one side and paused to look into her face, his hazel eyes assessing, dark auburn hair mussed from the knit cap he’d been wearing. “If I kneel down in front of you, you’re not gonna try and kick me in the nuts or anything, right?” His tone told her he was only half-teasing.
Still shivering violently, Briar shook her head. With her hands bound her options for attack were limited. She knew how to incapacitate and even kill with strikes to the right places, but he wasn’t in danger from her unless he threatened her in some way. Based on what she knew of him, he wasn’t that kind of guy so she wasn’t worried. Right now she was going to use her gender to her advantage, make it seem like she was too weak to fight when in reality she was just saving her strength and biding her time for when she made a break for it.
“Good.” He knelt at her feet and peeled away her torn jacket and bodysuit to check the injury site, his hands gentle. “Stretch out on your left side for me.” She did, her movements clumsy because of her inability to use her hands. He turned to one of the agents. “Get me a blanket.”
Someone brought one over and Schroder tucked it around her, pulling one edge aside to access her wound. Briar propped up on one elbow and craned her neck to get a better look at it. Although she’d known it wasn’t serious, she was surprised to see a five inch gash above her right hip bone. The round had torn across her skin and probably through some muscle, splitting her flesh wide open. It was still bleeding freely despite the pressure and bandages Schroder had put on it.
The door swung open and DeLuca appeared in the opening, bareheaded, framed against the blackness behind him. Briar’s heart sped up. He had short, medium brown hair, thinning slightly at one spot near the crown of his head. He was dressed in woodland camouflage tactical gear like the others. Unlike his men, his face wasn’t cammied up, which made her think his going after her had been an afterthought. A few days’ worth of dark stubble marked the lower half of his face, making him appear even more rugged and masculine than the last time she’d seen him.
His green eyes locked on her face for a moment, and Briar felt a jolt of awareness deep inside before he looked at her wound. “Got what you need?” he asked Schroder, motioning for the others to leave the command vehicle with a wave of his hand.