I was trying, though. I tried to keep myself off the booze even if I had failed. I wanted to be better for Raine, and I wanted to be a good father for Alex. I didn’t have the slightest fucking idea what that entailed, but I fully intended to figure it out.
Evan was different.
He’d been cheating on his girl. All right, maybe not with another woman, but he was doing what she didn’t want him to do with full knowledge that he was going against her wishes. I had the feeling that he would ultimately side with Moretti, if it ever came to that. It wasn’t the same situation as mine. I’d had a momentary lapse of judgment under a stressful situation and taken a drink. He was actively planning his deceptions.
“That doesn’t end my relationship with Franks,” I pointed out. “Maybe that would secure your retirement, but I’d still be in the same situation.”
“I’ll kill Franks,” he said simply.
I stared at him, unblinking, and considered what he was saying.
If I acted on my own, there was always the risk of being caught. If everyone thought Evan was dead, and Franks got knocked off a while later, it would never be traced back to me. As long as he was gone, Franks would lose his hold over me, and the organization would be in a total uproar as they tried to figure out who would be in charge. All my past transgressions would be forgotten.
“So, what do you think? Evan asked.
“Dude, I think you make me sound like a fucking angel,” I said. “When this is over, I’m going to tell Raine how much worse it could be.”
“You can’t tell her that if you don’t get out of this,” he pointed out.
“True.” My mind was spinning. What he was suggesting could actually work. It was fucked up and insane, but it could still work. It meant trusting him, which was probably a mistake, but I was out of options.
“So we should find a way to end it?” he pressed. “We both come out alive, but as far as anyone else is concerned, I’m dead.”
I looked at him carefully. There was no deceit in his eyes. He was being perfectly straightforward with me. He wanted to figure out how to get both of us out of this mess and didn’t give a shit about winning.
That’s how we were different. I had to win.
There was no choice. At least for now, we were going to work together.
“So what’s your plan?” I asked. My teeth were starting to chatter, which was a really bad sign. Whatever we were going to do, we were going to have to do it quickly. My head was throbbing as well, and I was pretty sure the dizziness and nausea I was feeling were indicative of a concussion.
“Neither of us can move without help,” he said, stating the obvious. “I’m guessing you can’t see what I see.”
“A kid I’ve killed in the past?” I said. “No, I don’t see that.”
Evan shook his head.
“Not him,” he said. “The position of the rock next to your leg.”
I had to crane my neck and tilt my head over as far as I could, but I finally saw a glimpse of what Evan was talking about. To my right, below Evan, there was a channel of snow. The ditch would have been formed by the rocks lining one side of it—the same rocks that pinned my leg to the ground below me.
“I’m pretty sure I can move the rock up against your leg out of the way with my foot,” Evan explained. “Once it’s gone, you should be able to pull yourself out and keep your leg intact. Well, as intact as it is now. It’s broken.”
“Yeah, I can tell that.”
He looked at me closely.
“That’s gotta hurt like a bitch,” he commented.
“It does.”
The corner of his mouth turned up a little as he gave me an appreciative nod.
“It’s gonna hurt worse when I move the rock,” he said. “I don’t have the best angle, and I’ll probably end up crushing your leg more.”
“Great.”
“Beats staying where you are.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“You ready, then?” he asked.
We looked at each other for a moment before I nodded.
“Do it.”
I held my breath, and Evan began to push down on the rock against my leg. I had to grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut as he did it to keep from screaming out loud. I felt it shift a little, and heard the bone crack.
“Fuck!”
“Almost got it,” he said calmly.
“Fucking hurry.”
“That’ll hurt more.”
“I don’t give a shit!” I yelled. “Just fucking do it!”
I heard him take a deep breath and saw him pull his leg up close to his chest. As he thrust his leg forward, I couldn’t hold it in—I screamed as I heard a rock tumble off the edge of the cliff. Reflexively, I yanked up my leg. For the first time, it actually moved.
My head swam and my vision went dark. I had to choke back the bile that rose in my throat as I felt the tendons in my knee tear. Forcing myself to keep my mouth closed, I squeezed my eyes shut again and just tried to keep my cursing to a minimum.
“I think that did it,” Evan said.
“Fuck,” I said with a rush of breath. “I should have asked for a bullet to bite on.”
“I have a few,” Evan said. “I should have offered.”
“Bastard,” I muttered.
Evan chuckled.
“Can you move it yet?”
“Gimme a sec.” I focused on my breathing for a couple minutes, trying to force the pain into the back of my mind. I looked down at the top of my thigh, just barely visible, and tried to push more of the snow off of it. I twisted and turned my fingers right next to my body until I managed to make a large enough hole to grab my leg with my hands. “Here goes nothing.”
I yanked, but nothing happened other than causing additional searing pain to run through my body. I told myself not to be such a fucking pansy and yanked harder. It moved a little more. With my arms straining against the pressure, I gritted my teeth and kept pulling. An inch. Another.
“Fuck!” I screamed as Evan kicked at another rock.
“You do like your F-bombs, don’t you?” he mused. “There was one more in the way. Try again.”
“Motherfucker!”
“Quit your bitching,” he commanded. “Just do it.”
I tried to remember what rank he had held in the Marines. He sounded a bit too much like Landon for my taste. The tactic worked though; I grabbed hold of my thigh and pulled as hard as I could, and my leg finally came loose.
Panting, I dropped my head back to the snow and tried to get myself together before I pulled out the other leg. With the extra space made from releasing my first leg, the second came out a lot easier. It also wasn’t broken, though my thigh hurt like a bitch from the bullet wound there.
With my body free from the snow, I held myself up by my arms and pushed myself out of the hole, rolling off to the side and slamming into Evan in the process. He grunted a little but didn’t say anything as I got up on my hands and knees.
I looked to him and observed his wary expression. This was it—the last real choice I had to make. Right now, I could easily kill him where he lay; there was no way he could stop me. I could break this allegiance and take him out, securing my victory.
But only temporarily.
If he lived up to his side of the bargain, Franks would be out of my way for good. It wasn’t an opportunity I was going to pass up.
I let him wonder for a minute, though, because I’m an asshole.
“Shall we get you out?” I finally said with a grin.
His shoulders relaxed, and he closed his eyes as he nodded.
Using one of the loose rocks as a shovel, I dug around one side of Evan’s trapped arm. It took a while to get through the ice and rock, but once his arm was free we both worked to release his leg, and he crawled out of the snow bank.
His shoulder was dislocated, but he stood still and silent as I shoved it back into place with a loud pop.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, “I’m good. Your leg is a mess.”
I looked down at it. It wasn’t just fractured but cracked, and I thought the tibia was likely crushed. I couldn’t even feel my foot, but that might be a good thing.
“How are you going to climb?” Evan asked.
“I’ll manage,” I replied. “How are you going to get out of here?”
“I’ll manage,” Evan said with a smile.
I laughed through my nose as I looked down the edge of the cliff. This was going to suck, no doubt about it, but at least I had the hope of someone finding me at the bottom. Evan was going to have to avoid that.
“Keep out of sight,” I said.
“I’m pretty good at that.” Evan looked me over. “You’re going to tell them I’m dead, right?”
“That’s the plan,” I said. “I don’t think they’re going to spend much time looking for you.”
“They won’t,” he said. “Rinaldo knows me too well.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but I was too cold and in too much pain to start asking a lot of questions now. Time was running out.
My leg hung loosely from the rest of my body. I couldn’t put any pressure on it at all, and I couldn’t see anything around to use as a splint. I thought about Hunter’s crossbow, the body of which might have worked, but it was too far away. Then I remembered the bolt I had grabbed during his fight with Reaper.
I pulled it from my waist and held it up to my calf. It wasn’t really long or thick enough, but it was better than nothing.
“I can do that,” Evan said.
I looked up at him, and my paranoia set in. Would he try to betray me at this point?
I shook the thought from my head. If he wanted me dead, all he had to do was bash me with a rock or something. I wasn’t in any shape to fight anymore.
“I do have some training as a medic,” Evan said with a shrug.
It was my only option, so I let him splint my leg using the bolt and one of the pieces of piano wire I still had on me. He wrapped it securely but not tight enough to cut off any circulation.
“The thick clothing should provide a little extra support,” he said. “Don’t put any weight on it if you can help it. It won’t hold you.”
“Yeah, I can tell.”
“It’s going to have to be reset,” Evan said. “A few more hours, and it’ll have to be broken again to get it to heal right.”
“Whatever,” I said. “I’ll deal with that when I get to the bottom of the mountain.”
“Yeah, I was wondering how you were going to do that,” Arden said. “I’m going up and over, away from where they might try to land a helicopter.”
“You know there’s no other way off this island,” I said. “It’s not like you can swim it.”
“I have an idea,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’m not,” I replied. “I don’t give a shit about you, but I do have a vested interest in your survival now.”
His mouth turned up in a half smile. The look was almost challenging, like he’d still be willing to fight it out, but I didn’t acknowledge it. There wouldn’t be any point.
I did give a shit, though, even if he wasn’t going to take out Franks on my behalf. I wanted him to make it. He was in better shape than I was physically, but I didn’t see any fucking way he could survive.
“I’m going now,” Evan said.
“You’re not going to make it,” I said.
“Yeah, I will,” he replied. He smiled as he looked at me. “You’ll know it, too—as soon as you hear the news about Franks.”
I nodded, still not completely sure I could trust him to go through with it, but I also knew it was a better option that what I had planned, which was nothing.
Evan reached out his hand, and I took it a little tentatively. We shook briefly, and he turned without another word to start up the slope. I watched him for a minute and then headed over the side of the cliff.
I probably could have brought myself down the side of the mountain with one leg and both arms on a good day, but it was rough going, considering the state I was in. I was still mostly frozen, and my body didn’t want to do anything I told it to do. My arms and shoulders ached. My head was swimming and clouded, and there was a throbbing in the back of my skull that kept reminding me that I’d hit my head pretty hard.
Grasping the sharp rocks to scale my way down the cliff, my one good foot tried to find a decent place to rest as I caught my breath a little. The rock I stepped on held me, but it wasn’t enough to let go with my hands. It only gave my shoulders a little relief as I leaned my forehead against the cliff and took some breaths.
Back to it.
I didn’t know how long it took to get down. The sun never set; it only dipped low on the horizon before it started to rise again. By then, my body was done. Only my mind with images of Raine and Alex kept me from letting go in defeat.
Can’t stop.
Hand over hand, balancing on one foot, and reliving my time on the island with Raine, I kept on going. I never looked down as I progressed and was surprised when the cliff flattened out somewhat and allowed me to let go of the rocks with my hands. As I did, I lost my balance and put weight on my left leg.
“Fuck,” I groaned as my leg gave out from under me and I fell, rolling down the rest of the mountainside between two short ridges. I threw my arms out to slow my descent but continued to tumble anyway. I didn’t have enough strength to stop and ended up just going where gravity took me. I managed to turn myself just enough to point my feet downward and try to dig in the heel of my good foot, but it wasn’t enough. In the process, I slammed my temple into the ridge on my right, and my head jerked to the side. A moment later, I landed at the bottom, just short of where land gave way to the ice floes.
My lungs burned as I tried to get some oxygen into them. The pain in my head was excruciating, and I was sure I was going to throw up, but I couldn’t even roll to my side. The exertion from the fall had been too much—I couldn’t move anymore. As much as I tried, my body simply wouldn’t listen.
I tried to get my bearings. I was at the bottom of the mountain and would be easily visible from the air. I was close to the water, and the ground was wetter here. I knew that was a death sentence, but I couldn’t manage to do anything about it.
My body was done.
Darkness lifted, and I saw the bright white of the snow on the ground with the blue water not far off. I tried to move my arm, but it appeared to be frozen to the ground. Shooting pain traveled up my left leg as I tried to pull it closer to my body to secure a little more heat. I was lightheaded, dizzy, and thirsty, but I couldn’t remember where my canteen was. Even if I could recall its location, I wasn’t sure I could move enough to reach it.
I wasn’t cold. That was bad.
After all this shit, I’m going to die waiting for them…
Curling into myself as much as I could, I closed my eyes and waited.
I never heard the helicopter; I just heard Landon.
“Give me a sign, buddy.”
The word sounded strange to me. Landon wasn’t one for terms of endearment. For a moment, I thought maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe if I opened my eyes, I’d see the imaginary kid Evan had gone on about. I wanted to find out for sure, so I forced my eyelids to open.
“There you are,” Landon said quietly.
As I looked up into his face, I saw him smile. It looked strange on him. It wasn’t sarcastic or snippy, but a real, genuine smile as if he were really, genuinely happy. I’d never seen him smile like that, and it made me think that I was hallucinating after all.
“Can you talk?” he asked.
I swallowed and opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
“Okay,” he said, “don’t try.”
“Where’s Arden?” another voice called out. “There’s no sign of him.”
I cleared my throat and licked my lips. Pulling air into my lungs, I managed to utter a single word.
“Dead.”
“You sure?” Landon asked.
I nodded.
“Snow,” I croaked. “Avalanche…”
“Yeah, I got that idea.”
“Found his Barrett,” another voice said. I couldn’t tell who was speaking and couldn’t move my head enough to figure it out. “The barrel’s damaged, but I know he’d never leave this particular weapon behind, damaged or not.”
“Are we calling this?” another voice asked.
“Not without a body.”
“You want to dig through all of that?” a woman’s voice snapped. “It’s fucking freezing already, and the temperature is dropping.”
“There has to be proof.”
“If Moretti says Arden wouldn’t leave without his rifle, that’s good enough for me.”
“Fine.”
“Agreed. Get me off this fucking rock.”
“Folks,” I recognized Franks’ voice as he spoke, “we have a winner.”
There was a lot of motion around me, but I couldn’t quite keep up with it. I heard myself scream as I was lifted and placed on a stretcher of some sort. The whirring blades of a helicopter filled my vision as I was maneuvered through the open door and onto the floor. Without the wind rushing over my body, I felt my muscles relax a little as the warm air inside the helicopter seeped into me.
Landon knelt beside me and began to release the fastenings on my parka. As he got it open, I warmed a little more. My stomach lurched as the craft took flight. Landon continued to remove my outer clothing.
“Shit, Sebastian,” he muttered.
I felt his hand against my leg and then a sharp pain. I closed my eyes against the sensation and gritted my teeth as my head swam, and my vision went dark.
I didn’t know how long I was out, just realized how sick I felt as I regained consciousness. I opened my eyes to look around, but everything was blurry. I knew I was inside a helicopter. From the motion, I could tell we were in the air, but I couldn’t really identify anything I saw. There were human shapes moving around me, but I didn’t know who they were.