Page 20 of Hearts Under Fire
Kate whimpered quietly at the prospect of what they faced ahead, her fear and exhaustion slipping out. Silent tears ran down her face as she poured quick clot powder into Alexis’s shoulder wound and began wrapping it in a tight bandage. As Kate secured the bandage, Alexis woke up, the pressure from the bandage causing pain and pulling her out of sleep. Kate pressed harder, applying as much pressure as possible. It wasthe only way to stop the bleeding. Alexis hissed at the pain in her shoulder and sat up.
Alexis’s beautiful azure eyes looked into Kate’s, and Kate swallowed down a lump in her throat.
Whatever was in her eyes didn’t look like hope or confidence, and she wouldn’t let Alexis give up.
Don’t die, Alexis. Please don’t die. I love you.
“Listen to me. You’re not going to let this stop you, you hear me?”
Alexis's gaze was distant, and Kate leaned close until Alexis focused on her.
“I will not leave you. If you stay here, then I’m staying, too.”
Despite blood loss and the pain, the words seemed to sink in, and Alexis’s gaze narrowed on her.
“You can’t!”
“Watch me, Lieutenant Cole. You are mypartner, and I swore to save as many as I could.” Kate’s tone was final, reflecting her opinion on the matter.
Alexis glared at her. “Don’t you dare. Kate, you have to get out of here. I can barely move, and I’ve suffered serious blood loss.”
Kate cocked a brow at her. “I’m aware of your medical condition. That’s exactly why I’m staying. I won’t leave my partner behind, and I would never abandon a patient.
“Kate,” Alexis said, her teeth bared in an angry expression.
“Are you really going to leave me alone? Let me wander out from here by myself and try to find the extraction point on my own?”
It was a low blow, but Kate didn’t care. She was competent at navigation and had memorized the maps of the area just in case something like this happened. But that didn’t matter. Kate wasn’t leaving her behind. It was completely out of the question.If she had to take the low road to get Alexis home safely, she would do it.
“And what kind of person do you think I am? You think I’m just going to abandon you to save myself?”
Alexis looked stunned. Kate went on angrily, not giving her enough time to respond.
“Hold still while I secure this. It’s going to be tight, and it’s gonna hurt like hell. But the pain will keep you awake and alert.”
Alexis gritted her teeth and Kate pulled hard on the ends of the wrap, securing it as tightly as it would go without completely cutting off the circulation to her fingers. A pained groan tore from Alexis’s throat, and Kate’s heart ached at the sound of her agony.
“Can you stand?”
Alexis jerked her head in a nod and slowly got to her feet with Kate’s assistance. Kate tried to give as much support on the injured side as possible, but the whistling of breath between Alexis’s teeth told her the pain was excruciating.
“If you’re going to pass out, let me know. Otherwise, we’re going to start walking. There’s some lower embankments, and we may have a shot of staying out of sight if we take the lower ground.”
Alexis didn’t respond, just put one foot in front of the other. They trudged south as fast as Alexis could stand going. The air was cold, and Kate was uncomfortable, the cold sweat from exercise mixed with the lower temperatures creating a biting damp. In the back of her mind, she worried about being severely dehydrated. It wasn’t a current threat, though, so she just kept going, one arm wrapped around Alexis’s waist, giving her a solid base to push off of for each agonizing step. Kate was astounded she hadn’t passed out from the pain and couldn’t imagine the searing fire of the wound in her shoulder.
After ten minutes of walking, Alexis’s breathing became labored. She kept going, though, and Kate worried that Alexis would overdo it and reopen the wound, or that she’d lose consciousness at any moment. They pressed on, Kate constantly monitoring every nuance of Alexis’s condition, while Alexis kept them headed in the right direction.
Kate talked softly, demanding Alexis’ attention to keep her awake.
“Tell me how bad the pain is in your left shoulder right now, scale of one to ten.”
“Eight. Hurt worse before you bandaged it.” Each word was staccato, slow, and coming from between gritted teeth.
“That’s good. If it gets worse all of the sudden, tell me. Okay?”
Alexis jerked her head in a nod.
“How far do you think we have left?”