Grave Vengeance by Lori Sjoberg

Author:Lori Sjoberg [Sjoberg, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2015-01-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Dmitri let her sleep until six. When she checked her watch, she rolled her eyes at him but didn’t say a word. With a yawn she stretched, and he relished each shift of her body against his.

Even though they were sick of them, they both ate two apples and tossed the cores in the dense underbrush. Like it or not, they needed the calories, and they were running short of alternatives. By six fifteen they were on their way, moving briskly over the mountainous terrain. The sky was gray with thick cloud cover that rumbled with the promise of bad weather. A chilling wind blew in from the north-west, making the air feel wet and raw.

The storm finally broke a little after ten, pelting their bodies with icy rain. Within an hour it turned to sleet, then hail, and then finally snow. Temperatures plunged to well below freezing, with a wind chill of God-knows-what.

It reminded Dmitri of that bitter winter in Stalingrad when the German tanks rolled through the streets. The freezing dampness crept into his bones and made his eardrums ache. Shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, he bowed his head against the wind.

He cast a glance in Gwen’s direction and felt a twinge of pity. The woman looked absolutely miserable. Her smaller size and lower muscle mass made her more susceptible to the elements. She shook so hard her teeth chattered, and yet she never uttered a word of complaint. That earned her points in his book.

She walked close beside him, her arms wrapped around her torso in a futile attempt to ward off the cold. The strap of her bag kept slipping down her shoulder, and it was taking longer and longer for her to shove it back in place.

“Let me carry that,” Dmitri said the next time it fell. To his surprise, she didn’t object when he grabbed the strap and hoisted it over his shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

When she looked up at him, her eyes appeared glassy and unfocused. “I—I’m okay,” she said, the words coming out soft and slurred.

Each degree drop in body temperature brought her closer to hypothermia. Her breathing was shallow, her face beet red, and her coordination got worse by the minute. If they didn’t find shelter soon, her entire body would shut down.

But with no signs of civilization in sight, they had no choice but to keep moving.

“Let me rest,” Gwen said, sounding exhausted, about twenty minutes later. She dropped to her knees in the snow beside a thick pine. She’d stopped shivering a short while before, a sure sign that her body had given up all hopes of staying warm.

“No rest.” Dmitri pulled her to standing. “Not until we find shelter.”

As soon as he let her go, she crumpled back to the ground.

“Leave me here,” she mumbled, barely coherent. A fine layer of snowflakes covered her hair. Eyes closed, she shook her head. “I can’t walk anymore.”

“You can and you will.” Abandoning her wasn’t an option.

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