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It was a pretty simple exercise since there wasn’t a lot to choose from. He spent a couple of minutes wondering if they ought to share, so what little they had lasted a bit longer, but pushed the idea away. They’d all been too long without food after an exhausting afternoon. It was best to get some sustenance inside them all. Hopefully the weather would clear soon, and they’d be able to make their way down the mountain before they needed to make any difficult choices about their rations.
He grabbed a protein bar for everyone and made his way back to the living area where Shyla was ensconced on the sofa with one of his brothers on either side of her. She was leaning back against Jeri’s shoulder and Lazarus had her injured leg across his knee.
“We need to keep this elevated,” he was telling her. Dante knew Lazarus was right, and it made sense for them all to sit together since there was very little space, but he still thought they should keep a bit of distance.
* * *
Damn,she was hot.
Jeri could feel the daggers Dante was throwing at him like they were real, but shit, he was only human. And right now, he had a hot chic snuggled up against him. He understood his brother’s reservations, but seriously, they were all stuck here for the foreseeable future, and they should really make the best of it.
Being prickly was just going to be uncomfortable for all of them. And Jeri was a firm believer that being friendly kept things kind, even in the most difficult of situations. Besides, Shyla seemed pretty laid back.
“So, now you’ve been fed, watered and tended to, we should probably go over some stuff, since you’re awake.”
Lazarus looked over and nodded. “Jeri’s right. I assume you’d be shouting about it if there was someone with you that we’d left out there, Shyla. But your bag was so well packed for emergencies, that I can’t believe you’d have come up here alone.”
“Shit, you’re right.” Shyla went to jump up, but Lazarus grabbed hold of her feet to stop her.
“Don’t go jumping up and damaging that ankle again,” he admonished.
“Sorry.” Shyla apologized with a sigh. “I’m not used to being so incapacitated.”
Well, let’s talk first, then, when we’ve got a handle on the situation, we can organize a plan of action,” Jeri told her.
“I assume from your reaction that you did have a companion,” Lazarus pressed.
Shyla squirmed against him, and it was more than a little distracting, despite the seriousness of their conversation.
She nodded. “I was up here with a friend, Antony Slater.”
Jeri didn’t know why the realization that she had a boyfriend was such a surprise. She was far too beautiful not to be attached. But it still felt like a blow.
“Boyfriend, fiancé, husband?” he enquired, trying to obtain the necessary distance in his mind.
“Good lord, no!” she replied, and the certainty with which she said it gave Jeri more of a boost than he wanted to admit.
“I mean, it was a ‘get to know you’ kind of trip. But if there was one thing it proved, it was that Antony and I would never, ever get as far as dating. But that’s beside the point, right now.”
“What happened to him?” Lazarus interjected before Jeri could quiz her any further.
Shyla frowned, then winced and lifted her hand to her head, rubbing around the edges of the bandage. “I twisted my ankle, and it became clear we weren’t going to get back down the mountain before nightfall. I wanted to pitch a tent before it got dark, because of the weather forecast, but Antony had other ideas. He insisted on carrying on by himself.”
She bit her lip, her expression troubled. “Shit, I hope he’s alright. I mean, I tried to talk him out of it. Told him it wasn’t a good strategy, but he wouldn’t listen. He’d been like that the entire trip. It’s one of the reasons I knew things were never going to progress between us, despite his eagerness to take things to the next level.”
“Well, it’s certainly not best practice,” Lazarus replied. His tone was conciliatory, and it might have fooled Shyla, but Jeri knew him well enough to hear the undertone of disapproval. He also knew it was directed at this Antony dude, rather than Shyla. She’d been injured and the guy had just left her on the side of the mountain on her own. Yeah, the geezer wasn’t getting any brownie points from him either. Anything could have happened to Shyla.
In fact, it had.
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind what would have happened to Shyla if they hadn’t found her.
This good for nothing Antony fellow had as good as left her there to die. That Shyla was still concerned with his safety after everything she’d been through showed she was by far the better person.
“But I’m assuming he must have been experienced enough to feel it was the better option.”
Shyla bit her lip. “Actually, I don’t think he had as much experience as he made out,” she admitted. “I mean, he talked a good game, but it all sounded rather textbook, you know what I mean? And all his gear was like… brand new. Damn it! I would never have brought him up here if I’d known.”
“Hey, that’s not on you,” Jeri told her firmly, massaging her shoulder to ease the tension he suddenly felt there.
