Brynn nodded, sympathy warming her eyes and making him feel like a piece of shit for exaggerating and lying. Jim emerged from the dripping, wet woods, still scowling.

“Hey,” Alex spoke up, knowing a public apology was due. “Jim, I didn’t mean to question your decision. I’m just in a hurry.”

“He knew the marshal on board,” Brynn added quietly, watching Jim. Their eyes connected and some sort of silent message passed between them. Alex frowned, glancing from one to the other, feeling out of the loop.

Jim pinned Alex with a stare. “I’d appreciate having a better idea of what we might find at that plane. I don’t like going in blind.”

“I don’t know a lot,” Alex replied slowly. How much can I tell him? “I would say be prepared for the worst.” He hated keeping Jim in the dark.

A brief wave of understanding crossed Jim’s sharp eyes. He’d caught the warning and knew Alex wasn’t referring to possible gore at the crash. Jim didn’t ask any more questions.

Jim glanced at his watch. “OK, let’s go.”

“Shit.” Ryan froze, his pack half on. “Jim, what was in that oatmeal thing you gave me?”

Jim frowned as he slung on his own pack. “I don’t know. My wife made them. Why?”

Ryan stuck a finger in his mouth and scratched at the roof of his mouth. “Walnuts?”

“Maybe. But I didn’t taste any.”

Ryan stretched his lips and rubbed inside his cheek with his tongue. Annoyance flashed across his face.

“You allergic to walnuts?” Brynn asked rapidly.

“No.” Ryan scratched at his lips. “Just extra sensitive. Make my mouth and throat itch and tickle like crazy.”

“Here.” Brynn tossed Ryan a small bottle. His eyes lit up as he spotted the label, and he grinned like he’d caught a bottle of Grey Goose.

“Let’s hear it for the nurse. Prepared for everything.” Ryan turned the bottle to show the Benadryl label to Alex. “Thank God. The itch was going to drive me batshit.”

Alex stared at Brynn’s pack. “You got a complete pharmacy in there?”

She tucked away the clear bag. “No. I always carry Benadryl, some ibuprofen, and local anesthetic. That’s about it.”

“Ibuprofen?” He sounded pathetic.

Questioning dark eyes met his. “Need some?”

“Please,” he nearly begged.

When the little brown pills hit his palm, he knew how relieved Ryan had felt. Alex greedily swallowed all three and studied his watch. Twenty minutes. In twenty minutes relief should start. If the pain in his head and knee vanished, he might become as cheerful as Brynn. Might.

The others wrestled on their packs and restarted the march. Jim fell in beside Alex, slowing his strides with a hand on Alex’s arm until they’d dropped twenty feet behind the others. “Next time, keep your mouth shut if you don’t like how things are going. I’ve got twelve years of search and rescue under my belt. I know how this particular group thinks, and I know what they need. If you have a problem, you take it up with me in private.” Jim’s words were low and grim, his eyes hard.

Alex nodded. Jim was right. He’d questioned Jim’s authority in front of his crew. Major mistake. Alex would’ve punched any asshole who’d pulled it on him. “Won’t happen again. My mouth is shut.”

“Damn right.” Jim sped up to join Brynn and left Alex alone to bring up the rear.

Alex plodded on. It was fucking cold and it’d immediately started to snow after the break. Steadily. Not nice, soft snowflakes, but the little ice balls that stung every bit of exposed flesh. Maybe it was a good thing that his face was numb. He knew his nose was dripping even though he couldn’t feel the damn thing. He just kept wiping at it. He probably looked like Rudolph’s closest relative.

Feet were numb too.

He hated the forest. He hated snow.

He had a hand warmer on in each pocket and the heat was doing absolutely nothing other than making him wish for a six-foot-tall warmer that he could wrap around his naked body. If anything, the damned molecule-sized warmers were making him more miserable.

Kiana shot by him, a gray blur. Her speed nearly knocked him off balance, and he hated the dog for her enthusiasm. Anyone who was happy in this weather was now his enemy. They were being happy simply to spite him. Simply to harass him because he was a nature hater.

He’d been relegated to the end of the line. He didn’t know if he should be insulted or pleased that they weren’t worried about him keeping up. Or maybe they didn’t care if he fell behind and got lost in the haze. He glanced at his watch. The ibuprofen should be taking effect any minute. He concentrated on his knee. Seemed a little better. Each step wasn’t—

The ground slipped out from under him. With a shout of surprise, he fell and slipped down the slope. After a split second of pure terror and air rushing past his ears, he slammed to a stop in a puddle of mud. Make that a lake of mud. Nearly freezing mud.

He was on his ass, his hands and feet sunken six inches into the crap. He gasped to catch his breath and slow his hammering heart. He looked up the bank he’d slid down like a Slip ’n Slide. Thomas stood there, humor flashing in his dark eyes.

“Gotta watch your step.”

The other three appeared at Thomas’s side, surprise and fear on their faces. He wrenched a hand out of the muck, staring at the brown goo.

Good gloves. His hands were dry.