“Aye-aye, captain. We’ll fall in line.” Jessie had gone back to fiddling with his camera, and Easton wondered if Jessie was doing so because he wasn’t worried…or if he was hiding the fact that he was.

Bree started munching on a protein bar, paying attention but completely relaxed. River seemed to be listening, but a tiny smirk played on her face.

“What?”

“It’s cute when you’re being a worrywart,” she told him.

Did anything frighten this woman? Easton respected her nerves of steel, but damn, she made him nervous sometimes.

“You tried, boss,” Ben said with a shrug, digging for the rest of the radios.

“Remember,” Easton said one last time. “I can find you blind if you stay where you’re supposed to be. If not, I can’t help you.”

Holding River’s eyes, he added quietly, “No matter how much I might want to.”

• • •

Someone had constructed a very nice snow wall around her tent while River had been passed out in Easton’s. Still, it never hurt to build it up higher, especially with the ominous clouds gathering in the northwest.

Easton said the storm was supposed to only give them a glancing blow, not a full fist to the face. She wasn’t too worried about the storm, but River couldn’t shake the feeling of being a sitting duck up there, without any chance to avoid what was headed their way.

As the sky darkened, Easton radioed everyone into their tents, told them to buckle down, and they would wait it out. Try to sleep if they could.

Sleep wasn’t anywhere close to River’s mind when the storm hit.

The beating of the wind against the fabric of their tents started within minutes, building up to a howl in her ears. She’d tried to put on a brave face for her team, but there was something intrinsically terrifying about knowing the only thing between herself and the raw power of nature was a thin piece of fabric.

If something tore her tent, she’d be toast.

Very cold toast.

Turning down her portable light as low as it would go and still allow her to see, River lay on her back, watching the tent buffeting above her. A wandering mind never wandered in comforting directions, and she’d imagined all sorts of ways they could be buried beneath the results of this storm before River finally shook her head.

“Okay, I need a distraction.” Pulling out her radio, she hit the button on the side. “Easton, can you hear me?” Probably not, because she could barely hear herself. “Everything’s fine,” River added quickly. “I just needed someone to talk to, since it sounds like a wind demon is trying to devour our souls outside.”

Static, then Easton’s deep rumble. “Over.”

“I’m sorry?”