“Gabriella, are you all right?” Shane asked.

      She rubbed her hand over her eyes and nodded.

      “Let me help you,” he said, gingerly urging her upright. She leaned heavily against him as they continued moving through the woods.

      “Maybe we can hide over there,” Gabriella murmured.

      He turned to the left and saw what she meant. A huge tree had fallen, but instead of hugging the ground, it was propped up at thigh level by the massive branches at the far end.

      Not the ideal place to hide, but it might work long enough that he could radio for help. He took Gabriella’s hand and silently led the way to the fallen tree.

      “Right here,” he said, indicating the thickest area of the tree. Gabriella didn’t argue, collapsing to the ground and leaning against the rough bark.

      Shane stayed right next to her, using his body as a shield as he took a few minutes to sweep his gaze across the area.

      There was a part of him that wanted to keep moving, just in case, but at the same time, their backup was so close they only needed to hang on for a little while longer.

      He crouched protectively over her and waited, hoping his teammates would arrive soon.