LOVE. YOU. The refrain had been repeating itself with every drumbeat of agony that pulsed through his body into his brain. Had he really said the words aloud? He didn’t know. He hoped he had. Darkness swooped and spun around him, thicker than the blackness of the lean-to. Darkness that weighed so heavily on him he could barely breathe. He clung to the rhythm of Emma’s signals to the rescue team, gritted his teeth and hung on to consciousness with grim determination. Emma called to him, but the words were garbled by the rain and the pain. He opened his mouth to answer, but it took too much effort. His head lolled on his shoulders and he fought nausea and breathlessness to bring it upright again. There were other voices. And light so bright he couldn’t keep his eyes open against it. A woman spoke to him.
