Saving Amber - Zoe Dawson Page 0,67
to keep them up to their exacting standards. Weak prey wasn’t very much fun to hunt.
As soon as they left the room, he turned to her. “Okay, let’s get started. There are two types of weather—wet cold and dry cold. Wet cold is where it can get to fifty degrees during the day and freezing conditions at night, like in the valley. Then it warms up again during the day. Dry cold means the temperature doesn’t get above fourteen degrees. In dry cold conditions, there is no thaw. That’s what we have here in the mountains. There will be no thaw, and the possibility of warming when the sun comes up won’t happen. Factor in windchill, which is how cold it feels, and it’s going to get damned cold.”
She walked to the window and gazed out. He knew the scene before her. Nothing but a white vista of snow. A wilderness devoid of any shelter, warmth or help.
“That’s the first thing you need to manage. Put as much distance as you can between Garza and yourself. Then slow and allow the heat you’re generating to warm you.”
She kept her back to him and remained silent. He had no idea if she was truly seeing what she was facing tomorrow or was entirely inward at the moment.
“There are going to be two main cold-weather problems that you have to guard against,” he continued. “Frostbite and hypothermia. Frostbite means that your skin has fallen below the freezing point, and ice crystals are forming within your skin cells, killing them. Tuck your hands under your armpits when you stop to rest. Make the rest periods brief.”
She’d had to accept and process a great deal today and, despite her few brief lapses into panic, she’d maintained extremely well. He didn’t know her well enough to know her breaking point. Maybe she didn’t know, either. But from the steady set of her shoulders, he didn’t think she was teetering on the brink. Yet.
“Amber?”
“Yes, warm them under my armpits. Got it.” She turned around then. “Explain hypothermia, including the symptoms so that I can be aware of them.” She moved her manacled hands to push back a wisp of her hair.
For some time now he’d been juggling the need to protect her and take charge of the situation so she wouldn’t suffer any more than necessary. But Amber wouldn’t expect any quarter. “Hypothermia is when your body loses more heat than it produces and your core body temperature drops. Some of the symptoms of hypothermia are slurred speech, stiff joints, loss of coordination, slow pulse, uncontrollable shivering and mental confusion. Many times, getting wet in addition to the cold leads to hypothermia, and the result can be as severe as a coma or death.”
Her face went a little white there, but she pressed her lips together. He watched her tighten her spine, set her jaw, and he couldn’t be prouder. He rose and joined her at the window. “To fight hypothermia, try as best you can to not get sweaty. This will be hard if you’re running but do your best. Most heat is lost through your head, so when you’re running, take off your hat and as you cool put it back on. Otherwise, always keep it covered.”
He knew imagination was often far worse than even the harshest reality. She’d already seen a lot. He respected her enough to not pull any punches or sugarcoat a thing. “This isn’t going to be easy and I’m not going to minimize the danger here. But the worst thing you can do is panic. Remember, you are going to have an advantage. I’ll get to that last.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “You know I was supposed be in Aruba. Hot, white-sand beaches, warm surf and a lot of alcohol.”
He laughed. “You planning to be drunk the whole time?”
“That hadn’t been my plan, but if I make it there—when I make it there—they better keep the mai tais flowing.”
His mouth kicked up. “Would you send me a selfie of you in your bikini?”
That got the laugh out of her that he’d hoped for.
“Are you sure you can handle that, Marine?”
“Ooh-rah. I’ll do my best, ma’am. Use all my training in keeping my tongue in my mouth.”
She laughed again, grabbing his shirt. Then her smile faded. “Tell me what to do about shelter.”
Something so powerful welled up in his chest. He tugged her against him until she was in his arms, her cheek tucked against the steady beat