Page 74 of Colton On Guard
When Genna came to for the second time, it took a moment for her to realize what had happened. She managed to sit up, ignoring the searing pain in her arm and leg. If she could get to her feet, she honestly thought she might be able to climb back up to level ground. But when she tried, she realized her leg wouldn’t support her weight. Definitely broken. Between that and her arm, going anywhere would be impossible. At least Parker had found her. She had to hope he’d been able to get a cell phone signal and call for help.
If he couldn’t, she knew the only other choice would be for him to hike down to his truck and either try to call from there, or drive to town. By then, darkness would have fallen. While her location would likely protect her from predators, she hated the thought of spending an entire night trapped on this ledge and in pain.
But she also knew she’d do whatever she had to, to stay alive. At least she knew Parker would make sure June Bug and Revis were safe.
At that moment she realized she had no idea what had happened to Ann. Seeing her ex-best friend and ex-husband’s new wife way out here, she’d finally understood that it had been Ann—and likely with Chad’s help—stalking her all along. Why and how, she didn’t know, since Shelby was so far away from Anchorage.
Clearly, Ann had decided that simple harassment was no longer enough. She’d decided to push Genna off a cliff and endher life. Even worse, since Ann hadn’t succeeded, if she were still out there in the woods somewhere, she might decide to come back and finish the job.
Not knowing made Genna’s entire situation worse. Except, as she looked up the steep slope, she knew Ann couldn’t get down to her ledge without risking serious injury. For now, she’d be safe. From both Ann and any other predators.
Genna dozed, drifting in and out of consciousness. Her head hurt, which meant she’d likely hit it when she’d fallen. Likely a concussion, she thought.
JB’s insistent barking made her open her eyes. She had no idea how much time had passed, if it had been minutes or hours.
“Genna,” Parker called. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” she managed to respond, though her voice sounded weaker than she would have liked. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Please make sure my dog doesn’t fall down the cliff.”
“She won’t,” he promised. “She and Revis are sticking pretty close to my side. I think I got through to Eli. The call kept breaking up, but I’m hoping he understood enough to realize he needs to send help.”
“What about Ann?” she asked. “The woman who pushed me.”
“She’s still trapped,” he replied. “She fell, too, but landed on top of a large tree. She’s straddling the branch and as long as she doesn’t move, she’ll be safe there until we can pull her out and arrest her.”
“Okay.” Again she struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain. Not only her arm, leg and head, but her entire body felt bruised and battered. “But what if Eli didn’t hear you? How will you know?”
“I thought about that,” he said. “That’s why I’m hiking down to the parking lot now. I should have signal there and I can find out if help is on the way.”
“Sounds good,” she rasped. She really wanted to beg him to promise not to leave her alone in the dark. Instead, she swallowed hard and told him to be careful.
Once he’d gone, Genna slowly slid back down to lie flat on her back and close her eyes. She had to believe this would all work out. Luckily, the temperature had stayed mild, even at night. And despite some cuts and scrapes, she wasn’t bleeding a lot. She didn’t think her other injuries were life threatening, and she would likely survive even an overnight stay.
She just wanted to be somewhere else—anywhere else—other than stuck on a rock on a cliff in the Alaskan wilderness.
Time passed. How long, she had no idea. She slept some, woke in fitful starts, and drifted back off again.
When she finally heard Parker calling her name, for a dazed moment she thought she must be dreaming. But then JB barked and so did Revis.
“A chopper is on the way,” Parker told her. “They’re sending a team to rescue you. Is there enough room for a stretcher to fit on that ledge?”
Blinking, she looked around her. The stone outcropping that had broken her fall was large. “Easily,” she replied. She’d seen enough television shows to realize they’d lower a couple of EMTs and a stretcher to her and then lift her out via helicopter. While she wasn’t really fond of that plan, she also understood she had no choice.
More time passed and she struggled to stay awake. Parker kept up a steady stream of conversation, no doubt trying to cheer her up. She tried to make occasional responses, but the drowsiness dragged her back under.
The whomp-whomp sound of a helicopter roused her. Instinctively she sat up, way too fast, which brought blinding pain. She groaned. Above her, JB started barking again. Parker tried to shush her.
“Help is on the way,” he said. “Just stay still and let them rescue you.”
“I will,” she promised. “But please keep the dogs safe.”
“They’re with me. And they’ll stay with me until the police arrive and take Ann into custody.”
Then it would finally be over. Tears stung her eyes. She wiped them away before stealing herself for the ordeal yet to come.
In retrospect, her rescue from the side of the mountain seemed like something out of a movie or a television drama. The chopper, the EMTs landing on the ledge, carefully checking her out—it all seemed to be happening to another person. Later, there were a few times she wondered if she’d dreamt it.
But there were a couple of things she remembered quite well.