Page 24 of Raul

The cold dulled the pain slightly, and he could loosen his clenched jaw muscles.

Pascal peeled open a foil pill pack and offered two tablets to Raul. “These should help.”

Erica was at his side with a water bottle before he could even ask. Her jaw looked as tense as his.

“This isn’t your fault,” he said to her. “I should know better than to walk out in the wild without watching the ground in front of me.”

His heedlessness had ruined the trip for both of them. How ironic that he hadn’t wanted to come at all, and now he hated the fact that his vacation would be cut short.

No matter what he said, Erica felt a lead weight in her gut, especially when she could see how much pain he was in. His well-being was her responsibility, and she had allowed him to get hurt.

“What can I do to make you more comfortable?” she asked. “Do you want a sleeping bag as a blanket? Or a pillow?”

She cast a glance at Dario and Pascal, who spoke in low voices a few yards away. Dario scanned the clearing before he looked up at the sky.

“They’re deciding how to get me out of here,” Raul said with a grimace.

There was no way he could manage the long steep trail back to the base of the mountain. He would have to be airlifted. She knew he would hate that, and she would hate his absence even more.

“Dario, a word please,” Raul called.

“Yes,Señor?” The bodyguard squatted beside him.

“Whatever we do about transportation, we do tomorrow,” Raul said. “I want to stay here one more day.”

Dario gave him an unhappy frown. “We don’t know how bad your injury is. The sooner we can get you to a medical facility for treatment, the better.”

“I’ve done worse on the soccer pitch,” Raul said. “All the doctors will do is wrap it and tell me to rest, ice, and elevate. We can do that here.”

“We’ve only got two more ice packs,” Dario said.

“There’s the stream,” Erica said. If Raul wanted to stay, she would help him do it. He needed this break from the demands of being the prince. “The water is quite cold.”

He threw her a look of gratitude.

Dario’s frown deepened. She could see him struggling with the conflict between what he saw as his duty and his boss’s wishes. “You don’t want to be limping for the wedding ofel duque,” he said.

Raul’s shoulders sagged as though a weight had dropped on them. “You’re right. I’ve screwed up enough of Gabri’s life. I don’t want to mess with his wedding. Arrange the airlift.”

Erica’s heart twisted at his expression of stoic acceptance, so she tried to lighten his load. “You’re going to make some helicopter pilots very happy. They love doing mountain rescues.”

“At leastsomeonewill be happy,” Raul snapped before he shook his head and gave her a rueful grimace. “My apologies. There’s no excuse for my rudeness.”

“You’re in pain. You’re disappointed that your vacation is being cut short. You have every right to be out of sorts,” she said, knowing how disappointedshefelt at losing the rest of her time with him.

“Señor, we’re going to have to take you back to the meadow. There isn’t enough room for the helicopter to maneuver here,” Dario said. “But we can make a stretcher with the trekking poles and carry you.”

“No! Just wrap the ankle, and I can walk with your help,” he said, his tone edged with temper but still controlled. “I’m not that incapacitated.”

“You should use the stretcher,” Erica said. “A sprain can be worse than a break.”

Raul’s glare was scorching, but all he said was, “I’ll see how it feels when I walk.”

She started to mention the wedding again but decided that would be cruel, so she kept her mouth closed.

“I’ll go set up the locator beacon, and when I return, I’ll wrap your ankle,” Pascal said.

Dario shifted his gaze to Erica. “Only a small helicopter will be able to land in the meadow, so we can’t all be flown out. I’ll go withel principe,while Pascal will accompany you back to the parking lot. If you would repack the backpacks so you have what you both need, I will take the extra equipment in the helicopter.”