Page 44 of Mountain Target

The men, the rubble … everything around her faded away as her mind suddenly cleared, her training taking over until she might as well have been at the hospital.

She detected a faint, fluttering pulse, but Alex was right. She wasn’t breathing. Val tipped her head back gently to check the mouth and throat were clear, then began gentle chest compressions.

Twenty-seven.

Twenty-eight.

Twenty-nine.

Thirty.

She pinched the soft part of the girl’s nose closed with her index and thumb, placing her lips over the girl’s mouth, ensuring a perfect seal.

Steady.

Steady.

She breathed into the girl’s mouth, counting out a second, then waited, looking for a sign that air was being expelled.

Nothing.

She repeated with a second breath, then went back to the compressions.

Breathe.

Please.

Breathe.

Please.

She was so focused on the count, she almost didn’t feel the small shudder. But she didn’t miss the cough that came next.

Coughing means breathing.

Val lifted the slight body against her, turning her carefully onto her side.

Thank God.

And heard a Herculean groan coming from further inside the house—realized she’d forgotten all about the men.

Two of the men—and by now they were so covered in dust that it was difficult to tell who was who—ran by with a limp figure between them. Then another man, and finally Beau.

“Come on!” Beau shouted. “This place is going to collapse!”

And then he was on his knees beside her. “I need to lift her,” he apologized softly, and she knew they were both hoping the same thing—that they weren’t making any of her injuries worse.

The girl looked tiny in his arms, but she was still breathing, and that was all Val could ask for.

“Come on!” He pushed Val ahead of him, and their bodies had only just crossed the doorway before the doorway disappeared, clouded by rubble.

“That was close,” Beau said, and his tone was mild, but his eyes were fierce.

Then Alex was there, ripping out a silver blanket and spreading it onto the snow before Beau laid her down.

“On her side. Yes. Just like that,” Val said.

“Doctor, we need your help over here!” Lorenz shouted.