Begging for a Second Chance (Sienna Sloan and Jarred Sterling) novel Chapter 89

"Dr. Sloan!"

Sienna whipped her head around to see the rescue captain standing a few yards away, caked in mud and looking utterly stunned. "What are you doing down here? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Sienna gasped, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Where are Lynn and the village chief? Did you find them?"

The captain nodded, hurrying over to her. "We got them."

The crushing weight on Sienna's chest instantly lifted, though a spike of panic returned when she saw he was alone. "Where are they? Why aren't they with you?"

"While we were pulling them out, we stumbled upon most of the trapped villagers from Eagle's Point. They took shelter in a farmhouse on the south side, safely out of the mudslide's path. Another team member already escorted Lynn and the chief to the temporary triage center. They're safe."

The captain took a ragged breath. "A lot of folks over there are injured, and we're critically short-handed. I actually came back up here just to get you. Come with me."

Wasting no time, Sienna slung the unconscious villager's arm over her shoulder. "Help me get him up. We'll bring him with us."

Hooking themselves under his arms, they dragged the wounded man through the muck, fighting their way toward the triage point.

When they finally breached the makeshift shelter, Sienna froze, horrified by the sheer scale of the devastation.

Dozens of villagers were huddled in the corners, the air thick with groans of agony.

People were sprawled out, leaning against crumbling walls, or shivering as they clutched their children, looking completely broken like fish washed ashore after a brutal storm.

Sienna stood in the doorway, forgetting how to breathe.

The local guide pushed his way through the crowd. His face was streaked with dirt, but his eyes were sharp. "Dr. Sloan. Captain. I've done a quick headcount.

Eagle's Point has eighty-six households—three hundred and twenty people. We have two hundred and thirty-seven right here.

That leaves eighty-three unaccounted for. The search and rescue boys are combing the deep woods and the riverbanks, but..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but Sienna understood the grim reality.

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