It was a long, painful process getting to the top--mainly because her men were a lot more careful with Gwen than they were with Rylan, which meant things got drawn out a little more. Gwen would have preferred they just hurry it up, because the slowness was more grating, but she grit her teeth and dealt with it. With all the fighting done and over, she was starting to really feel her aches and injuries and exhaustion.
It had been a long day of traveling, fucking, and now...this. She'd never say she was too old for this, but goddamn, sometimes her body liked to argue the point. Definitely wasn't like her twenties when she could go nights without sleep.
She was panting by the time they got to the top, a little paler than usual as her leg really fucking hurt, but she still drew herself up as authoritatively as she could. "Status report?"
"We managed to round most of them up, boss," Karo told her as Jessen kept tight hold of Rylan, keeping him slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he walked beside them. And to a big man like Jessen, that's all Rylan was. "We're still missing one of them, that one girl."
As though Gwen knew which one "that one girl" was. Though, considering the situation, she did. And she knew "that one girl" had made it to the other side.
But they had also been down in that chasm for God knew how long. The girl was probably long gone by now, and there was no way to cross safely, anyway.
"She's gone," Gwen said with a wave of her hand. "Luckily, we got a replacement." And she cut a look to Rylan and smiled sweetly, even as she reached out and stroked his cheek.