Sabotaged (25 page)

S
HAKTOOLIK
P
UMP
S
TATION
M
ARCH
16, 5:36
P
.
M
.

Kirra wrestled with the restraints, frustration fueling her agitated and useless attempts to break free. She wondered if her cousin was feeling anything similar, and her heart welled for Meg even more. If Ethan knew they were on to them, then surely the Kellers did too—Sam had no doubt seen to that.

What did that mean for Frank and Meg?

Had they ruined their chances of rescuing Meg and keeping Frank safe?

Tears streamed down her face.

“Breathe, honey,” Reef said, handcuffed beside her. “I'll get us out of this.”

She appreciated his conviction and compassion, but how on earth would they get out of
this
? They were handcuffed to an oil pump that was rigged to overheat and blow. And Ethan had gone to drag Gage in and cuff him up as well. Jake would come looking for them, eventually, but Ethan probably had a plan
to get rid of him too. That left Darcy. How long would it take her to figure out something was wrong and rally the troops?

Reef squirmed, pulling his legs toward his chest.

She eyed him curiously. “Should I even ask?”

He twisted to press his shin up to his cuffed hand. “I've got a knife strapped to my calf. If I can just reach it”—he maneuvered—“I can get us out of this.”

Somehow he managed to finagle it out of its sheath, and set to work.

“Do I want to know how you came to possess the skill of breaking out of handcuffs?” she asked.

He smiled. “Probably not.”

With a little effort, he managed to open his and then moved to work on hers.

The door creaked open overhead, and they both stilled.

“He's back,” she whispered, sweat beading on her brow.

Ethan had returned and was dragging Gage behind him.

Reef lifted his index finger to his mouth. “Stay here.”

“What?” Why wasn't he releasing her? And where was he going?

“Trust me.” He winked as he wove between the machinery.

“And . . . the last of the bunch,” Ethan said, rounding the corner with an unconscious Gage—none too carefully. He stopped short at the sight of Reef's empty handcuffs. “Where'd he—”

Ethan's cramped expression went blank, his hold on Gage slack as he fell face-first to the floor.

Reef quickly cuffed Ethan to the pipe in his place and freed Kirra and Kayden—his sister waking as he picked her handcuffs open.

She smiled drowsily. “I see that questionable talent of yours came in handy after all.”

Reef smiled.

Kirra wasn't even going to ask.

“I'll alert Jake,” Kayden said, rubbing her wrists, “while you tend to Gage.”

Reef nodded and knelt by his brother.

“If Frank's already been through here, that only leaves two pump stations to go before Nome,” Kirra said, stooping beside Reef. “We're running out of time, and they clearly know we're on to them.”

He bunched his jacket up like a pillow, rested it under Gage's head, and turned to Kirra. “So what's our next move?”

“We should check in with Darcy,” Gage said, jolting Reef.

“Sorry.” Gage opened his eyes with a smile. “Didn't mean to startle you.”

Reef shook his head. “All good. You were saying?”

“We should check in with Darcy. She was on to something when I left. Maybe she's found it.” He sat up, swaying slightly.

Reef steadied him. “Easy. You took a good knock. How do you feel?”

“Seeing stars.” He blinked. “But otherwise good to go.”

Kayden returned from contacting Jake and insisted on performing a concussion test on Gage. Afterward, she sank back on her heels with a sigh. “You better have Doc Graham check you out when we get back to Yancey.”

Gage moved to stand. “I'm fine.” He wobbled but made it to his feet. “I'll go outside and put in a call to Darcy. See if she has some place for us to start looking in Nome.”

“It's a good plan,” Reef said. “But aren't we overlooking the obvious?” He gestured to Ethan cuffed to the pipe. “When he wakes up, he may be full of information.”

Kirra smiled. “So let's help his awakening along.”

A few slaps to the face that she took way too much pleasure in did the trick.

Ethan's eyes fluttered open. He took a minute to assess his situation, and then grimaced. “This doesn't change anything.”

Reef rested his boot on the pipe by Ethan's head, holding a wrench in his hand. “I beg to differ.”

“Do what you want with me. Keller still has your cousin,” he said to Kirra. “And the pumps are still rigged to blow.”

“But we know what we need to do to stop them,” Kirra said.

Ethan paled. “You're bluffing.”

“All we have to do is intercept Frank and make sure he doesn't press the trigger.”

“You really think Frank would risk the life of his only daughter and just hand over his only leverage?”

Reef bent down, his eyes level with Ethan's. “Kayden's notified law enforcement to pick you up . . . but we're in the middle of nowhere. That's going to take some time.”

Kayden picked up where he left off. “That's right. Time for you to sit and stew.”

“And time,” Kirra said, “for the pump beside you to blow if we don't stop the Kellers from carrying out their plan.”

Ethan looked at the machine, horror crossing his face. “You wouldn't just leave me here.”

“You mean . . . like you were about to leave us,” Kirra said, kneeling down beside him. “It depends on how helpful you choose to be.”

Okay, she was bluffing, but he didn't need to know that. “Where are they holding my cousin?”

Ethan ground his teeth.

“You can take the rap for all of this, if you like, but I'd suggest you play along,” Reef said, keeping his boot a breath from Ethan's face.

“I'm not a rat like Matthews is.”

So they did know Matthews had talked.

“Where
is
she?!” Kirra roared.

“I don't know. They had her at some cabin up by Nome, but by now they've moved her.”

“Where?”

“I don't know.”

The door swung open and Gage clomped down the steps. “Anything?”

“Nothing useful.” Kirra sighed. “Please tell me you've had better luck.”

“Let's talk out of earshot.” He gestured to the stairs.

Kirra and Reef followed Gage back up the steps and outside while Kayden maintained a watch over Ethan.

“What'd Darcy find out?” Kirra wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her jacket tighter against her. Man, the temperature was dropping.

“The Keller family owned land stretching from the outskirts of Nome out a hundred miles west, including Solomon.”

“The ghost town?” Kirra asked.

“Yep. Apparently it belonged to their family as far back as records go. And it looks like they got quite wealthy during the mining craze and while the railroad ran through there.”

“And then?”

“Not so well off, but they managed to hold on to their ancestral land until—”

“NorthStar stepped in?” Reef guessed.

“They were about to be foreclosed on and had no choice but to take NorthStar's lowball offer. Seems NorthStar does quite a bit of business with the lending bank.”

“So they probably had a hand in forcing the foreclosure,” Reef said.

“Or at least speeding it along.”

“So this is payback?” Kirra asked.

“Darcy thinks there's more to it than that. Jason Keller's father, the head of the family, didn't just die. An article in the Nome
Gazette
suggests that selling the land broke Stanley's heart and . . . ”

“He took his own life,” Reef concluded.

How sad
. “Let me guess,” Kirra said, shifting her weight to keep warm. “Jason and Joseph weren't on board with the sale?”

Gage shook his head. “Not as far as Darcy can tell.”

“So this
is
about revenge rather than the environment.”

“That's what it looks like.”

“So why are Ethan and Sam involved?” Reef asked. “They seem to believe this really is about saving the environment, even if it means flooding it with oil. Explain that one to me.”

“No way to answer that one, but I do get the feeling they truly believe this cause, as they like to call it, is about protecting the environment. They didn't seem to know that Jason and Joseph are playing them. But . . .” Kirra smiled, glancing back at the station door. “Knowing the truth might change how Ethan feels about remaining silent.”

Reef smiled. “Smart lady.”

“Now.” She exhaled. “We just have to convince him we're telling the truth.”

Agitation and anxiety whirled inside Kirra. She wanted to move, to keep searching, but Kayden had explained that Jake, who had much more experience and instinct when it came to matters of law enforcement and criminal apprehension, felt it best that he meet them at the pump station—and so that's what they were doing. Three hours had passed, but Kayden assured her that Jake and Andrew would be arriving soon.

And . . . she admitted to herself, they had already decided to wait until the closest police arrived to take Ethan into custody—they couldn't risk the remote chance of him escaping and warning the Kellers—although they were only too happy to let Ethan think he would be left on his own once they finally did leave. A man who felt his life was threatened was much more likely to give up information—though he had provided nothing in the time they'd been waiting. He refused to believe what he called their heinous lies.

Just as Kirra felt she was about to blow her top, Jake and Andrew finally arrived. Jake pulled off his gloves, kissed
Kayden, and turned to the uncooperative Ethan. “Let me take a whack at him.”

Kirra sat back and watched Jake interrogate the man with a finesse she'd never witnessed. He really was as good as everyone claimed. Ethan coughed up a few more details, remarks made between the Kellers, talks of regaining their rights, and their plan to punish NorthStar in the process. Unfortunately, as for where Jason Keller may have moved Meg, he was at a loss.

“Think,” Jake said. “Did they ever talk about someplace they liked to go as kids, a weekend retreat, a hunting cabin?”

“No. They always talked in code, it seemed. Now I know why.”

“In code. Give me an example.”

“They used the words
plan
,
cause
,
rights
,
corporate America
,
home base
.”

“Home base?”

“Yeah. I assumed it meant their family cabin near Nome.”

“Where they were holding Meg?”

“Yeah, as far as I knew. I mean they kept me on a need-to-know basis. I was to watch you guys, monitor the communications. . . . If anyone got near Frank, I was to call it in. If anyone started looking for Meg near Nome, I was to call it in.”

“And this cabin near Nome. Have you been to it before?”

“Once. We had a meeting out there before all this began.”

“Where?”

“On the southeast coast outside of Nome.”

“Near the water?”

“Yeah.”

“Did Jason or Joseph Keller own a boat?”

“I think so. Everyone in Nome does.”

“Did Joseph ever confirm that's where they'd be holding Meg?”

“No, but it was pretty secluded, and I just assumed.”

“So . . . what makes you think they moved her?”

“I told them that you were on to them and they should consider moving.”

“Moving where?”

“Wherever they had as a backup place.”

“So you know they had a backup?”

“Sure. I mean they never said it outright, but it's just how they worked. They covered their bases. They've been working on this for years. Ever since NorthStar broke ground in Anchorage.”

“If they had a backup location, would it be near Nome?”

“I don't know. They seemed awfully familiar with the area.”

“What about Solomon?”

Ethan frowned. “The ghost town?”

“Yeah.”

“What about it?”

“Did they ever mention their family used to own the land?”

“No. It never came up, but . . .” He straightened.

“What?” Jake pressed.

“They had this weird saying.”

“Yeah?”

“‘To nowhere.'”

“‘To nowhere?'”

“Yeah, it didn't make any sense. I figured it was some family inside joke. They'd just say it and smile, but now that I think about it—that's what the locals call that defunct train in Solomon.”

“The last train to nowhere.” Jake clapped Ethan's shoulder. “Thanks, Ethan. Let's go, guys.”

“Wait!” Panic permeated his voice as they all moved toward the stairs. “Hello? Aren't you forgetting something?”

Jake paused at the base of the steps. “I don't think so.” He looked at the rest of them. “Any of you?”

They all answered in the negative.

“This isn't funny.” Ethan's cheeks flared red. “Seriously! Aren't you going to uncuff me?”

“Not until the police arrive,” Jake said.

“Don't worry,” Kirra added. “I'm sure they'll arrive before Frank reaches Nome, or at least you can hope so.”

After leaving Ethan handcuffed at the Shaktoolik pump station, knowing the authorities were already waiting outside to take him into custody, Kayden flew them through the night to Nome, hoping to intercept Frank and locate Meg.

Everything pointed to her being in or near Nome—their best guess being Solomon. So that's where they'd spend the rest of the race—what little was left of it—searching and praying.

Reef stepped off Kayden's plane to find Cole, Piper, and Landon waiting. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We heard you and Kirra needed all the help you could get,” Cole said.

Kirra's eyes welled with tears. “That's so sweet of you, but Cole, you have a three-month-old at home. I don't want to put you in any danger. If anything happened to you . . . to any of you . . .”

He smiled. “Then it'd be our time to go.”

Reef was still amazed by his big brother's depth of trust and dependence on God. Cole, and all of his family, had shown him it wasn't about church attendance and checklists; it was about a personal relationship with Christ. He
understood that now. Well, he understood it
better.
It was about a daily walk with Jesus. A walk he hoped to share with Kirra. Side by side. For years to come. The thought of not being with her, of not helping her through hard times like this, of not being there
for
her, choked him.

“How's she doing?” Piper nudged his shoulder as they all moved for the rental van Cole had procured.

“She's tough like Kayden, but tenderhearted like you.”

“Sounds like a good mix.”

A smile curled on his lips. “The perfect one.”

Piper pursed hers in a ridiculous attempt to hide the gargantuan smile spreading across her face. As resident Yancey matchmaker, he knew she'd be all over his and Kirra's new relationship. But strangely enough, it didn't
seem
new.

They'd known each other for most of their lives—but their relationship had changed in what seemed like the blink of an eye . . . for the better. He loved the woman, plain and simple. Timelines didn't matter—only his love for her did.

“Looks like we've got our work cut out for us,” Landon said as they all piled in the van. “The Kellers owned thousands of acres of land, so we have a lot of ground to cover.”

“And they're probably very familiar with every inch of it,” Cole added.

“We have a second vehicle where we're bunking,” Landon said. “I suggest we split up into teams so we can scour a wider area. Local police are currently moving through town, but there's no sense starting a full-scale SAR rescue outside of the town's limits in the dark. It's too barren, the weather too brutal, and it'd be too easy to miss something.

“Come dawn we'll start by trying to intercept Frank between the last pump station outside Elim and Nome. And,
of course, looking for the Kellers' backup location for holding Meg.”

“How do you suggest we split up?” Reef asked.

Landon shifted in his seat to survey everyone. “Jake's the best tracker. He and Kayden should search for Frank. Piper, Cole, and I will accompany you and Kirra out to Solomon.”

“You think that's where they're holding Meg?”

He nodded. “If I were a betting man.”

Reef scooted closer to Kirra as they made the short drive through town to their lodgings—not that he imagined they'd get much sleep. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “How you holding up?”

She shook her head. “I just can't believe your family would come out here and risk so much to help me.”

“That's what they do.”

“That must be nice, having such a supportive family.”

“It is, and now you're a part of it.”

“What?” Her forehead creased.

“I love you, and I know Kayden and Piper think the world of you. Trust me, I've seen it happen with Bailey, Landon, Jake, and Darcy. You're part of our family now.”

“But . . . we haven't even gone on an official date.”

He grinned. “Since when is tracking down leads and being threatened by thugs not considered a date?”

She laughed for the first time in days. “Oh dear. Should I be frightened by what our futures dates might hold?”

“Frightened. Never.” He grazed her chin with his finger. “Not with me at your side, and that's exactly where I plan to stay. Curious, perhaps, but definitely not frightened.”

How Reef managed to lighten her mood during such a difficult time still surprised and amazed her. Who would have thought she'd have found love during hardship?

Wasn't love supposed to be about happiness and warm fuzzy feelings? At least at the start?

Instead she'd gotten straight-to-the-deepest-well-of-her-heart intensity and an inside look at the beautiful man standing strong beside her through it all. He truly was beautiful—not just his swoon-worthy physical appearance, but his hunger to know God better, to love his family deeply, and to live fully. He'd captured her heart amidst the most difficult of circumstances, and she had to admit God couldn't have planned it better.

Love in the difficult parts of life
.
God
in them—in the sorrow and pain.
He was right there, carrying her through.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

Father
, I don't . . . I haven't wanted to think about
where you were when I was raped, because no answer
to that question is easy. I've been holding you
at arm's length since that day, because I believed
you turned your back on me, looked the other way
when I needed you most. But your Word says you
've never left my side, that nothing—not even hell
itself—can separate me from your love. But what does
that mean, then? That you loved me but allowed it
to happen? Why? Why didn't you stop him, stop
them?

The rape hadn't ended with William—she had been destroyed over and over again as family members let her down, abandoned her in her darkest hour. How did she reconcile a loving God with an act of such hatred on William's part?

On William's part.

William was the one full of hate and harm. He was the
one who'd sinned, who'd harmed her with
his
choices. She lived in a fallen world, with fallen people.

Maybe Reef was right. Maybe God
had
wept that day.

She swallowed, emotion roiling through her.

Maybe God was finally bringing the healing she so desperately needed in the worst of times, and in a way she could never have anticipated.

“I know the plans I have for
you . . . plans to give you hope and a future.”

Was this it? She looked over at Reef with love. Was he the hope and future God had for her?

Thank
you, Father.

Deep and abiding peace, beyond description, beyond explanation, flooded her. God met her in that moment. Her Savior met her at her well, overflowing her cup with living water that quenched the deep ache inside of her, finally bringing the healing she so desperately desired.

F
IFTEEN
MILES
OUTSIDE
OF
E
LIM
, A
LASKA
M
ARCH
17, 8:00
A
.
M
.

Kayden circled around in her Cessna, the weather clearing long enough for them to actually see the ground below in the early morning light. They'd decided the best way to continue searching for Frank was by air. It allowed them to cover the most ground.

While the race route took a straight western course past Koyuk, they were following the pipeline, which ran at a southwest angle to the circuit.

“I think he really cares about her,” Kayden said.

Jake kept his eyes on the ground, searching for any sign of Frank. “Who cares about who?”

“Reef cares about Kirra.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “I'd say so.”

“It's sweet.”

He couldn't help himself. He took his eyes off the ground and looked at the woman he loved. “Did my no-nonsense girlfriend, Kayden McKenna, just use the word
sweet
?”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he chuckled.

“Keep your eyes on the ground, mister.”

“Yes, ma'am.” He turned his gaze back to the vast tundra stretched out below the Cessna.

“I'm just saying all my other siblings have found their mates. It'd be nice to see Reef settle down too.”

“And you? Are you ready to settle down?” He rubbed the ring still in his pocket.

She glanced over at him with a heartfelt smile. “You know I'm here to stay.”

He slipped his hand in his pocket, his finger hooking the ring. “Care to make that offi—?”

“There!” Kayden hollered, pointing out her side window.

You've got to be kidding me
. He leaned over her shoulder, peering down at the musher team below.

He exhaled, releasing his hold on the ring. “Set her down when you can.”

“We need to get past this small inlet or we could end up landing on an ice floe.” It took a few minutes of circling and searching, but she landed on a solid piece of ground about a mile ahead of the musher. Now the trick would be intercepting him.

They slipped on the cross-country skis they'd borrowed from local law enforcement and headed toward the musher.
Kayden, the more-experienced skier, quickly moved ahead. Jake prayed it was Frank, but who else could it be?

About a half mile in, Jake heard the howl of dogs. He took a moment to appraise the sparse, hilly terrain. In the distance he saw what appeared to be the pump station behind a small copse of trees. A wooden bridge spanned the narrow inlet of the Bering Sea before the landscape transitioned to full tundra on the other side—white and vast, stretching on for miles. He heard the dogs again, much closer this time. He whistled.

Kayden stopped, turning back to look at him.

“Get off the trail! He's going to cut through those trees any moment.”

She looked to the copse of trees, then back at him. “What about you?”

“I'm going to make him stop.” Or at least try his best.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Trust me.”

“You're lucky I do.” She hurried off the path.

He planted his poles firmly in the snow at his sides, bracing for impact.

Within seconds, just as anticipated, the sled-dog team burst out of the woods and barreled straight for him.

“Anything?” Landon asked Reef over the radio.

“Not yet.” He and Kirra had covered the first two search grids they'd broken the Solomon area into, and so far nothing.

Kirra wrapped her scarf tighter about her neck and face as the wind whipped across the barren plain.

The abandoned mining town rather resembled those in
New Mexico and Arizona. But there was one vast difference—Solomon was on the Bering Coast of Alaska, where temperatures could hit lows of thirty degrees below zero.