Untraceable (7 page)

She shoved those unbidden and unwelcome thoughts aside. “We have to pick our battles with Zach. We can’t just survive the storm. We have to survive him and his friends. I don’t know about the others, but I know Rhea is crazy. My guess is a person would have to be a certain kind of irrational to commit a crime like that. I wouldn’t want to risk setting any of them off.”

Her throat constricted. She reached toward Isaiah, pressing her hand against his heart. “Please, I couldn’t bear it if something happened to either you or Cade. Keep your head down and do what Zach asks us to do. Get them through the mountains so we can go home.”

Remorse burned in his eyes. He pressed both hands over hers on his chest. “I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re right.” He grinned. “You always are. I shouldn’t cause any trouble that could get you hurt.”

Heidi returned his smile, wishing they were anywhere but here. She had so much to say. So many questions. But the side of her heart that had gone dark over the past few months rebuffed her for giving a possible romantic relationship with Isaiah another thought.

He inched closer. “As much as I hate scaring you, I need to say this. You know they’re not going to let us go home. They can’t let us go.”

Tears burned at the back of her eyes. She hated them. “But they
can
. All we have to do is convince them!”

“That could be a tall order, Heidi, even for you.” Isaiah reached up and ran his thumb down her cheek. “You have always been full of hope and life, and able to persuade others to do the impossible. It’s what I’ve always admired about you.”

He admires me?
How could that be when she’d lost her hope, her love of life? More than anything Heidi wanted to deserve his admiration. She wanted to get back what she’d lost, but how?

Her questions faded with the sear of his touch. She couldn’t breathe, but this kind of panic was something much different than her anxiety attacks.

One side of the tent collapsed in on them, jerking her back to reality.

“Hey!” Isaiah yelled.

“What’s going on in there?” Cade peeked inside. “Get the bags and get out. You’re wasting time.”

Heidi didn’t recall ever seeing Cade that haggard, well, except after Dad had died in an avalanche. That had been tough on all of them. But Cade had been through something terrifying before when Leah, who had since become his wife, had been stalked by a police detective.

Exiting the tent, Heidi realized everyone had already packed up—and they were waiting on her and Isaiah. Had everyone been listening in on them? Isaiah’s words of admiration still burned inside her heart—he was talking about the old Heidi. That person was long dead.

Still, Isaiah made Heidi want that person back. She wanted her old self to live again.

She wanted to survive this and somehow, someway, she had to convince Zach to let them go. He watched her, an uncanny look in his eyes as if he knew what she was thinking.

An arctic gust rippled across her, reminding her that she would only get the chance to convince Zach to let them live if they survived nature’s worst.

* * *

Isaiah’s gut churned. The deep snow became an obstacle course even with snowshoes. A person had to be in great shape to negotiate this terrain and the journey was quickly wearing on their so-called climbers as they all tried to keep up with Cade. They’d descended the ridge without incident and now hiked through a snow-filled gap. At least they were heading into the lower elevations, but not fast enough.

Isaiah expected the weather to worsen again before it got better. Jason followed Cade, then came Liam and Rhea. Heidi hiked behind them, and Isaiah was right behind her.

Zach followed them all, never letting them forget that he was looking for a reason to shoot someone. Anyone. Isaiah tried to keep his head down and simply follow through with the task, but he was constantly formulating escape plans. He bet that Cade and Heidi were, too. If only they could get the chance to strategize together. He’d bet that was why Zach kept them apart.

In front of them, Rhea stumbled and sank several feet into the deep snow, letting out a yelp.

“Cade!” Isaiah called for him to stop and come back to assist. That far ahead, he wouldn’t be aware of Rhea’s stumble.

When he saw Rhea, Cade scrambled back to help Isaiah pull her out.

“Get back.” Zach shoved Isaiah. “Liam and Jason will help her.”

Rhea flailed in the snow. “Someone help me out of this.” She refused Liam and Jason’s help. “Zach, help me!”

But Zach ignored her plea for help. He held his gun ready, presumably in case Cade or Isaiah tried anything. Breathing hard, Rhea finally crawled far enough to lie flat on a section of packed snow.

Then Heidi reached forward and helped Rhea back to her feet. When Rhea was steady, she shoved Heidi to the ground. Eyes wide, Heidi gazed up at Rhea. What kind of person accepted help, then returned the favor with a vindictive act? Isaiah figured Rhea had simply taken out her disappointment and frustration with Zach on Heidi. Weird and perverse.

Isaiah reached for Heidi and assisted her back to her snowshoed feet. He didn’t know why, but he tugged her to him and held tight. “How are you holding up?”

Stupid question.

Wearing a deep frown, Cade headed back to the front of the pack.

She squeezed harder. “I’m okay.”

Zach pulled her away from Isaiah and gestured for Isaiah to get going. “Go on. I’ll watch over her.”

Heidi’s eyes narrowed, and Isaiah couldn’t stand the dread he saw there. But she gave a subtle shake of her head. She wanted him to comply so there wouldn’t be more trouble.

He grabbed the bag he’d dropped, as did Heidi. All the gear and packs they carried, and some they pulled, made their journey sluggish in the loose snow. They were all loaded down like packing mules. It couldn’t be helped.

What he wouldn’t give for a pair of skis right now.

Or even better, for his weapon back.

“Get going.” Zach started forward, and Isaiah took his place in front of him. He didn’t miss the murderous look in Rhea’s gaze as she watched Zach with Heidi.

Was that for Zach or Heidi?

In the foreboding environment, time seemed to stand still, making it appear as if they hadn’t made any progress at all through the gap. But they pressed on anyway, finally reaching a wide opening where they could see for miles. Then, just as Isaiah feared, the wind picked up to a fierce tempo, swirling blinding snow in their paths, and all around them. Isaiah couldn’t see in front of him or behind him.

They were going to lose each other forever.

At one point, Isaiah looked up to see nothing but blinding white erasing any sense of sky or earth or horizon. Vertigo knocked him to his knees. Zach and Heidi stumbled over him into the snow. He gripped Heidi’s hand. If they made a run for it, even if they couldn’t see where they were going, at least they would be free from Zach.

Pulling her to her feet, Isaiah took off. But Zach toppled him, and even in the blizzard the man wouldn’t give up his fight, pressing his weapon into Isaiah’s temple. “I should shoot you right here.”

“Do it. Go ahead and do it! We’re all going to die anyway,” Isaiah yelled over the storm. “We can’t see where we’re going. I told you this would happen. You’re insane.”

Cade pulled Zach off and got in Isaiah’s face. “We don’t have time for this. We’re going to die if we don’t stick together through this storm.”

“What should we do?” Heidi yelled. “It’s a complete whiteout!”

“We stop here.” Cade grabbed Zach by the collar. “We’ll never make it through this.”

“How do we put up the tents now?” Zach stumbled back, snow sticking to his cheeks and eyebrows. “What about a snow cave?”

“No!” Cade and Isaiah said at the same time.

“You and your men build snow walls like I showed you last night,” Isaiah said, “while Cade, Heidi and I set up the tents. We can do it quickly.”

Zach shook his head. He wasn’t buying it.

“Look, every second you wait we’re all getting closer to death. Hypothermia is a real threat. Rhea looks like she’s already there. You have no choice.”

The man had to admit Isaiah was right. The group huddled together in a circle while the blinding blizzard that left them unable to distinguish anything, causing them to lose all sense of balance, roared around them. Jason fell to his knees.

“Where’s Liam?” Zach asked.

“Liam!” Isaiah called.

Zach started to walk away, but Isaiah grabbed him back.

“No. You’ll get lost, too, if you go after him. We’ll shout his name and if he’s out there, he’ll find us. Start building the wall right here, which is probably not the best place, but it’s all we have.”

“Everyone, pile your bags and packs right here in one place so we don’t lose anything.”

“Heidi and Rhea, you guys dig us out as we go.”

As long as they kept moving and built the tents and then stayed inside they had a chance.

“With Liam gone, we don’t need that extra tent,” Cade said. “Let’s just put up two for now so we can get inside and get warm and out of this storm.”

A half hour later, Isaiah lay on top of a sleeping bag, exhausted, knowing he would have to exit the warmth of the tent every few minutes—although they would take turns—to dig out the shelters to keep from being buried alive.

“I can’t feel my toes,” Jason said.

“Get out of your boots. Your sock could be wet. We’ll get you warmed up,” Heidi said. “This small stove, along with our bodies, will raise the temperature inside.”

Isaiah opened the vents to release any carbon monoxide. Though it was a low-output stove designed for this kind of usage, he dug around in the pack for the CO detector.

So far no one had gotten frostbite, but that could easily change. Getting inside and warm would go a long way toward preventing those kinds of injuries.

As Isaiah watched Heidi melt snow in a pan on the little stove, his heart filled with warmth. He was relieved to be sharing a tent with her and Jason this time. Rhea had insisted she stay with Zach, and he wouldn’t allow the rescue team their own tent, of course, leaving Jason to guard Heidi and Isaiah, which meant Cade was with Zach and Rhea.

Isaiah wouldn’t try anything. He didn’t have the energy to fight the man. He had to conserve everything to battle the storm. To keep Heidi alive. He didn’t care about himself or anyone else. Cade could take care of himself, and likely Heidi, too, but making Heidi his mission would keep Isaiah going.

There was a time he thought he could have something with Heidi, but he didn’t deserve her and now it seemed it wouldn’t matter. Except he’d come too far, moving to a new place and changing his name, to lose it all now to this insanity. But he’d do what it took to keep her alive, even if no one else survived.

She glanced up at him, that small smile he loved on her lips. His pulse jumped. He hadn’t seen that in so long, and hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it. He hated that she was in the middle of this nightmarish rescue, but in her smile, he saw some small part of the Heidi he’d known before the ordeal of last summer that had changed everything for her.

The thought of how he’d distanced himself after they’d grown close slashed his insides. And then she’d needed him after the accident, but he’d failed her. He should have been there for her, but getting close again would only risk hurting her in the long run.

“Here, drink this. It’ll warm you up.” She passed the cup to him.

Their fingers brushed. “Thanks.”

He was all too aware of their proximity. Did she feel it, too? And even if she did, he wasn’t sure what difference that made. He’d already decided she was off-limits to him. Had already put the wall up between them. He could almost be grateful for the raging blizzard outside, and the unintentional chaperone and criminal sharing the tent.

He sipped the warm liquid from the cup, but Heidi did much more to warm his insides. Maybe being in the tent with her hadn’t been a good idea. A guy could only control his emotions so much. But he felt better knowing she was safe for the moment, and that was in line with his mission.

Jason drank up as well, and dozed in the corner, barely holding his weapon within reach. Some kind of guard he was. Still, this wasn’t the optimal situation for any of them to perform well in. And what did it matter if Isaiah wrestled the gun from him if they all died in the blizzard?

Finishing his drink, Isaiah pulled his gloves back on and shrugged into his coat, tugging the hood over the knit cap he’d switched out with his helmet. “I’m going to dig us out.”

Isaiah stepped outside, the shock of cold and snow jolting him as though he hadn’t been prepared for it. He began the laborious task of removing the snow and caught a glimpse of Cade doing the same for the tent next door. Any other time, this would have been fortuitous—the two of them outside and alone. They could make plans. But there was no way to do that now.

Over by the snow wall that buffered the wind, the snow had already piled high over their bags. Another bag lay a few feet away, an odd look about it.

Isaiah trudged over. Grabbing the bag, he tried to tug it back with the rest. It rolled over. Liam’s stone-cold frozen face stared back.

SEVEN

S
tretching, Heidi blinked, her mind slowly registering the gray of morning filtering through the tent.

And something else.

It was quiet. The wind had ceased to snarl around them. The storm had stopped.

Sitting up, she glanced about the tent. Jason stopped snoring and shifted, but Isaiah was gone. He’d already gotten up and out without disturbing the man guarding him.

Peeling out of the sleeping bag, Heidi crawled over and unzipped the tent.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jason grumbled. “Hey, where is everybody?”

Heidi hesitated, then turned to look at him. “I think everyone is packing up. And I think the storm might be over.”

Relief washed over Jason’s face. He blew out a breath. “Almost dying in a plane crash was bad enough. I don’t want to go through any more of these storms.”

Compassion kindled in Heidi. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. You know, this probably won’t be the only storm we wait out, but we’ll try to get you to the ice field as fast as we can.”