Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ZACH
“Dustin, jeez, you scared the crap out of me.” Sofie clutches her chest. “What are you doing out here?”
Dustin’s dressed in a brown camouflage coat, brown watch cap, work jeans and thick boots. A day pack patched with duct tape hugs his shoulders.
“I was out surveying,” Dustin says before another gust blasts through the trees. Above us, the branches whip around, raining down needles and tiny cones with the snow. “I heard the radio and came down to help.”
Something about this tickles my neck hairs. Out surveying? Wasn’t that work party the last one of the season? And didn’t Rowdy and Sofie talk about this area being already cleared?
“What were you surveying?” I ask Dustin.
A staticky voice crackles over the radio. “We’ve got her.”
Surprise and relief split open inside me.
Sofie raises the radio. “Where? Is she okay?”
“Her bike lost traction in the snow,” the man continues.
I want to go to Sofie and throw my arms around her in celebration, but terrifying details are chewing through my thoughts, and I’m frozen in place .
Rowdy cuts in. “How is she?”
“A little cold, but ABC’s check out.” Static breaks up the rest.
Sofie closes her eyes for an instant and rests her hand on her heart. “She’s okay.”
Dustin turns to glance down the slope, the motion drawing my attention to the cuff of his jacket riding over the tool attached to his belt.
It’s my Leatherman. The one taken from my pack that night outside The Limelight. The gift from my father—the one possession I value.
More of the puzzle pieces shift and lock into place. Dustin is the one who attacked me. Him and Kai. Trying to threaten me. And when that failed, Dustin followed me into the high country.
Is he looking for Kai right now, who must have bailed when he heard us coming?
I didn’t recognize his voice from the work party, but it’s not like we had a lengthy conversation, nor was I paying attention. I was having too much fun with Sofie to think about anything else.
I remember the map I plucked from the grass. It makes sense now what drew me to it, and what my brain was trying to reconcile. Also why Dustin was quick to snatch it from my hands.
Because that map tells the whole story. There’s a way. We just haven’t found it yet.
“…do a full assessment,” blares from the radio.
Sofie starts walking toward the edge of the trees, probably for better reception. “Can you repeat that?” she says into the radio. I’m momentarily grateful she’s unaware of what’s going on inside my mind. I will her to stay in that state long enough for me to figure out how to get us both out of here in one piece.
As if sensing my growing disgust, Dustin flicks his gaze my way. His eyes go cold.
“My truck’s not far,” he says.
Another detail locks down. The forest service roads that crisscross the backcountry, accessible for anyone with a key. And because of The Winter Range Project, he likely can get any key he wants.
Dustin’s been using The Winter Range Project as cover and benefitting from the easy passage through the landscape .
Right under everyone’s nose.
And right now he’s got a backpack full of contraband and a broken link in his supply chain. One he needs to remedy quickly.
Dread pools in my gut.
Another blast of icy wind slams into us, sending the snow from the treetops cascading down in thick clumps. I turn away from it just as Dustin comes for me. I grunt in surprise as I’m knocked off my feet. For one terrifying second, I’m one with the brutal wind. I land on my shoulder as snowflakes burn like hot needles on my neck, and the wind roars in my ears. My tender rib flares hot, pain shooting into my spine and hip as I tumble over rocks and frozen ground, finally coming to a stop against the trunk of a giant tree.
Breathing hard, I lurch to my feet. The wall of snow is a thick cloud, burning my eyes.
“Sofie!” I hurry up the slope, frantic. I listen for a reply but there’s only the screaming wind.
The snow clears, but the slope is empty.
Dustin’s gone.
And so is Sofie.
Another gust slams through the forest. Blindly, I stumble to where I last saw her. “Sofie!” I scream, but the wind rips it away. Trees crack and sway as the wind rages.
Racing through the blinding snow, my senses honed for any sound that might indicate where she’s gone, but there’s only the wind in the trees.
Did he take her?
In a sudden lull rises the rumble of an engine.
“No!” I take off up the hill.
My truck’s not far. With the keys to the gates, Dustin can go anywhere, in any vehicle he wants. Even on wilderness lands.
Rowdy might be the only person who wouldn’t have looked the other way.
Why didn’t I tell him about the dirt bikes?
My boot taps something hard in my path, sending it skittering. It’s Sofie’s radio.
Alarm bells blare in my brain as I grab it. The antenna’s been snapped. I key the mike as I run, huffing hard. “This… is… Zach. Can you read me?”
But there’s only static.
“Hello? Rowdy?”
Nothing.
I shove down my desperation because blowing the whistle on Dustin right now when he’s got Sofie as collateral—over a radio channel that Rowdy and half of Finn River is listening to could put her in more danger.
Frustrated, I toss the radio and force my legs faster. More snow flies at me, obscuring the forest. The ground turns muddy, like it’s been chewed up.
Tire tracks.
“Sofie!” I scream, feeling helpless. Dustin got her to his truck, and drove off. How? Did he overpower her? Threaten her?
I brace on my thighs and breathe. My pocket is chirping. Realization dawns on me. It’s the burner phone. I fumble with the gloves, the cold biting into my bare skin.
When I answer, it’s Dustin’s voice. “Remember our deal.”
“Let her go,” I bark.
“You work for me.” The harsh tone he used that day is back.
My spine goes rigid. “Don’t you dare hurt her.”
“If I don’t get what I want, you won’t either.”
“That’s not?—”
The line goes dead.
Cursing, I grab the back of my neck and close my eyes. No, no, no.
If I don’t get what I want, you won’t either.
But if I go through with his plan, how do I know he’ll let Sofie go? The thought of her scared right now is like a blow torch to my chest, searing me open.
But I relish in the pain. Let it ground me. Sharpen my instincts.
If I don’t, my guilt and fear will destroy me.
A blast of wind hits me head-on. I tuck into myself and shut my eyes.
The only thing stopping Dustin from hurting Sofie is the payoff he’ s after. As long as he thinks I’m going to help him get it, he’ll keep her alive. I have to believe that, or I’m going to lose my mind.
But even if I manage to double-cross him and save Sofie, what about William?
I scream in frustration.
How can I stop Dustin and protect the people I love?
Think!
With Kai a no-show thanks to the search for Linnea, will Dustin try to rendezvous at another location?
Right now, Sheriff Olson is planning a bust at The Limelight. But the handoff was scheduled for mid-day. That makes me think that this fake bust is to cover something else. Something that’s going down tonight .
If Kai had made it safely back to the ranch with the delivery, what then? Does he cut it to increase their profit? Or is it ready to sell, maybe at a party or some event?
What is Dustin’s plan?
The only way I’m going to fix this is to find him. The wind stings my eyes as I blink them open, but the path ahead is clear as day. I’ll follow the tracks, until I can’t.
Sheriff Olson’s you sure as hell aren’t getting out of this mess without some kind of plan rings in my ears.
I can’t ask him for help. Not when Dustin’s got Sofie.
Yet the sheriff isn’t my only ally.
I start running, willing the details of this crazy plan to come together.
It’s risky. And if it backfires, none of us will escape unscathed. I slide out the burner phone and punch in another number I have memorized.
“Hello?”
“I need your help,” I say over the wind and my heaving breaths.
“Zach? What’s going on?”
Another gust slams into my back, and I stumble. The ground swirls, but I recover, breathing hard. “Sofie’s been taken.”
“Tell me where you are, and we’ll be there.”
Tears sting my eyes. Maybe it’s relief that I’m not alone. Or maybe it’s fear that I’m putting people I care about in danger .
The terrain falls away steeply and I pick up speed, fast. The wind blasts me from the side, and I windmill my arms for balance. My heels tap my butt and my breaths turn ragged. I try to stay upright but my momentum is all wrong. I launch forward.
I land, flipping and tumbling, cold snow packing into every crevice—down my back and front, up the cuffs of my sleeves. I lose my hat and the glove I removed to make the call, the snow burning my skin. When I finally come to rest, I lay there breathing, making sure nothing’s busted, then roll to my knees. Everything is white—the ground, the sky. My body aches, and the cold is everywhere on my skin, robbing me of warmth. The wind flicks its icy tendrils through my hair.
But worse than all of that, I’ve lost the phone.