15. Lana
Lana
The unfamiliar deep voice penetrated my dreams, and I rolled over, coming awake, confused. It took a couple of long blinks to chase away the brain fog, but the moment it clicked that it wasn’t Toren’s voice I heard, I sat up.
A scream lodged in the back of my throat. In the doorway to the tent, a large shadow loomed. Firelight glowed behind him, keeping his face in shadow, but the revolver in his hands glinted in the shifting light.
Beside me, Toren reached out, wrapping a hand around my forearm. He said nothing, just stayed a steady presence at my side.
“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?” The man kept his gun trained on Toren but turned to me.
I raised my other hand to clutch at Toren’s.
“Take whatever you want,” Toren said. “Just leave us alone. We’re no threat to you.”
“Don’t feed me that bullshit. I’ve been watching you two. Hikers riding out a snowstorm don’t build traps and warning systems. Who are you? And don’t lie to me.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Toren beat me to it. “I’m a hunting guide. This is my girlfriend. We just came out for a quick break between hunts and got caught up in the weather.”
While I knew he probably couldn’t see my face too well in the dim light, I did my best to keep my expression neutral at the half-truth.
“You expect me to believe a hunting guide brought his girlfriend into the bush right before a snowstorm? And that you built a warning system?” The man aimed his gun. “I told you not to lie.”
“It’s the truth,” I blurted, clutching Toren’s hand tighter. “We hadn’t spent much time together lately, so I convinced him to take me camping. We were supposed to be back before the storm hit, though, but he fell.” I was banking on the man not knowing we set out the day of the storm.
The tip of the gun dipped. “I saw you hobbling around with that branch.”
“Yeah. I messed up my ankle. Who are you? What do you want?”
The man scoffed. “Don’t play dumb. Like I said, hikers don’t set warning traps the way you two did. I know you found something.”
He turned his face slightly, and I saw the dead smile form on his mouth, light gleaming off his teeth. A shiver ran down my spine. This guy wasn’t rational.
“So, was it animal or human?”
The shiver turned into goosebumps as my blood ran cold. Did he mean Dustin?
“Animal,” Toren said. “Please don’t say anymore. We don’t want to know.”
Yes, we do! my mind screamed. If Dustin was dead, we needed to know that.
“Well, I’ve said enough already.” He raised his gun.
“Wait!” I let go of Toren’s hand and raised mine. “What if we can help you get out of here? You’re stuck, aren’t you?”
He turned to me. “I’m listening.”
“There’s a plane coming to get us in a day or so. You can fly out with us.”
“Just so you can hand me off to the police once we land? I don’t think so.”
“We don’t have to tell anyone anything. Our pilot won’t ask questions.” Mentally, I crossed my fingers. I had no idea if that was true. It probably wasn’t, but this guy didn’t know that.
“Look.” I rushed on before he could say no. “We’ve got plenty of food. I’ll even give you my sleeping space. He and I can share.” I gestured to Toren.
For long seconds, the man didn’t say anything. My heart thundered in my ears as I waited for his answer.
“Your pilot… he’ll take me anywhere?”
“Within range of his aircraft, yes,” Toren replied.
I said a silent prayer of thanks that he was going along with my crazy plan. It was the only way I could think of to keep the guy from shooting us both right here inside the tent. Now we just needed to figure out a way to get a message to Walker without this guy finding out.
The man shifted forward, coming fully inside the tent. “How do you get a hold of this pilot?”
“Cell phone,” I quickly replied. “I have one of those new-fangled kind that can access a satellite when out of range of a cell tower.” Which was true.
It just wasn’t terribly reliable, I’d noticed.
But I didn’t want him to wonder if we had a dedicated satellite phone.
That needed to stay hidden, so we could call for help.
“Hand it over.” He extended an arm.
I made a big production of huffing and pulling my bag around to take my phone out, doing my damnedest to sell it as our only means of communication.
Finding it, I held it out. “It’s powered down to save the battery.”
The man tucked it inside his coat pocket. “And it will stay that way until it’s time to leave.”
He reached inside another coat pocket and pulled out a flashlight, flicking it on. He aimed the light at Toren’s face.
In the glow, I could see the guy frown.
“I know you. Toren McCrae.”
He swung the light toward me.
“But not you. You’re a pretty thing. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“None of your business,” Toren growled.
“Don’t be like that. I’m just being friendly.” The man flashed a quick, mirthless grin.
“Well, don’t.” Toren took my hand again.
The man chuckled. “You don’t want me to be unfriendly.” The smile on his face abruptly vanished.
I recoiled, clutching at Toren’s hand again at the cold, dead look in the man’s eyes.
“What’s your name?” he asked me again.
“Lana,” I said, just above a whisper.
“Thank you.” He turned to Toren again. “Didn’t know you were dating anyone. Word is you swore off women after your wife died.”
I visibly jerked at the man’s comment. Wife? Toren had been married?
The man’s low chuckle filled the tent. “You didn’t tell your new lady friend about your dead wife?”
“How do you know about Cara?”
There was a dangerous note to Toren’s voice, giving it an edge. I was happy he wasn’t directing that tone at me. It promised consequences.
“The hunting world—especially among the guides—isn’t a big one. People talk. Especially when a man such as yourself picks up everything and moves eight hundred miles.”
“You’re not a guide. I’d know. Because you’re right, it is a small world.”
“No, I’m not. But it pays for me to know who is.”
“Well, it’s only fair you return the favor, then. What’s your name?” Toren raised an eyebrow in question.
The man clucked his tongue. “You can call me Deke.”
“That’s not your real name, is it?” I asked. I’d be shocked if he gave us his name. Not with the attitude he had.
Deke lifted a shoulder. “Close enough.” With that, his expression closed off. Giving the light a quick flick, he glanced around the tent.
It paused on Toren’s rifle. “Oh, well, we can’t leave that there.”
Toren’s hand tightened around mine. I could feel the restraint holding his muscles taut. All he wanted to do was lunge for it, but the handgun Deke kept aimed at us left him with little option except to comply.
Deke shifted onto his knees, shuffling over to grab the rifle. Setting his light down, he picked up the gun, giving it a quick onceover. “Nice.” He turned to glance at Toren. “But probably not your best, am I right?”
Toren’s gaze stayed steady as he glared at Deke and said nothing.
Giving a low chuckle at Toren’s silence, Deke turned, heading back to the ruined tent flap. Once there he set the rifle outside, then gestured to Toren. “Get up.”
“Why?”
“Do you really think I trust you to have access to the door?” He shook his head. “Put your sleeping bag on the back wall. Lana, pretty lady, bring yours up here.”
I cast a quick glance at Toren, then let go of his hand to push out of my sleeping bag. Once my legs were free, I gathered it up. “Do you need help?” I asked Toren quietly.
“No.” Despite the terse word, his expression pinched as he unzipped his sleeping bag and drew his legs out.
I quickly pushed my sleep mat and my pack out of the way, bundling them into the corner of the tent. Once Toren rolled off his mat, I pulled it and his bag toward the back wall and arranged them. It would be a tight squeeze, but we’d fit.
Slipping inside, I motioned to Toren for him to join me, then aimed a pointed glare at Deke. “You can arrange your own sleeping area.” I didn’t want to get too close and give him the chance to pin me down.
Once more, Deke’s low chuckle filled the tent. “Feisty. I can see why this one appeals to you, McCrae.”
Toren’s deep grunt was his only answer. He rose to his knees, pushing his pack my way for us to use as a pillow, then shifted toward me. Getting into the sleeping bag, he put his body between me and Deke and zipped us into the flannel-lined nylon.
“Don’t murder us in our sleep,” Toren tossed over his shoulder.
“Nope. I’ll save that for later. I need you to get me out of here.” There was a bit of shuffling as Deke arranged my sleeping mat and bag. The light bounced around the interior of the tent, interrupting the shadows from the fire glowing just outside.
“Add more wood to the fire,” I said. “Since you’re now blocking the door. Which we also now can’t close. I’d like to not freeze to death too.”
“Careful. My amusement at your feistiness will only get you so far.” But he rolled out of the tent to put more wood on the fire.
“The sat phone,” I whispered as soon as he was gone.
Toren’s hand was already reaching for the zipper on the front of his backpack. “We’ll stuff it down by our feet. That was good thinking, telling him we used your phone to call Walker.”
“In the morning, I’ll put it in my pants below my underwear. He can kill me before I’ll let him get in there.” I would fight with every ounce of strength I had before I’d ever let a man touch me like that without my permission. I’d rather die.
Toren stilled. “He’ll have to go through me first.” The quiet whisper held a dark growl.
My fingers found his shirt, and I curled them into the fabric for a brief moment then let go.
He resumed digging in his bag for the phone and soon found it, shoving it down between us as far as his arms could reach. I raised a knee, getting my toes on it to shove it down the rest of the way.
We finished none too soon, either. Moments after we got it situated, and we settled down, Deke reentered the tent.
“McCrae, did you bring a phone? I’m assuming it has a satellite capability, like your girlfriend’s, right? You wouldn’t come out here without a means of communication with the outside world you knew and trusted. No hunting guide worth a damn would.”
Toren said nothing, just reached for his backpack again.
“Hand over your GPS unit too.”
I tipped my head into Toren’s chest and said a silent prayer of thanks that Toren kept all the devices separate and hadn’t invested in one of those all-in-one types. It was keeping the sat phone off Deke’s radar.
After retrieving his cell phone and the GPS device, Toren rolled with a wince and tossed them at Deke. “Here. Don’t lose them. I’d like them back when my pilot dumps you off.”
Deke scooped them up, putting them in one of his coat pockets. Another of those mirthless smiles flitted over his face, making him look menacingly evil in the glow from his flashlight. “The feistiness is cuter on your lady friend.”
“Yeah? Well, banged up or not, I still hit harder, so keep that in mind. We’re going to sleep now unless there’s anything else you’d like to demand?”
“I think we’re set now. Don’t try anything funny. I sleep with the safety off. And no pillow talk.”
Toren didn’t answer, just rolled back toward me.
I couldn’t see his face this close; there wasn’t enough light. But I could feel the intensity of his gaze on me.
I lifted my face.
He tipped his forehead into mine. “Get some sleep,” he breathed.
Inhaling a deep breath, I let his presence surround me. For now, even with Deke just feet away, I was safe.