Chapter 10
Nick
George had been checking his watch every few minutes for the past hour, and his entire demeanor was changing. The friendly traveler act was completely gone now.
“This is a problem,” he said finally, standing up and walking to the window. “A real problem.”
“The storm?” Gina asked.
“The storm, the timing, all of it.” George turned back to face them. “See, I was supposed to meet someone here today. Someone with something very valuable. And when people don’t show up for meetings in my line of work, it usually means one of two things.”
Nick didn’t like where this was heading. “Which are?”
“Either they got arrested, or they got smart and decided to disappear.” George’s hand rested on his jacket. “Either way, it means loose ends.”
“What kind of loose ends?” Joe asked.
George smiled, but it wasn’t friendly anymore. “The kind that can identify me. The kind that know I was here.”
The room went dead quiet except for the wind outside.
“We don’t know anything,” Brooke said quickly.
“You know what I look like. You know I was here on this date. You know I was here to meet someone.” George shrugged. “That’s more than enough to cause me problems.”
Unease crept through Nick as he realized what George was getting at. “So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that when loose ends start adding up, sometimes the smartest thing is to tie them off.” George’s voice was matter-of-fact, like he was discussing the weather. “Clean slate.”
Kelsey whimpered. Joe went pale. Brooke shook her head. Gina stood tall, looking even more formidable than she had before, if that was possible. She was a warrior, no doubt about it.
But Nick was already moving, positioning himself where he could see both George and the rest of the group. “You’re talking about killing us.”
“I’m talking about problem-solving,” George corrected. “Nothing personal, just business.”
“That’s not just business,” Nick said.
George pulled his jacket open enough to show the gun clearly.
“Actually, it is. See, my contact was supposed to show up with some . . . merchandise. Very important merchandise that belongs to some very serious people. When that merchandise doesn’t change hands as scheduled, those serious people start asking questions. ”
“What kind of merchandise?” Gina asked.
“The kind you don’t ask about.” George checked his watch again. “The point is, I can’t go back empty-handed, and I can’t have witnesses floating around who might connect me to this location.”
Nick could see Gina processing this. Her eyes narrowed, and her shoulders went even straighter. “So, you’re just going to murder five innocent people?”
“Oh, I know for a fact you are not all innocent. One of you knows exactly what is happening and could end this right now. The rest of you . . . ” He shrugged. “Collateral damage. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunate, but not unprecedented.”
“You’re insane,” Joe said, repositioning himself so he was halfway out of the tent.
Nick gave a slight nod. He wasn’t sure what was happening or who he could trust, but at least Joe seemed to recognize that things were shifting fast and danger was closing in. Provided Joe wasn’t the one working with George, that could be a good thing.
But if not Joe, then who? Kelsey, jittery and jumpy as a rabbit? Brooke, so fixated on her training plan, she was willing to risk them all? Or Gina . . . the memory of her lips lingered even now, sweet enough to blur his instincts when he needed them sharp.
“I’m not insane. I’m practical.” George moved to the center of the room, positioning himself where he could watch everyone. “The storm’s the perfect cover. Tragic hiking accident. Bodies won’t be found until spring, if at all.”
Nick caught Gina’s eye. Fear flickered there, maybe even resolve. Or maybe it was something else, something harder to read. He wanted to trust her, but the stakes were too high to risk being wrong.
George meant every word, which left Nick with one certainty: they needed to act, and they needed to act fast.
“How do we know you won’t just kill us anyway?
” Nick asked, trying to keep George talking while he figured out their options.
He thought again about the conversation with Brooke when she’d told him not to bring his sidearm and assuring him bear spray was enough.
Had she insisted he leave his gun behind for a reason?
Was his cousin involved in something he was unaware of?
With a sinking feeling, he knew it was possible.
He’d heard talk among the family about how Brooke somehow came up with the money to buy her coffee shop.
One of their cousins said Brooke’s dad had funded it, but another cousin said that wasn’t the case, that Brooke took out a high-interest rate loan.
Was George here to collect on that loan?
Did that even make sense? The way George was talking, he was retrieving something important, but it didn’t sound like that something was money.
Nick hated to think Brooke could be behind this, but he couldn’t deny the nagging feeling that her insisting bear spray was enough and he should leave his gun behind might mean something.
Bear spray. Each of them carried a canister, and Gina had mentioned she even had two. Nick had left his in the truck when he went out for the gear, figuring it wasn’t needed inside the abandoned hotel. Now he knew he was wrong. He stifled a sigh at the mistake.
“I’ll do what is necessary to keep my identity safe,” George admitted. “But right now, I’m still hoping my contact shows up—or steps up and admits who they are.” His gaze swept the room, resting on each person in turn. “That happens and this all works out cleanly. Maybe we can work something out.”
“What kind of something?”
George smiled. “Depends on what you’re willing to offer.”
Nick felt sick. The guy was enjoying this—the power of having five people completely at his mercy.
“We need water,” Gina said suddenly, standing up. “Nick, help me get some snow to melt.”
It was obviously an excuse to move around, but George just nodded. “Probably a good idea. Let’s all go outside and get some snow. Kelsey can get that fresh air she said she needed.”
“I don’t want to go outside.” Joe shook his head.
“Too bad.” George shrugged. “Bundle up, buttercup. Everyone goes outside, or no one goes outside. That’s how it’s going to be.” He touched the butt of the gun, still in the underarm holster.
Nick considered whether he could take the guy, pounce on him before he had a chance to react. George was shorter by an inch or two but weighed about the same as Nick did, though his pounds looked less like muscle and more like flab.
If he were alone, he’d do it. He’d take the risk and take the man down. But with the others there, he wasn’t sure. George might be a quick draw, and someone could get hurt.
His best option was to look for a better opportunity. Maybe bring Brooke and Gina into the fold and somehow tell them what he was planning.
Even with his cousin acting so strangely, he didn’t want to think she could be involved with this criminal. This killer. He wanted to believe the same thing about Gina, believe she was innocent.
A little voice nagged at him. Joe and Kelsey needed to know, too, but he wasn’t entirely sure he could trust them. Joe had been squirrelly all day, maybe because of the altitude sickness, but Nick couldn’t be certain. What if that was just an act and Joe was really the one George had come to meet?
And Kelsey wasn’t any less odd than Joe. She didn’t even have the excuse of the elevation, at least not with any symptoms Nick could see.
There was grumbling as everyone prepared to go outside. “Put your lighter layers back on,” Gina said, “the ones from the run. Keep the heavier coats inside to stay dry. We’ll need them when we come back in.”
George moved into his yellow raincoat but left the wet blanket behind.
Nick distributed the lighter jackets, his hand brushing Gina’s. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
He wanted it to be more. He needed a way to let her know what he was thinking. To tell her he intended to keep her safe. Keep Brooke safe. Kelsey and Joe, too, if possible.
But Brooke and Gina would be his primary focus. He had to believe his cousin wasn’t involved with this loser and that Gina was innocent too. How could she not be? Whatever this guy wanted, it had nothing to do with them.
They stepped out of the front door, Nick holding it open as the others passed through. The wind still gusted, making things miserable, but the falling snow had stopped. Maybe the storm was finally blowing itself out. Maybe they could figure out a way to get out of this mess.
“He plans to kill us,” Gina said quietly as they walked toward the cars.
“Sounds like it.” Nick kept his voice low. “The question is when.”
“Probably as soon as he decides his contact isn’t coming.”
“Or as soon as the storm clears enough for him to leave.” Nick glanced back at George, who was watching them as they used the various containers to scrape snow from the hoods of the vehicles. “We need to do something, come up with a plan.”
“Like what?”
His bear spray was in his SUV. With the way George kept his coat unbuttoned so he could easily get to the pistol under his arm, he didn’t see any way to get the spray and deploy it without putting them all in danger. “I don’t know yet. But we can’t just wait for him to decide it’s time.”
Gina nodded, her jaw set with determination. “What do you need me to do?”
The question hit Nick harder than it should have. Here they were, facing a psychopath who was planning to murder them all, and Gina was asking what he needed her to do. Like she trusted him to come up with a plan. Like she believed he could actually protect her.
And he wanted to. He desperately wanted to. Somehow, someway, he was going to keep her safe. He wasn’t going to let George hurt her. Whatever it took.
“We need the bear spray. Can you get to yours?”
“Without him noticing? I’m not sure. Maybe.”
“Try,” he said quietly. “When I make a move, follow my lead.”
“What kind of move?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Time’s up,” George called. “You’ve got enough snow. Let’s get back inside.”
Back in the hotel, they took off their wet jackets and wrapped up in dry layers. Gina started the camp stove and set the soup pot on it, the snow on the outside sizzling from the heat.
The rest of the trail runners clustered together, and Nick could see the fear in everyone’s faces. Everyone except Kelsey, who looked more resigned than afraid.
“So, here’s how this is going to work,” George said. “We’re going to wait until morning. If my contact shows up, great. If not, well, like I said, tragic accident.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Brooke said, her voice sounding less than confident.
“Actually, I will.” George settled back into his chair, gun now resting openly in his lap. “Because nobody knows where any of you are except each other, and dead people don’t file reports.”
Brooke shook her head.
Nick reached out and touched her arm. He knew what she was about to say. It wasn’t true that no one knew they were here. Brooke had posted her plans in their chat group and had even written them on the calendar at the coffee shop. He had seen both himself.
Chances were good she’d mentioned it elsewhere too. She was active on social media and often shared her training plans, though he had warned her not to post her locations in advance. Even revealing where she had gone was risky, since she often repeated the same runs.
George didn’t need to know how many people knew where they were. Not yet, anyway. Let him think what he wanted. The casual way he shared his plans sent a chill through Nick, but it also revealed something important: George wasn’t planning to act until morning. That gave them time.
Time to plan. Time to figure out how to survive. Time to stop second-guessing and start acting.