Chapter 39
Steph
Steph pressed against the rock and looked over the area. She narrowed her eyes as she realized this side would’ve given a better approach to climb the rock.
Where they’d come in from the west, on a scree-covered slope, this path was smooth and natural, a path carved over the years by weather and animal use.
She should’ve realized it earlier, but the dark and getting away and finding cover from the poachers had clouded her judgment.
That and running for her life all night. Exhaustion had taken a toll.
She needed to find a spot where she could get a view of the snowmobiles. Make sure things were happening as they needed. As she scanned the carved path winding between spires and pinnacles, looking for a better location where she could catch sight of their headlights, her breath caught.
The shadows changed just enough for her to detect movement in the dark. She kept her eyes on where she’d seen the change, focusing on what she could not only see but also hear. It wasn’t much, but she knew she wasn’t alone.
Steph kept her body tight against the ledge of volcanic basalt, praying it would provide enough protection. Remaining motionless might keep her hidden. She’d only noticed him because he was moving.
She tracked him with her eyes as he came better into view. He was succeeding at moving in near silence as he cautiously made his way up the ledge. This was the leader, the one called Rick. She knew enough about Rick to know he wouldn’t stop until both she and Jack were dead.
He took three steps and the trail curved around a jagged chimney of eroded rock, taking him out of view.
Steph crawled forward, positioning herself behind a boulder that had broken off from a nearby pinnacle, barely getting into place before the shadows changed and he was once again in view, at least thirty feet below her.
She froze. If he looked up, he might be able to see her.
He needed to take half a dozen steps, then he’d be out of view and she’d be hidden again.
There was nothing she could do to alert Jack that Rick was coming. She realized with complete clarity that the time the machines had been idling was a ruse—a distraction to give Rick time to come around the rock and up the south-facing talus slope.
It made sense they would know this formation. The men had been camping and poaching in the park for the last several weeks, longer maybe. As much as Steph liked to think she knew the area, knew how formations were created, Rick’s practical experience counted for much more than her book knowledge.
I was overconfident. She shook her head as the realization swept over her. Overconfident and foolish to think I knew better than them.
Yet Steph also knew the plan to lure them into the narrow section was solid.
Jack waiting there to do what was needed was also necessary.
Now it was on Steph to do what had to be done.
To be the one who stopped Rick. If he got past her, Jack would be a sitting duck.
Rick would sneak up behind him, and Jack would never even know what happened.
She also understood that even if they’d gone with their first instincts of going deeper into the rock labyrinth and waiting for rescue, there’d be no guarantee of safety.
These men would not stop until they were dead.
Rick and Graham, especially Rick, were willing to do what was necessary to keep their operation secret.
Steph scrunched her forehead. Why? Why not just pack up and leave when they realized they’d been found out? Why chase us all night? Why are they willing to kill? Is poaching that lucrative? She supposed it might be, but something told her it was more than that.
Not that it mattered. What mattered now was stopping Rick. This wasn’t like earlier when she had bear spray and a large limb to take out the man watching over Jack.
Steph peeled off her mittens, slipped a hand into her pocket, and pulled out her pocketknife. The three-inch blade wasn’t going to be much against Rick’s rifle. When she’d taken out the other man, she’d had the element of surprise on her side. That was how she managed to succeed.
She needed the same surprise now. Steph blinked several times as she considered the area and the terrain. She was above him on a platform section of rock, the carved trail winding its way up, going around the various spires, chimneys, and fractured pinnacles.
Her only option was to use the rocks to her advantage. The problem was, she didn’t think it was possible. Maybe on the west side, where the rocks were naturally loose, she could find a way to dislodge a larger boulder and get things moving down the hillside.
She scanned the ledge, tracing cracks and edges, planning how to strike before he discovered her. Before he could use the rifle. The terrain needed to work for her, create an opening and give her an advantage.
There was no time for that. No time to come up with something fancy. Rick was steadily climbing and would soon reach her. Add in the change from dark to daylight that was also happening, and in another few minutes, he’d be able to look up and see her, whether she was moving or not.
Steph drew in several slow breaths as she watched him come back into view.
He wasn’t looking up, focused instead on his footing and the effort of keeping quiet.
That wouldn’t last. Soon, he would realize how close he was to the top and start scanning above him. She needed to act before that happened.
As he moved out of view, Steph scurried to the edge of the rock face. If she understood the path below, it would turn into itself, the switchback at a place with elevation. That was where she wanted to find Rick.
Her backpack scraped against the rock as she moved into position. She held perfectly still, trying to get eyes on Rick. Did he hear it? Without being able to see him, she didn’t know.
A rock moved below her, Rick’s doing. She held her breath as she perched in the spot she’d chosen.
Another noise of boots moving against rock. Steph let out her breath and focused on breathing normally. She needed all the oxygen she could get for what was coming.
Rick stepped into view. He was looking around, searching the path ahead of him, as he took two cautious steps.
Steph’s heart pounded as she envisioned what needed to happen. Almost. Almost there.
He turned his head, his chin rising slightly.
Now!
Steph launched herself off the ledge, dropping straight down onto Rick’s back.
Her sudden weight and momentum slammed the rifle barrel into the rock wall as his finger tightened on the trigger. The shot rang out, the bullet ricocheting off basalt.
Rick buckled under her, boots slipping on the trail. She held on with one hand, knife in the other, blindly stabbing as they crashed down together.