Chapter 12 #3
They strapped the big guy onto the sled so he was secure, but she doubted he’d be comfortable.
Decided to let Muriel drive the second snowmobile to the pickup point.
If she ran they had her name and face, and she was unarmed.
Nora doubted she’d get far, and she seemed smart enough to recognize her best option was to cooperate. The machines would be collected later.
“Get ’em out of here, Cas.” Sebastian lowered his voice so only his teammate could hear. “See you at the rendezvous point tonight. Watch your back. Don’t let those two know where we’re staying.”
“Don’t worry about me. Watch out for yourselves and any more bear traps.” Cas headed past the miserable looking Claude then threw his leg over the snowmobile.
He started the machine and indicated Muriel go ahead. She nodded to them both before she set off. Hopefully, she’d learn her lesson and dump the asshole boyfriend.
In Nora’s experience, that rarely happened.
She watched them head down the hill for a few seconds, then turned to find Sebastian watching her with an odd expression on his face.
Was he pissed because they’d lost time in the search for Summer? Or was he worried she wouldn’t be able to back him up the way Cas could if they found Eastman?
She gritted her teeth. She was good at her job. She might not be HRT, but this was her world, these were her people, colorful as some of them were.
His gaze softened. “You really love your job, don’t you?”
She wasn’t so sure about that anymore. “I like nature and the natural world. Someone has to protect it.” She dropped her shoulders and raised her chin. “We’re going to have to be extra vigilant now that we know there are traps in the area.”
A red-tailed hawk’s call pierced the air. She looked up at a sky that had gone from a blazing blue made brighter by the almost blinding glare from the snow to a flat white that shrouded the sun.
“Hopefully, Novak can pinpoint the position of the other traps and let us know where they are. He has agents going to Claude’s house right now. It might be sensible to turn back and reconnect with the others before—”
“No.” Nora shook her head. “There are always hidden dangers in the mountains. If we pay attention, we’ll probably be okay. I’ll keep Chance close. And…it raises the possibility of Glenn or Summer falling victim to one of these traps.”
The idea of any of them being caught in something so destructive was awful, but a nine-year-old girl? It made Nora feel physically ill.
Sebastian wrapped the unloaded rifle and knife in a flannel shirt that presumably belonged to Claude, then buried the bundle in the snow under a nearby tree—after first testing the area for traps with a stick.
The bear’s fur ruffled in the breeze. Nora’s sadness mixed with resignation that such a magnificent creature had died in pain and misery. The thought enraged her, but no matter how many rangers or how steep the fines, far too many people were willing to hunt illegally.
“At least the wolves will have something to eat tonight.” If not the wolves, then the coyotes, the foxes, the cougars, the wolverines, the carrion eaters, and the scavengers.
It was a silver lining that nature would know how to make best use of this carcass.
It wouldn’t go to waste. And maybe that was all anyone could hope for.
Sebastian looked troubled. “I’ll lead. I want you to follow my tracks as closely as possible. We’ll make slower progress, but by my reckoning we’ll reach the old farmstead in the next hour.”
She jolted when Sebastian laid his hand on her shoulder. “You need to tell me if you or Chance need a break. It’s just you and me now. Don’t be afraid to tell me anything.”
Her throat felt thick all of a sudden, gluing words inside. The look in those dark eyes made her want to confess her own painful past, but that wasn’t what he meant. “You, me, and Chance,” she squeezed out.
A rare smile lit his handsome features. “You, me, and Chance. Let’s go get your dog and find Summer Eastman. And perhaps, when this is all over, you’ll let me buy you a coffee.”
She blinked. “What?”
“As a thank you,” he added quickly.
A warm feeling spread inside her, but… “You don’t need to thank me. This is what I do.”
“Maybe I’d like to. You’re a very special person, Nora Deacon, and people need to recognize that.” He held her gaze then looked away with a wry smile. “People who aren’t Max Pasdeckie.”
The last was muttered under his breath, and she didn’t think he’d meant to say it out loud.
He didn’t give her the opportunity to respond, just headed back over the ridge.
She followed him, a grin on her face because Sebastian Black thought she was “very special.”
But her smile faded. The crows had already begun to gather in the trees overhead, ready to feast on the unfortunate bear.
That was the wilderness. Savage and unforgiving, no room for mistakes.
No place for a child. She needed to concentrate on the job at hand and not the thought of having coffee with Sebastian Black.