Chapter 13 #2
He settled into an elevated spot beside a large tree trunk.
The vantage allowed him a narrow view inside of what was left of the old homestead and the open space in front.
He measured the distance and set up his scope.
Without zeroing the firearm, his aim would never be a hundred percent accurate, but at this range, he was confident he’d hit anything that moved if he needed to.
Right on cue, Nora slipped out of the woods in a hunched-over run and headed straight to the side of the house. She carried her weapon in both hands, pointed down at the ground—as if she actually knew what she was doing.
Despite his awareness of her, he kept one eye on the interior for movement or changes in the light.
Nothing.
She reached the sagging front porch and bent to fast-release her feet from the snowshoes. And then headed inside.
Sebastian braced, feeling helpless, useless. He heard an almost subsonic whimper from Chance as Nora slipped out of sight.
“I hear you, buddy.”
It was concern, pure and simple.
He kept his eyes glued to the broken glass and saw Nora moving carefully through the dilapidated building. She came to the window and waved to him to join her.
All clear.
Sweat froze on his back as he rose. He shouldn’t have been sweating. Worry for Nora was a weakness he couldn’t afford. He needed to keep her in the colleague category until this mission was over.
He contacted Novak with a quick update. Grabbed their gear. Released Chance’s leash from where he’d tied it around the tree and hurried over to the house.
“Nothing but mice and the lingering odor of skunk.” Nora’s eyes were bright with adrenaline. Her smile open and wide.
She’d needed that display of trust from him, he realized.
What would it take to gain her trust in return?
He didn’t know.
It didn’t matter.
That was not why he was here.
And yet…
A breeze stole through the hole in the glass and made it rattle.
The place felt unstable, as if a light breeze would bring the rest of the roof down.
Tattered, water-stained wallpaper hung off the walls.
The stone chimney had been hand-built from river rocks, and the thick solid mantel looked as if it was as sturdy today as it had been when it had first been carved.
Those two things would be the last to return to nature.
There was no furniture left, it had probably been burned for firewood long ago, but an old broken picture frame hung on the wall with a water-stained pastoral scene that featured a highland cow.
He had to wonder who’d built this place in the middle of nowhere.
How long had they stayed? How had they died?
Nora and Sebastian went outside and collected Chance. The temperature had risen a few degrees, or maybe he was simply warm from exertion. Snow had started to fall. It was going to be an arduous few hours getting back to the cabin.
Nora squinted at the foothills of the mountain that reared up to the south. The peak was hidden by cloud.
She frowned. “Huh.”
Sebastian followed her gaze. “What is it?”
“I’d forgotten about a couple of old gold mines up there.
Illegal operation. Two brothers who didn’t think the rules applied to them.
But that’s Montana, right? Not very successful, and one of the brothers ended up buried alive in one of the tunnels.
Locals think it’s haunted, so everyone avoids them.
Not sure they appear on any of the maps. ”
Shit. Haunted gold mines not on a map sounded like exactly the kind of place Eastman might hole up. “How far away?”
She looked at him. “About a quarter of a mile.”
A quarter of a mile.
Temptation lit up inside him like a flame. He stared up into the falling flakes. “If Summer’s not there, we might end up spending the night out here somewhere. Maybe even bunking with that ghost.”
“Not a big fan of ghosts, but at least we’ll be out of the wind.” She shrugged, but her mouth was downturned with concern. Neither of them wanted to be out in this storm overnight, but they both needed to find this child and get her to safety.
And if he was honest, he wanted to get Nora the hell out of here, too, and give her story a happy ending. A win for a woman who’d earned it and for a little girl who deserved one.
“Let’s go check it out.”
Nora led the way this time, skiing through the forest with Chance’s leash in one hand and a single pole in the other.
This was a long shot at best, but everything was a long shot when looking for two people who didn’t want to be found in a wilderness as vast and untamed as Montana.
They needed to hurry because the snow was already thicker than she’d expected, especially considering the storm wasn’t due to hit for another couple of hours.
She looked at her dog with concern. Chance had started to tire. The return journey was going to hurt.
Worry gnawed at her.
Was she making a mistake? Pushing her dog to his limits—again? Or did he just need fuel and a short break? Her own back ached from carrying her pack. Her legs and arms were sore from skiing all day.
She gritted her teeth. She’d fail before Chance did, and she didn’t plan to give up any time soon.
The mountain loomed above them like a hulking giant. The cloud that clung to the bare rock at the top had begun to creep downward to consume everything in a white wave.
The deterioration in the weather made her increase her pace despite her burning thighs.
She’d only been here a couple of times before.
The first time during her first year as a ranger.
A couple of climbers had gotten into trouble on this peak, and both had fallen.
She’d free climbed up to the first climber and had found him broken amongst the rocks, obviously deceased.
The other climber, who’d been roped in, had miraculously survived, probably thanks to a secure anchor point, good ropes, a helmet, and a huge dose of luck.
She’d helped lower him safely to the ground and then retrieved the body of his friend and returned them both to their loved ones.
That’s when she’d heard about these old mines.
One of the pararescue people and a more senior NPS ranger had discussed them as a shelter option when the weather had started to close in.
Thankfully, the conditions had given them a break, and they’d made it out okay that same day—but not before the two men had tried to scare her to death at the thought of spending the night with a ghost.
Ghosts didn’t frighten her. The real danger came from ordinary humans with nice smiles.
She prayed she didn’t find another body on this mountain today.
An image flashed in her mind.
Twisted limbs. Blood in the rain.
Her mind swerved away from memories of John Kingston. This wasn’t the time for that. The mountain had delivered its own form of justice that day. She was grateful.
She made her way carefully down the bank.
The river was only about thirty feet wide and not that deep. She increased her pace, urgency pushing her, knowing there wouldn’t be any bear traps here. The passage was rough and slushy.
She spotted something in the snow on the other riverbank. What was that? Something black and tangled that didn’t look natural.
Her ski caught a rut, and she went down hard. A sharp cracking sound reminded her too late that the wilderness was full of deadly mistakes just waiting to happen. Primal terror ripped through her. She released Chance a split-second before she crashed through the ice into the frigid water below.
She gasped, dropped her pole as the searing cold engulfed every inch of her body and made her muscles contract in an agonizing wave.
Her head went under, and water filled her mouth and nose.
She snapped her mouth shut, swallowed a large gulp of supercooled river water before she emerged, spitting and coughing.
Chance was thankfully standing on an unbroken section, staring at her in agitation.
“Stay.” She ordered as strongly as she could. The last thing she wanted was him to follow her in here.
The water flowed fast beneath the frozen surface, and even though it wasn’t deep, the current was strong and tried to sweep her feet away from under her. She fought to regain her balance, but her skis tangled up her feet with the rocks, and she couldn’t stand upright.
Fuck.
Her hat sagged over her eyes. The current swept her a few feet downstream, threatened to barrel her over. If she went underneath the ice up ahead, she might not escape before she ran out of oxygen.
Panic made her scramble even harder for purchase.
Strong hands grabbed her wrist. Held on so tight she felt as if her arm was being wrenched out of its socket as the river played tug of war with her body.
Sebastian didn’t let go. He dragged her, the whole sodden deadweight of her, and pulled her to the unbroken edge of the ice where he lay prone.
Her teeth chattered. “You should get off the ice. It’s dangerous out here.”
His expression was tortured, and he didn’t appear to appreciate her weak attempt at humor.
Chance whined, and her heart gave a little twist.
She couldn’t die. Not here. Not like this. Who’d take care of her dog?
Sebastian started to shimmy backwards an inch at a time, dragging her with him. The ice cracked beneath her arms every time she tried to haul herself out.
She began to tire.
“Hang on to me,” he growled. “No matter what happens, do not let go.”
She swallowed and nodded, fought tears and a dangerous numbness that quickly spread through her limbs.
“I can’t feel my fingers,” she admitted, frustrated she couldn’t remove her skis.
Those eyes of his were almost black with intensity, contrasting sharply with the paleness of his skin. His expression was grim, brows pulled low, teeth bared. The fierce determination there mesmerized her. The grit. The resilience. The force that burned its way inside her.
“Almost there now. I won’t let you go, Nora. No matter what happens, I won’t let you go.”
Meaning he’d die with her.
She didn’t want that.