Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Nora spent time with the other locals looking at the photos Eastman’s clients had sent in.
They identified a few of the locations in images, some in the park and others closer to the Flathead National Forest. A lot of the sites were temporary summer ones under canvas, close to wide, shallow rivers where the fish were plentiful.
Interviews suggested Eastman liked to cache some of his gear rather than lugging it back to his house every trip.
Couldn’t blame him for that even if it wasn’t strictly legal, especially if his cache included weapons.
None of the clients had mentioned anything about mines though…just that he tended to disappear for a few hours prior to their departure.
When they’d finished, Nora took time to organize her gear for the next day and adjust the bindings on her new skis to fit her boots. Susan came over to talk to her, and although Nora usually enjoyed the other woman’s company, it seemed as if she were bent on singing Max’s praises.
“There’s a spot you can have over there.” Susan pointed to the floor between her and Max.
“I’m good. Thanks.” Chance had already curled into a ball on her mat next to the sled and she was loath to disturb him or force him to endure Bruno’s proximity all night long.
Cas laid a bedroll on the floor beside hers. And then another beside that. They were all squashed in like sardines in a can. “Is that okay or do you need more space?”
She looked around the cramped quarters. “I don’t think space is an option. It’s fine.”
She shouldn’t trust this guy as much as she did, but there was something about him.
Something genuine. Maybe it was his declaration of undying love for his girlfriend or just the kindness she saw in his eyes.
She usually took time to warm up to people, to trust, but between him and Sebastian, she felt physically safe.
She hoped to hell she didn’t have a nightmare tonight though.
She needed to not think about it. “Fair warning. If you sleep next to me be prepared to wake up to sloppy kisses and bad gas. And who knows what the dog will do.”
Cas cocked his head and grinned down at her tired partner. “Unfortunately, I left my gas mask at the ranch.”
It was a reminder these guys dealt with the worst of the worst case scenarios. She’d trained with masks once and had hated every second of it. She’d felt suffocated. It was the same as when she’d tried to learn to scuba dive. Unbearable.
She touched her throat.
She knew why.
Hated that John Kingston had taken that from her too.
The image of his broken body flashed through her brain like lightning.
Shivers ran over her shoulders, and she hugged herself tightly.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian appeared suddenly at her shoulder, and she froze.
He handed her an MRE pouch with a fork. Held out another packet to Cas.
Cas held up his hand. “Hopper is saving me my favorite. You take that one.” He walked away, and she was left alone in a crowded room with the one man she didn’t want to talk to.
“I can leave if you’d prefer.” His dark eyes watched her warily.
Chance stood and stretched, then wagged his tail at Sebastian as he gave him a fond hello.
Traitor.
She didn’t want to call attention to their fight. She didn’t want to have to explain it to the others or have them speculating. She shrugged and gave him a bland look. “Whatever you need to do, Operator Black. We are both professionals who need to work together.”
“Nora…”
“Do not ‘Nora’ me.” Her whisper was fierce, but she kept her expression calm. She swallowed the tightness in her throat.
She switched to business. The reason they were both here. “Did you get a list of disused mines in the area, because I really think that’s where he’s likely to hole up this time of year.”
“Novak is sending out a map tomorrow that BLM has examined and marked up. If we don’t find any sign of Eastman tomorrow, we’ll start searching them, one by one. The drones and satellites should give us some coverage of those areas in the meantime.”
She grimaced. “It’s millions of acres. That’s a lot of ground to monitor.”
They hadn’t found her—Mary Eleanor Deacon.
Eventually, climbers had stumbled over Kingston’s body and then the camp where he’d kept her, and then authorities had begun a fresh search for her. She flinched away from the image that flashed through her mind.
Pale skin. Gray rock. Crimson blood being washed away by the rain.
“We’ll find her, Nora.” Sebastian’s tone was gentle with understanding.
Her gaze shot to his, and suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore. She folded over the packet.
“You have to eat. Summer needs you to keep up your strength.”
Her eyes widened at his attempt to manipulate her.
“Please.” His tone turned to begging. “I’m worried about you.”
She gave in and reopened the packet.
He looked relieved.
She didn’t want him to look relieved. She didn’t want him to care. She didn’t want to see that face and crave him with every cell of her body, while always wondering in the back of her mind if he treated her differently because of her past.
How could she ever feel worthy of someone like him?
She shifted away slightly. “You should probably go now.”
Disappointment flashed over his features. Disappointment and hurt. He masked them quickly, even as he held her stare.
She kept her icy mask in place until he finally gave up and left her alone. She caught Max’s intent gaze. Looked away. Then she sealed her food up and put it on the windowsill beside her bed. Grabbed her jacket, pulled on her boots, and headed outside with her dog.
Glenn put his head down and pushed on through the heavy snow, the sled tied onto a long cord attached to a belt around his waist. He’d wrapped a thermal blanket around Summer and wore another like a cloak over his own coat. It should stop eyes in the sky from spotting them too easily.
His daughter was listless and weak. He’d had to spoon feed her some soup, and then he’d cut the roasted rabbit into small pieces and made her chew them thoroughly before she swallowed even though she said she wasn’t hungry.
Then he’d broken one of the pills in half and fed it to her.
Made her swallow it with a drink of warm water.
They needed to make it to an old, abandoned copper mine about twenty miles away.
Far enough from the gold mine to lose whoever was following him.
Tomorrow, during either the forecast snowstorm or at night, he’d pop over the border into Canada and find an empty cabin to stay in for a few weeks.
Somewhere he could nurse Summer back to health while he made arrangements for transportation down to Central America.
But dragging a sled for twenty miles in this deep snow and over this wild terrain was going to be a challenge even for a guy as fit as he was. He ignored the burn in his leg muscles and kept the rhythm he needed to move fast and efficiently.
Summer was asleep now. Rest was the best thing for her. She’d be fine in a few days.
Another few hours went past, and he’d been making good progress when they came to a section where a small stream cut through the side of the mountain and fed into the lake at the bottom.
The stream was still frozen, as was the lake, thanks to the temperature dropping back down to ten degrees Fahrenheit.
But the stream channel had cut deep into the hillside, and the ice-covered rocks that edged it posed their own problem.
He stopped and assessed the area. The ground was rougher than he’d expected, and a fallen tree blocked the route on the other side.
“Summer.” He bent beside her to shake her awake. “I need you to get out and walk across this section. It’s only for five minutes. Then you can get back in, and Papa will pull you the rest of the way.” Hopefully.
She sniffed and nodded. He helped her up, her body startlingly frail under his hands. She wobbled.
“Careful, kiddo.”
She gave him a teary smile.
“That’s my girl.”
She began to pick her way gingerly over the rocks. Holding onto boulders with her gloved hands to help keep her upright. Meanwhile, Trapper investigated every tree within pissing distance.
Glenn tucked his poles under the straps on the sled and dragged the contraption to follow Summer over the rocky section. The sled was heavy and skewed sideways, almost pulling him off his feet. His ski got caught on a rock, and he went down hard, chin hitting a boulder and jarring his head.
“Motherfucker.” He spat out blood from where he’d bitten his tongue.
“Papa!” Summer turned back toward him. “Are you okay?”
Her outrage over his language amused him, her concern warmed him, but he didn’t want her to injure herself or slow them down.
“Go on, Summer. I’m okay. You keep Trapper with you over there.
See if you can climb over that tree, but don’t go no further.
Snow’ll be deep. I’ll take the sled lower and come back up to meet you. Stay under the tree canopy.”
She crossed her legs and grimaced. “I need to pee.”
He rolled his eyes. His ankle was killing him, and Christ knew how much that might slow them down. “Then pee once you get past the tree, but cover it with snow afterwards. Then stay there. I’ll be a few minutes. I’m not going far.”
“The wolves—”
“They’re all tucked up in bed.”
“The bad men—”
“That’s why you have to stay quiet and do what papa says.
” He twisted onto his side and managed to reach up to undo the ski bindings.
Snapped them off, grabbed them both in one hand, and sat up, holding the sled cord in the other hand.
The sled tried to pull him downhill across the icy surface. “I’ll be there shortly.”
He moved another fifteen feet downstream.
The sled got stuck again, and Glenn almost lost his patience trying to get it over the boulders without everything falling off.
Thankfully, he’d strapped everything on securely, and Summer slept on top of the supplies.
But right now, it was difficult to maneuver the fucking thing, and this delay was the very last thing he needed.