Chapter 36 #2
We pulled into a gas station outside Helena, the Rockies jutting like broken teeth against the horizon. I gathered the team while Sabine slept.
"Almost there," I said, my voice low as I unscrewed the gas cap.
Ellie stretched her arms overhead. "Then maybe we can all relax a little."
I shook my head, scanning the empty lot. "Saw the news yesterday. They're looking for you, Alex. Questions about the arson. Arturo's denying everything."
"Shit," Ellie whispered.
"They showed Sabine's picture," I continued. "And the AG still hasn't moved on the Bellantes."
Cam's jaw tightened. "Let's just get there. Behind safe walls. Feels too exposed out here."
Alex glanced over her shoulder, her fingers flexing at her sides. "Feels too exposed everywhere."
I watched Sabine through the window, her chest rising and falling in sleep. The grey kitten curled against her neck.
"Don't let her see the worry," I told them. "Just a few more hours."
The pump clicked off. Time to move.
I eased back onto the highway outside Helena, my eyes scanning the road ahead.
The Montana landscape intensified with every mile, the mountains growing from distant shadows to towering sentinels that seemed to watch our approach.
The sky stretched impossibly wide, a pale blue canvas that made me feel simultaneously exposed and free.
In the rearview mirror, I caught Sabine stirring, the kitten adjusting position against her neck. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the changing terrain through the window.
"Where are we?" she asked, voice thick with sleep.
"Almost there," I answered, deliberately vague. The less she knew about our exact location, the safer she would be if questioned.
Twenty minutes later, I turned off the highway onto a county road, then onto progressively smaller routes. The pickup's headlights stayed steady in my mirrors as Cam maintained perfect following distance.
The narrow road began to climb, winding through dense pines that occasionally broke to reveal glimpses of something vast and white through the trees.
I slowed as we rounded a final curve, allowing Sabine her first full view of the frozen lake stretching toward distant mountains, its surface gleaming like polished marble under the afternoon sun.
"My God," she whispered.
The driveway curved through a stand of pines before opening to reveal our destination. The house rose from the hillside, two stories of warm cedar and glass that caught the winter light. Large windows faced the water, while the back nestled against the forest for cover.
I assessed it automatically: defensible position, clear sightlines to the approach road, multiple exit routes, dense tree cover on three sides. The isolation that made it perfect for hiding also meant we would see threats coming.
The pickup pulled alongside us as I parked, Cam's vigilant eyes already surveying the perimeter. I cut the engine, listening for anything beyond the settling tick of cooling metal and the whisper of wind through the pines.
I turned the key and the engine died, leaving us in a silence so complete I could hear Sabine’s breathing.
We climbed out, joints cracking after days of confinement.
Sabine stood motionless in the driveway, her breath clouding in the mountain air as she stared at the lake stretching like polished glass beneath the sky.
"It's like something from a postcard," Alex said quietly beside her.
The team moved with coordinated speed. Cam hefted the heaviest bags while Alex grabbed the weapons cases. Ellie cooed softly to the cats as she lifted the carrier. I unlocked the front door, testing the hinges, scanning for anything out of place.
Sabine turned from the view, her gaze sweeping over the four of us standing in the driveway. Something shifted in her expression—a softening around her eyes, a slight parting of her lips. The wind lifted strands of her hair as she took us in.
"You know, if I'd listened in journalism school and not fucked my source, I wouldn't be here," she said, the corner of her mouth lifting.
Alex snorted. "You'd be in a lot less danger too."
"Probably should have listened, huh?" Ellie added, her voice light despite the dark circles under her eyes.
A laugh rippled through our group, brief but genuine. The first I'd heard in weeks. It felt foreign, like clothes that no longer fit quite right.
"I'm glad I didn't," Sabine said, her voice growing steady. "No matter what happens, I told the truth." Her eyes found Alex, lingering there with an intensity that made me glance away. "You told the truth. No matter what happens next, I am grateful to be here with all of you."
Cam, silent as always, reached out first. Her hand settled on Sabine's shoulder, solid and sure. Ellie stepped forward next, then Alex. I hesitated only a moment before completing our circle. We stood connected, five women against the world, our breath clouding in the mountain air.
I watched as Sabine's shoulders finally dropped from around her ears. The sunlight caught in her hair, turning it to fire against the snow. Her face had color again, no longer the pale mask of fear I'd grown accustomed to seeing in the rearview mirror.
We had made it. For now.
The danger wasn't over, but for the first time in weeks, maybe we could breathe. I allowed myself five seconds to savor it before returning to the job at hand.