Silver Mine (21 page)

“Shelley.”

Chase gazed at her, his nonchalance from earlier gone, replaced by concern. She shook herself alert. “I’m okay.”

“I know you are. But I want to get out of here as soon as possible. Mark is standing lookout, but I don’t want to camp anywhere near this site.”

She nodded and braced herself, stepping forward to begin to gather the samples she needed. “Will we hike back to your cabin tonight?”

“Partway.”

“I can walk. I’m tired, but I can go for a while.”

He hummed noncommittally. “How’s your arm feel?”

“How’s your shoulder?” she snapped back.

Chase snorted. “Woman, you are so not good at the
do everything you’re told
thing.”

Carrying on a conversation made it easier to ignore exactly what she was doing to the body in front of her. “You’d have been bored. Admit it.”

“I would have been completely bored,” he drawled.

Shelley slipped samples into a small hard-covered case and broke the vial inside the cooling pack. She squished the chemicals together until the reaction began, turning the container into a miniaturized refrigerated carrying case for the tissue and blood samples.

She rose and stepped away from the shifter, managing at the last to see him inside the twisted layers. “Poor fellow. I’m sorry we couldn’t talk to him, though. Find out where he’d been, what he’d been exposed to. If only…”

Chase came to her side and turned her away from the sight. “I’m going to take care of the body. You rest for a minute. We’ll be hiking shortly.”

She didn’t waste energy arguing. She sat on the rock he led her to. Glanced around to see Mark patrolling the area, his nose visibly twitching even at a distance. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out slowly.

There was something horrible happening, and she still had no idea how to save Chase. The puma who’d attacked her? Chase had said the man was a partner with the horribly malformed man.

If she did the basic logic equation that meant whatever the dead man had succumbed to was contagious, potentially deadly, and both Chase and she had been exposed.

A loud crash brought her gaze back up to where Chase worked, piling combustibles over the body. He methodically cleared a space around the collapsed lean-to, separating the wilderness from his stack. Then he lit a corner and stepped back.

Flames licked inward in a slow trickle, swallowing the wood and leaves. The thick white clusters of old man’s moss clinging to the branches sparkled as it was consumed. Chase watched intently, his body strong and straight as he stood vigil.

Shelley wanted to go to him, but this wasn’t the place. There wasn’t any time. But Chase’s expression? It looked as if he was considering his own funeral pyre.

In all his years of living in the bush, he’d never faced this before. Ahead of him Shelley was barely keeping herself vertical as he pushed her to walk one more section of the return trail before allowing them to collapse in exhaustion.

It wasn’t the smartest of moves—with potential dangers growing around them, he should have bunkered down and found a place to rest that was defensible. But the fear running through his veins motivated him far more than he wanted to admit.

There was death in the wilderness, and this time it was calling his name.

The thought of dying wasn’t what kept him walking the uneven path. The bright sky lit their way—the midnight trail was daylight clear. And the same clarity filled his mind. His arm was weaker than before, pain radiating out and stealing his strength at times.

He’d seen what had happened to the men. The loss of their humanity, the change into monstrous beasts.

If he’d been alone he would have turned and headed north, retreating as far into the bush as possible. He would have dug a pit or found an abandoned mine. Ended his life to protect others from whatever it was that had him in its grip.

Shelley stumbled, and he raced forward to steady her. She pressed off his assistance and resumed her mindless march, nothing but sheer determination keeping her going.

If he’d been alone he would have done all sorts of things differently, but he wasn’t alone.

Shelley
.

Injured and the only person who had a chance of finding a solution to whatever was happening.

The rumors Delton and the others had shared were true. The men had known. Had listened to the voices on the wind and from the wild creatures that cried out that disease and death were coming. He’d already been marked, but damn if he wouldn’t see Shelley safely back to civilization where she’d have a chance at a cure.

She stopped, feet coming together as she rested a hand on the nearest tree. “Chase? Break. Please.”

He surrounded her and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Soon. This spot is too contained. Five more minutes and we should be at a clearing.”

She nodded, her fingers finding his arm and squeezing for a moment. “You’re a harsh taskmaster.”

“I know, a slave driver. Pirate. Why do you think they call me Silver?”

Her laugh, weary as it was, lightened his step. “I’m going to offer to walk the plank in a few minutes, just keep that in mind.”

“You’re too damn tough to make that offer, Shelley. Now come on, tell me what you’d really do if you were on a pirate ship?”

They’d resumed walking. Slower, but still covering distance. “I’d probably get sick. Can’t stand the motion.”

Her confession surprised a tired snort from him. “Really?”

“Even canoes do it to me. You should have seen Johnny the first time he tried to take me fishing.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah. Poor man. I spent the entire trip with my head hanging over the side. I swear I was green.”

He kept her talking about good times—and they were all about family. Chase caught himself smiling as she shared another tale. She really was a healer. As he listened to her smooth voice, the tight knot of pain inside that had threatened to drive him to his knees eased.

For this woman? He could hold on and accomplish great things.

Time passed in a blur. Chase finally brought them to a halt and set up camp. Shelley collapsed still fully clothed onto their hastily assembled bed. Mark prowled the area around the tent, constantly sniffing the air, his bristled nose wiggling and twitching.

“You call if there’s even a hint of trouble.”

The wolverine motioned his agreement.

Chase crawled in beside Shelley and curled himself protectively around her. Passing out in exhaustion wasn’t what he’d originally planned for this evening, but it was the best thing for them both at the moment.

He fell asleep with her warm breath fanning his neck, lips pressed up against his throat as she rooted in closer.

Daylight, or more properly the next day, was going to come a whole lot quicker than either of them wanted.

Chapter Seventeen

Shelley had never felt more grateful for the sight of a rustic log cabin in her life. “You said you’d ordered more pizza.”

Chase chuckled, stepping forward to slip his arm around her waist and escort her toward his home. “For you? One with the works. Anchovies, shrimp, extra-spicy sausage.”

“Oh Lord, stop that. I’m drooling as it is. I can’t stand this kind of teasing.”

He squeezed her. “You did incredibly well out there. And you deserve pizza.”

She nodded briskly, ignoring his compliment. “We all did what we had to.”

Every step her legs went more rubbery, and if she slept for a week, she might get caught up. Unfortunately, that luxury was out of the question. “When do we head back to Whitehorse?”

Chase smiled. “How about I arrange transport?”

Oh Lord.
“Really? I don’t have to walk?”

He shook his head. “Maybe not. Don’t get your hopes up too much until I confirm a flight, but if you want to shower, I’ll use the ham radio and make a few calls. We should be able to get a chopper out here so you can take those samples to a lab as soon as possible and get your arm looked at.”

The idea of skimming effortlessly over all the terrain between here and Whitehorse made her whimper with want. “I would kiss you if you can arrange that.”

He laughed. “Motivation. Come on.”

Shelley glanced at the men they walked past with a whole new admiration. For their way of life and just how remote, dangerous and free it truly was. Their courage made her even more determined to find a cure for what could be coming to destroy their world.

The fact they looked at her now with respect instead of suspicion made something inside her very happy. Acceptance had never come easily, and each time it came, it felt more incredible than before.

Delton barely glanced up from where he stood by the kitchen stove. “You two smell like shit, begging your pardon, ma’am.”

“So nice to see you again, Delton,” Shelley responded.

He grunted. “I’ll feed you after you wash off the stink. Won’t be able to keep my food down otherwise.”

Shelley had been avoiding taking a deep breath. She knew what he was taking about.

“Shelley wants pizza,” Chase deadpanned.

Delton whistled. “Whoa now, good thing I love a challenge.”

“Oh stop, I’ll eat anything, Delton, don’t fuss.”

“‘Don’t fuss, don’t fuss’. That’s what you say to old grannies. Who you telling not to fuss?” The old man glared for a moment before dropping one lid and winking.

She was so tired she didn’t know which way was up. So tired if she started giggling she was bound to not be able to stop.

Chase had removed her pack without her even being aware he had undone the straps. Shelley reluctantly reached for it. Lifting the heavy object was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.

“Don’t worry about your stuff,” Chase soothed her.

“I need to put the samples somewhere safe.”

“Shit, okay, fine. In the bedroom.”

Shelley nodded.

Chase squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll be with you in a second. I need to call Whitehorse.”

She made her way into the back and stood beside the bed with its rustic quilt, the soft pillows. The blinds at the window were still turned upward just as they’d left them. If she didn’t stink as bad as she did, she would bet the scent of their lovemaking lingered in the air.

Had it really been not much more than twenty-four hours?

All that she’d seen and done floated in her brain, jumbled and confusing. Pain and fatigue turned the mental movie into a chaotic rollercoaster of flashing images. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, too dazed to even collapse.

Chase’s arms closed around her. A sign of just how exhausted she was, she hadn’t heard him approach.

“I’ll get you set up. This way.” His voice had that rough, scratchy tone that made her think of sweaty sex. Not good, considering her knees were already on the verge of buckling.

Chase led her into the tiny bathroom in the corner of his cabin. The composting toilet was more convenient than an outhouse, and that’s about all that could be said in its favour. “So surprised you have a shower.”

“Yep. Makes me a greenhorn son of gun, according to Delton and the other men. Shoulda just kept throwing myself in the lake for a bath like they do, but damn if I want to do that all winter when I’ve got to break the ice before I even hop in.”

The thought made her body tighten up. “Shower is good.”

Chase filled the holding tank. “Stay in as long as you want—I’ll keep the tank topped up.”

She was exhausted, stinky and scared to death. It was the least logical thing for her to suggest, but the words spilled out anyway as she grasped his forearm. “Join me.”

Chase cupped her chin in his hand, his thumb rubbing gently on her cheek. “Shelley…”

“Please. We don’t have to fool around, I just want to touch you.” And more than that she couldn’t explain.

He stared at her for a moment then nodded. “I’d be an idiot if I turned down a lady’s request to scrub her back. And I ain’t never been accused of being stupid. I left messages with my contacts, and they’re supposed to call me back about flights. I’d love to join you.”

She slipped out of her clothes and abandoned them on the floor, his mixing in with hers as he stripped as well. There was barely any room in the teeny stall for them both, and only seconds later they were skin to skin under the heated liquid.

She didn’t want sex. Didn’t need him to get her turned on. She honest-to-God just wanted to have him there beside her so she could figure out what the heck was going on, and his warm body was the only rock-solid base she had to center herself on.

“Our bandages?” Chase asked. He had leaned back on the wall and draped her up against him.

“Let them get soaked. We’ll need to put on fresh ones anyway.” She ignored the part inside that dryly commented about how much good her doctoring had done for him up to now.

Chase grabbed soap and slowly ran his hands over her skin. Top to bottom, he worked her over. Removing the dust and the stench of death from her body. Letting the blood and the tears swirl down the tiny drain.