Spiral (The Salzburg Saga Book One) (7 page)

She always called Hazel when she went on a business trip. As Hazel, the only one of her three other siblings currently in London, they always informed the other if they’d be away for any extended period of time. How would she make the call now, when Justin had said earlier that there was no signal?

How on earth had they gone from joking in the VIP area of Gatwick to be battered, bruised, and deserted in the middle of nowhere?

Then with one thought she had her answer: Hugh Drayton.

Was it wrong that she wished him dead? That she’d envisioned, as she’d fallen and stumbled in the thick snow, herself with her hands around his neck, drawing out every last breath he had? If it was wrong to feel this way, she didn’t feel it. If anything, it buoyed by the vision. How could he still be alive and Jake and Emily’s friend, Ben, dead?

Neil and Jake seemed to know where they to head, for which she’d be eternally grateful. She hated to think it, but she wasn’t sure what they would have done if both pilots hadn’t survived the crash.

Realizing that Neil and Parker had stopped, Nina sighed in relief. Tentatively, she rolled her aching shoulders.

“Let’s take a short break,” Neil panted, his chest heaving. His suggestion was met with relieved sights and nods of agreement. Within moments, they had all lowered themselves onto the snow in a small circle. Hugh, more alert now but still groggy, opened and closed his eyes, his head resting on the rucksack Justin had placed behind him.

Justin glanced up at his father. “He’s no lightweight.”

You should have just dumped him,” Jake responded before Parker could reply.

Nina shared his sentiment, as did everyone else it seemed. Only Parker contradicted him.

“That’s not the attitude to have to get through this, Jake.” Parker’s face was haggard, the toll of the last few hours having added ten years to his countenance.

The pilot’s eyes frosted over. “Don’t lecture me about the right attitude,” he snapped. “The reason we’re all in this mess is because of the one your son’s displays.”

“I-” Parker began.

“Forget it,” Jake cut in, and pulling out a large bottle of water, took a swig before passing it to the rest of the group to drink and quench their parched throats.

Nina pressed her chin to her raised knees. Though the avalanche was behind them, the way Jake kept flicking his eyes around told her that they weren’t yet out of trouble. From where she sat, miles and miles of snow was their only company; it seemed they could walk for a month and not see anyone. “How much longer do you think we have to walk for?” she asked Jake.

“A while.”

A similar response he’d given Ange earlier, she noted. Fine, he was angry, she got it, but they all were. None of them had asked to be here. “Jake–”

“The most important thing is to hope there won’t be any more avalanches,” Justin interrupted.

“More avalanches?” Shayna clutched a sleeping Luke tighter to her. “What do you mean?”

Everyone looked at each other.

“Yes, what do you mean?” Neil demanded.

. “Ignore him,” Jake suggested, but avoided everyone’s eyes that had turned toward him. “He was rambling.”

“The hell I was.” Justin’s face flushed with anger. “I’m going to tell them what they need to know so they can be prepared.”

Disdain filled Jake’s eyes. “Prepare them? With what? All we have are the clothes on our back. What you’ll do is send them all into a tailspin of panic.”

“There’s…there’ll be more than one?” Angela asked in a small voice.

“They’re known to come in twos or threes,” Justin answered bluntly. “Each one is usually stronger than the last–”

Nina could only stare at him.
Could things get any worse?

“That’s unlikely to happen this time,” Jake said in a clipped tone.

“How do you know?” Parker demanded.

Jake didn’t answer.

“How much longer do we have to walk, Jake?” Emily asked tautly. Tearstains streaked her face and pain and fatigue clouded her eyes.

Jake glanced at his watch. “Forty-five minutes give or take,” he said reluctantly, and expelled a breath as a groan of protest rose up from the rest of the group. ”We have no choice. We’re further from the avalanche area than we were before, but...”

“What’s the time?” Nina asked, though she couldn’t have said why that was important.

Jake consulted his watch. “Just gone four o’clock London time, which means it must be about five o’clock out here.”

“And we’re definitely not in England anymore?” Parker asked.

Jake didn’t bother to dignify that with a reply, which just made Parker appear more agitated.

The baby awoke with a gurgle, and Shayna pressed a kiss to his forehead before turning bruised eyes to Neil. “My back hurts.”

Neil rubbed the base of it gently. “I know, baby. I’m sorry. When we find shelter, I’ll give you a longer back rub.”

“What the hell are you doing, Justin?” Jake suddenly hissed as the other man tapped on Hugh’s cheek. “You want him awake and causing more trouble?”

“He’s heavy,” Justin snapped. “I’d prefer not to break my back carrying him while trekking through snow.” But even as he tapped his brother’s cheek, Hugh, only half awake, batted Justin’s hand away.

Steel glistened in Jake’s gray eyes. “Then you should’ve ditched him like I suggested. We’ll have to get going again soon. We need to find shelter for tonight. We can’t sleep out here.”

Nina drew a fortifying breath, mentally preparing her body to shift. Her quads burned with every step she took as they resumed their trek through the snow, and her blood felt as if it had frozen in her veins. Images of the hot bath and warm double bed flittered cruelly through her mind. Parker’s elegant chalet would remain unoccupied while they froze and starved out in the middle of nowhere.

“It’s not just shelter we need.”

Emily’s tense words had them all turning to her. “We haven’t got any food," she clarified. “The food we had got burned with the rest of the jet.”

Jake acknowledged Emily’s words with a grim nod. “I know, but shelter’s the first priority.”

“Luke needs to be fed,” Shayna declared, pulling Luke’s sucking mouth away from her chest. “I’ll need to do it now before we carry on.”

“What? What are you doing?” Justin cried in panic when she placed Luke in Neil’s arms and began unbuttoning her top.

“I’m going to breastfeed my son,” she replied with impatience. “What does it look like?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

When, by tacit agreement, they decided they had gone far enough, they all scanned the area. Everyone’s chests heaved with exertion, tempers long since frayed, and mouths were unsmiling.

The area they found themselves in now looked the same as what she’d seen all afternoon: miles of flat snow-covered land with tall dark mountains in the backdrop. The only difference now was they’d lost light; the sky a darker blue; the clouds bunched together as if seeking warmth from one another and the unnerving silence of isolation. She estimated that they’d walked for the forty-five minutes Jake had predicted, and since Shayna had finished feeding Luke and they had set off, Nina could no longer feel her toes.

Jake shot a look at Neil. “What do you think? I don’t think will get better than this.”

Neil rolled his shoulders tentatively, his face a mask of pain and weariness. “You’re better informed about these things than any of us. You’ve traveled here before.”

Jake shook his head. “I’ve flown over it. Not the same thing.”

Lethargic and drawn, Parker sank awkwardly to his knees, the sling that Emily had set his left arm in a rested against his chest while his gloved right hand rested on the snow beneath him . “We’re nowhere near my chalet, are we?”

“No.” Jake’s reply was flat.

Parker’s eyes were hollow. “I suppose we can be grateful we all made it out safely.”

Nina shot a glance at Jake and saw his eyes flash fire at the older man. Emily closed her eyes. “Not quite, Drayton.” Jake’s voice was colder than the current temperature around them.

“Jake–” Neil began.

“What do you mean?” Parker frowned.

“What do you think I mean?” Jake’s arm slashed at the air with anger, then he winced at the pain the abrupt movement caused. “Take your head out of your backside for a minute and look around. Not everyone made it out. Someone’s missing.”

If Parker found Jake’s words insulting, he didn’t show it, his gaze moving around the group. “I don’t…” he began, and then sucked in a shocked breath. “The copilot?” he asked in disbelief, looking back at Jake. “He’s not here.”

“Ben Denny,” Jake bit out. "He had a name."

“He’s gone.” Emily’s voice hitched. For a moment, she and Jake just looked at each other, each with similar expressions of grief and disbelief. “I couldn’t undo his seatbelt.” Confusion flooded Emily’s expression. “Why couldn’t I undo it? Why wouldn’t it come undone?”

Jake just shook his head, eyes tormented. “Em…”

“He died because of that.” She covered her face with hands that trembled. “Too much smoke. He inhaled too much smoke. If I’d managed to undo his seatbelt he would’ve had a chance like the rest of us. I–"

“No.” Jake’s curt denial stopped Emily. “That brat Drayton is responsible for that. He knocked Ben unconscious. Ben didn’t have a chance to get his seatbelt off because he was out of it.” Jake gave her a gentle shake as it to ensure the truth got through to her. “I was still struggling with Hugh when the jet crashed. And when the jet landed everything was dark and all over the place. I couldn’t see anything, couldn’t’ hear anything. Everything was covered in smoke and soot, nothing looked or sounded familiar. Everything was in disarray.” His voice broke at the memory of it, and he had to take a moment to gather himself bedsore continuing. Emily stared at him, her mouth trembling as he went on. “I knew there were three of us in that cockpit: me, Ben and….Drayton.

“It was too dark to see which of the two I was closest to, so when I got my seatbelt undone I just started dragging out the body closest to me.” He closed his eyes and shuddered. “It was Drayton I’d pulled out, Drayton whom I’d helped save. Not Ben.” He opened his eyes and looked directly at Emily. “Then you were there, asking me about Ben, about how he was still in there. And I realized what had happened. That Ben was still in there. I’m sorry, Em.” He lowered his head to Emily’s shoulder in disbelief, and she rests her chin on top of his head.

Silence had fallen over the group. Heart in her throat, Nina stared at him and Emily. Finally she knew what had happened in that cockpit.

“But in the cockpit I couldn’t get his seatbelt off,” Emily whispered, her hand on the back of Jake’s head, offering comfort even as she seemed unable to take any for herself. “It was dark and the smoke had gotten worse. You and Neil were trying to rescue Nina too.” Emily’s gaze shifted to Nina. “The crash turned your seat upside down. Do you remember any of that?”

All eyes turned to Nina.

Horrified, she could only shake her head no, and was glad it was true.
She’d been turned upside down?

Parker looked over at Hugh who’d yet to wake fully. Wetting his lips, Parker looked back at Jake and Emily. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Jake’s head jerked from Emily’s shoulder, his eyes stone cold. “It’s your son who should be apologizing.” Disgusted, he shot another bitter glance at Hugh.

“Yes –he…he ambushed the cockpit. I…” Parker trailed off, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I don’t know what got into him. I understand how you must feel.”

“You understand nothing.” Jake’s words whipped out like a lash. “Ben didn’t get a chance to survive the crash because your son knocked him out. He came at Ben from behind like the coward he is. Ben wasn’t able to defend himself. When the jet crashed, it was too dark for me to even see what I was doing, whom, I was helping. But it was your son whom I saved and not the man I call friend. I have to live with that for the rest of my life, and so does Em.”

Nina could only listen helplessly with the others, all of them shocked into grim silence.

Parker looked ill. “I wish there was something I could do. Where…where is Ben now?” He eyed their surroundings warily.

“Where do you think?” Jake hissed; the words were as jagged as the mountain peaks around them. ”We had to leave him behind in the jet, trapped to his chair.”

When Parker squeezed his eyes shut, Jake turned away, disgusted all over again.

Nina pressed her fist to her mouth. Angela puffed on her inhaler, while Emily remained glassy eyed. Neil sat with his arm around Shayna’s shoulder, his eyes down and resting on Luke. Justin fiddled with his fingers.

Jake stalked a few feet away from the rest of them as if the sight of them made him sick.

Taking a deep breath, Nina looked at Neil. “We need a place to sleep tonight.”

“We’ll have to build a snow cave,” Justin announced, and then bristled when everyone stared at him in surprise. “What?” he asked, his voice testy.

Jake retraced his steps back to them. “Know how to build one of those, do you, Drayton?”

Justin gave a brief nod. “It’ll take a few hours, but if we all pitch in, it’ll make it easier. We need a small slope or a bank of snow.” When Jake arched a brow but said nothing, Justin continued. “We need to build one with enough sleeping platforms for everyone.”

Parker’s eyes had widened in surprise at his son. “You’ve never mentioned knowing anything about all this, Justin.”

“I’m not completely useless.”

“I never meant–”

“Forget it.”

“A snow cave?” Shayna wondered out loud. “I’ve never heard of that.”

“It’s the most logical step,” Jake said simply. “It’ll keep everyone warm and sheltered.” Squatting down, he yanked at the stiff zipper of his rucksack. “It’s either that or frostbite and hypothermia, which I know none of us wants.” He patted the snow beside him, thick and unyielding under his gloved hand. “We’ll need depth for it, several feet at least.”

Neil left Shayna and Luke with Emily while he and Angela began to make room for the cave. Ahead of them, Jake moved further out to a bank of snow to scout the area and Justin reluctantly followed him.