Untraceable (11 page)

What would their grumbling mean for Cade, Isaiah and Heidi?

Isaiah slowed down even more to see if he could make out their conversation. If there was something other than a field of snow ahead of them, he might suggest that he and Heidi and Cade make a run for it. They could hide. But Cade would likely argue that they might be gunned down before they could ever find cover.

Soon enough, Zach would realize their formation had gone awry and Heidi would likely be in the back with him again, but for now, Isaiah needed to know what they were saying.

“If you can’t get ahold of him how do you know he’s going to be there?” Jason asked. “He’s dumped us, that’s what he’s done. We’re on our own.”

“Shut your mouth, do you hear me?” Zach again.

“I’m so tired now. How are we going to make it?” Rhea whined. “Can’t you have him pick us up somewhere near here? Get a helicopter or something.”

“Both of you, shut your traps.”

The pause in conversation implied that they feared Isaiah was listening. Time to redirect things. “Tell me about your photography?”

“Huh?” Heidi stumbled a little.

“We want them to think we’re engrossed in our own discussion,” he said under his breath.

“Oh, yeah, well, I think photography has kept me sane these past few...” Heidi let her voice trail.

“Months?” he finished for her. He hadn’t meant for the conversation to turn serious, but she’d opened that door. “Heidi, I’m so sorry about everything that happened to you.”
Including any part I played in it.

“I didn’t think I’d ever get over the day Jenks fell and died. I should have done something to keep it from happening. Some search and rescue team member I am.”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault, Heidi. Never was.” He knew others had told her that repeatedly, but she’d been unwilling to accept it.

He wasn’t sure he would’ve reacted any differently had he gone hiking with friends and someone fell to their death. After all, they both assisted people who’d made poor judgment calls and were trapped or lost or injured in the wilderness. To have that happen on her watch had crippled her.

“No point in arguing about whose fault it was,” she said. “It happened and it changed me. I’m coping better now. But then came Lon and the fact that he was married.”

She conveniently left out that before the accident, and before Lon, Isaiah had stepped back from their growing friendship, hurting her. Nor had it helped that Isaiah had been the one to tell her about Lon.

She cut him a look. “I resented you at first, but you told me the truth and I should thank you for that. I just wasn’t thinking clearly at the time.”

“I know.” His voice was husky.

“And then to find out about Dad cheating on Mom, and that we have another sibling out there we don’t even know, made me think I could never trust again.” She shrugged. “It all seems so trivial now with being abducted like this. Forced to lead these people through dangerous terrain, risking our lives for them. I don’t know if we’re going to live through this, Isaiah.” She glanced up at him then, her lovely brown eyes that could coax anything out of him caressing his face.

Isaiah’s heart floated. He shouldn’t react to her this way, but how could he stop?

“These are big mountains,” she continued. “We’ve made enough headway and we’re far enough off our original path that I don’t know how we’ll ever be found.”

“Your brother believes all we have to do is deliver these guys, and we’ll be on our way. I hope it’s that simple, but I don’t see things happening that way.” Isaiah wished he could take the words back. He needed to reassure her, not scare her more.

“We don’t have much choice, except to hope that helicopters are searching for us already,” she said, “but they have a lot of ground to cover before the next storm erases our tracks. So the coming hours, days, could be our last.”

“Don’t talk like that. You have to believe we’ll be okay. You have to trust God. I know you do.” Now listen to him, trying to convince her to trust God when Isaiah was struggling with that very issue. He believed they’d have to make their own way out of this. He wasn’t even trusting God himself.

“You’re right, I do. But people die every day.”

She was right.

Leslie’s face drifted across his mind. He hadn’t known she was engaged at first. He’d fallen hard for her, and he’d thought she returned those sentiments. Then when he found out about Aaron, he’d thought he could change her mind. Why would she want to marry a man with anger issues? A man that would hurt her like that? When it became clear that she had every intention of going ahead with her wedding, and that Isaiah had only put more strain between her and her fiancé, he’d finally decided to back off. Should have done it much sooner. He’d gone to break things off for good, but he never got the chance. He’d been the one to find her body.

No matter how far he’d moved away, no matter how much distance he’d put between himself and his past, and how much effort he’d poured into starting a new life, those images would never leave him. His knees buckled and Isaiah caught himself, brushed the images aside. At least his past was nudging him to do the right thing now—tell Heidi while he had the chance.

“Heidi...I’m sorry for pulling away from you. Sorry if I hurt you.” There was so much more to it. So much more he wanted to say.

She stared at him. “You didn’t.”

* * *

She’d lied.

The clouds resurfaced again and finally moved in, as though reinforcing her somber mood. Stomping along behind Isaiah as the snow fell thick and hard, wiping away their hope of someone spotting their tracks, Heidi couldn’t get the look in his eyes out of her head. He’d hurt her all right, the moment he’d gone all nonchalant on her. She’d never forget that day, a defining moment in her life.

She wasn’t sure when their relationship had started exactly, but she’d been sure when it ended, at least for her. Isaiah began giving her rides home after search and rescues. After work at the Avalanche Center they’d hang out together. Get dinner, or a soda, or catch a movie. Just friends, all along. Neither of them ever crossed that invisible line. But over time, they shared a few looks. Three years of that and Heidi’s heart grew attached to Isaiah in ways she could never explain. His friendship meant the world to her, and his presence wrapped around her, protecting her and making her feel cherished.

Should a girl feel that way about a guy who was nothing more than a friend? They never talked about it, but she had a feeling he understood what she was thinking. She felt the attraction and suspected Isaiah did, too, but stepping over that line, becoming more than friends, would mean they’d risk losing what they had.

Maybe having more with Isaiah was worth the risk. And that’s why that one evening while they waited on Cade and Leah to return from Seattle, she’d found herself looking into Isaiah’s eyes and letting herself wish for more. Found herself wanting to trust him completely. She’d seen something similar in his eyes. Her heart had leaped at the possibility of freely loving him.

And her head had spun when the longing behind his gaze had shuttered closed, hiding his feelings from her. Everything about Isaiah had changed that day. His smiles weren’t personal and special and just for her anymore. She could have been a stranger off the street, the way he treated her, though he was never unkind.

But he’d been scared that day. Apparently something more with Heidi hadn’t been worth the risk to Isaiah, and yet his fear had shut down the friendship they shared anyway. He changed his work schedule so he no longer worked the same shift.

Nothing had been the same between them. After the hiking trip that ended with the loss of her friend, Heidi had needed Isaiah and he’d failed to be there for her. His choice. After that everything had spiraled downward and sent her into a darker place.

She couldn’t stand to let Isaiah know that he’d held enough of a place in her heart to hurt her. But if he knew anything about her, he’d know she had lied. Still, her words had cut him all the same. She could see it in his eyes.

Her pain.

His pain.

But none of what she’d gone through compared to this nightmare.
Oh, Lord, please give us hope. Help us out of this somehow. Use us to show these people Your love and grace. Just...show up.

The prayer lifted from her heart, but she’d never felt so alone. God was there. She knew He was, but why couldn’t she feel Him? Get a sense of His presence?

What about all those verses in Psalm 139? She’d meditated on them, used them to help her get through her most painful moments, and yet here she was hiking through the wilderness and slipping back into the darkness.

She whispered to herself, “‘If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.’”

Where are You, God?

No answer.

But Heidi knew that her heart was too strung out. God’s answer always came in the form of a still, small voice in her heart. And she always recognized His voice. No matter that the situation seemed hopeless, she would cling to Him the best she could.

And, as if He’d answered, the snow stopped falling, and the sky peeked through the dense clouds, if only a little. After her hurtful words to Isaiah, he’d left her behind, hiking on ahead, but he glanced back now and caught her gaze. He remained every bit the pillar to her that her brother was, and that made no sense.

Isaiah stopped.

He stood at attention and peered into the sky.

Heidi heard it, too.

A helicopter!

SAR had finally found them.

Oh, thank You, God!

The sound grew louder as the bird flew closer. Heidi couldn’t contain her excitement. She searched the skies, waving her arms up and down. Jumping, too.

Something slammed into her, knocking her into the snow. Yanked her up by the arm. She gasped for breath.

Zach.

He dragged her, waving his gun around. If Heidi could have managed it, she would have knocked it out of his hands. But his grip on her was too strong, and his brutality intimidated her. He’d had the exact opposite reaction to the sound of a rescue helicopter.

This helicopter would not be a friend to him.

“Run to the rocks and hide there or I swear I’ll kill her!” He jammed the gun against her head and dragged her through the snow as if she weighed nothing.

Heidi only caught a glimpse of the terror on Isaiah’s face, but they all ran for cover. No waving or catching the helicopter’s attention. And the snow had covered most of their tracks from earlier. The mountains were beginning to eclipse the sun and whatever fresh tracks they’d made would likely go unnoticed from the air.

Running for her life through the deep snow, stumbling and falling, being snatched back up and dragged, Heidi felt her strength, her willpower melting. She operated on autopilot, keeping up with Zach and the others in order to survive. How had her life of saving and rescuing people twisted into this perverse experience that sucked the life from her?

If she made it back to Mountain Cove, life would never seem hard to her again. She would celebrate and be thankful. She would count even the smallest of blessings. She would connect with people she missed, she’d bridge the gap between her and Isaiah. Somehow. Someway.

They made it to the shadows of a spire that thrust high into the gray sky. The helicopter wouldn’t fly nearly close enough to see them crouched behind where rocks sprung from the spire and other outcroppings, which had escaped being buried by snow and remained a dingy gray themselves. Only Heidi’s bright fuchsia jacket could draw attention from the sky, and Zach had her tucked behind the rock to prevent discovery.

“Anyone make a wrong move and I’ll kill you all.” The words seethed from him, his hot breath a shock against her cold cheeks. How she hated feeling him this close to her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to calm her racing heart, slow her panicked breathing.

You are my Rock, God. You are my Rock, God.

The helicopter drew near. It was right there. If only they could jump out and wave. David had to be worried sick about them and must have contacted the Alaska State Troopers for a new search—one sent out for the search and rescue team themselves. Maybe they even knew about the armored-car-robbery fugitives. Knew what was going on. Then again, maybe they didn’t have a clue.

Regardless, she, Cade and Isaiah were powerless to signal their would-be rescuers.

Zach had her pinned against the rock so hard, the gun pressed against her temple, she gasped for air.

Breathe in. Breathe out.
An image of when Isaiah had said those words to her as this nightmare had only begun flashed in her thoughts. That seemed like an eternity ago. She opened her eyes.

Isaiah and Cade leaned against the rock opposite her, Isaiah’s eyes locking with hers. In them, she saw the promise he’d made.

I’m here for you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.

How she wanted to believe him. But right now, with Zach pressing his body over her, preventing her from signaling for help and rescue, Isaiah’s promise fell flat.

It was dead to her.

ELEVEN

H
is gut twisted. The helicopter moved away, skirting the mountain in search of them.

He should have risked it. Should have fled the safety of cover and waved them down. So what if Zach shot him? That would be an even bigger mark against the guy. Didn’t he know that? But Isaiah couldn’t risk Heidi’s life.

In fact, he was done watching Zach hurt her. He jumped to his feet, envisioning the instant he’d yank the man away and maybe take the gun from him, too. Cade held him back, but Isaiah shrugged free. It didn’t matter.

Isaiah didn’t have to get in Zach’s face.

Jason beat him to it. He pulled Zach to his feet, the surprise clear on Zach’s face.

“Why did you make us hide? That helicopter could have been our way out!” Jason’s face grew even redder than it already was from the cold.