Anything could happen.
She let out a long sigh—the only outward sign that her brain and body were buzzing like a million live wires—gave the stick an affectionate little rub, and turned into the mountains to save Campbell Turner and keep that darned virus out of the wrong hands. Again.
It wasn’t until a half hour into the flight—without any sign of the other aircraft—that she truly understood Amka’s final warning about ice.
Parts of the river she followed into the higher mountains looked way too close to breaking up. If the lake was melting too, she’d have nothing to land on.
And even adrenaline junkies wanted to live.
***
Elias’s phone rang in his hands. He almost dropped it, then caught it at the last minute. It was Daisy, calling from the lodge.Finally. He shoved it to his ear.
“Oh man, am I glad to—”
“Don’t talk.” Daisy didn’t sound like herself. Gone was her easy drawl. Instead, she was crisp, curt, all business.
He closed his mouth. The background noise—though light—hit him hard. Music. Probably a song he’d never heard of, from some band so young they’d been barely out of diapers when he’d left. The low murmur of people talking, the loud hiss of steaming milk.
The hum of civilization.
“Hey, Frank!” Daisy said in an artificially happy voice.
Frank? Why the hell was she calling him Frank?
Something shuffled and heavy footsteps sounded. He could picture those feet tromping over worn wooden floorboards, could see the ancient rugs, and when the door toward the restrooms creaked, he envisioned the quiet, dark back hall. “Hang on, let me grab the order from the kitchen!”
Was that yelling in the background?
Unease tickled at the nape of his neck.
“Thank God,” she whispered. “Tried calling you a million times. This is the first time it’s gone through.”
Another shiver, this one deeper. “What’s up?” He had more questions—likeWhy’d you leave the bar to take this call? Why’d you pretend I’m someone else? And why are you whispering now?He didn’t take the time to ask them. Something was wrong. Something that sent disquiet slithering through him, while the trapped feeling welled up and moved him to the front door. Caution made him scan the landscape twice before exiting. Bo bounded happily up the steps and nudged her face against his leg. He automatically dug his fingers into her fur. It was cold on the surface, hot close to her skin. When she yipped and did her happy little pony jump, trying to get him to play, he tightened his hold, told her this was important.
“Got trouble.”
“Go ahead.” Adrenaline spiked through his chest. It sped up his breathing and made his gaze jump at every little sound.
“They’re here.”
His innards plummeted. Last year, someone had nosed around asking questions. He’d wanted to leave then, but as Daisy and Amka had pointed out, there was no point in going if he hadn’t been found.
The muted sound of voices coming through the phone now told him that byhere, she probably meantright there. “Okay. I’m out.”
“Wait!” Her voice was a stage whisper. “Hold on.” The phone shifted. “Be right there!” she yelled. Then quietly, “They’re…”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“They know… Helicopter landed…overheard and—”
“You’re breaking up, Daisy.” He was yelling now, though it wouldn’t make a damn difference. “Slow down.”
“She’s on her way to get you. Thinks you’re—Shit!” Someone screamed in the background. Daisy’s words and the scream were cut off so abruptly, he wondered if he’d somehow squeezed the life out of the phone.
“On her way?” he yelled, staring at the dead instrument. “Dammit!”Whowas on her way? And what did that mean,get him? Help him or kill him?
No response but the high, alarmedkak kakof a gyrfalcon, displeased at being interrupted midhunt. And then, right on time, as if he’d conjured it, came the buzz of an approaching engine—faint but there.
