A voice crackled unintelligibly in the little communications device she’d stuck in her ear. After cleaning it, obviously. Lord only knew what kind of cooties these people’d brought with ’em from the lower forty-eight.
When the question came again, she figured it was meant for the woman she and Marion had left trussed up in the shed. Knowing their prisoner would freeze to death in there, they’d piled her up with blankets and furs and tied her down so she couldn’t move.
Now, back at Marion’s place, Amka pushed the little button and replied with a mumble of her own. There. They could have fun trying to understand that.
At the next communication, she did it again and when they replied, sounding annoyed, she pushed the button a couple more times so they’d think their devices weren’t working. Then she settled back against the side of the shed to wait.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, an ATV started up.
Grunting with the effort, she heaved herself away from the clapboard siding and went back into the shed.
The ATV drew closer, and she watched through the crack in the open door as two men pulled up in front of the house. They signaled silently to each other before splitting up—one moving to the back and the other to the front. Once they’d gone in, she waddled out into the yard, exaggerating her limp and doing her best to look old and frail—which wasn’t in fact all that hard.
By the time she arrived at the porch, one of the men was there to meet her. She smiled and nodded, speaking the few words of Ahtna she remembered from her great-grandma. Didn’t even know what it meant, but she thought some of it might be dirty from the way Granny’d laughed when the kids repeated it.
The man remained expressionless, while his eyes swung to the side a few times—looking for help, probably. Backup for an old woman.
She’d have laughed if it weren’t so true.
“Could you help me with this, sir? I seem to have lost my—”
Though his gun was out and up, he didn’t see the bear spray until it was too damn late. He was down, covering himself and trying to breathe, in too much pain to warn his partner. She fumbled with the tranquilizer gun and almost lost her hold. Her pulse picked up a bit when the sound of heavy boots running reached her, but she kept her cool and just had time to turn the gun before the other one could wrench her arms behind her back.
Chapter 22
Leo adjusted her stance, shifting her hand closer to the knife at her waist.
“There’s no virus?” She knew that statement for the lie it was. The virus existed. She’d flown a sample of the damn thing out of Antarctica. Her team had it contained in their secret headquarters, where a team of scientists was trying to figure out why it was worth killing for. “Okay.” Caution made her voice artificially light. “If you think there’s no virus, then where are we headed? Where have you been taking me, Elias?”
She took a quick look around, expecting… Hell, she didn’t know. What more could happen at this point?
Don’t ask questions like that, dummy.
“Where?” Though she had the urge to yell, the word came out low and quiet and gruff.
“I was going to send you to Canada. Like Amka wanted.”
“Canada.” Her nostrils flared in anger. “And what was your destination?”
“Schink’s Station.”
“To face the enemy on your own.” Not anger, hurt. He didn’t trust her. Didn’t want her by his side.
“I can’t put you in harm’s way, Leo. You’re injured. I have to get you to safety and then make sure they don’t hurt anyone in—”
“When did you plan on mentioning this?”
“Soon.” He at least had the good grace to look guilty. “When things were safer.”
She nodded slowly, stepping away from the tree where she’d almost done something unforgivably stupid. With the yeti, for God’s sake. The lying liar. That would teach her not to trust so fast. Not to be taken in.
She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind and then shut it. Yelling wouldn’t solve a thing. She didn’t know this guy at all.
Then what the hell am I doing groping him in the woods?
“Crap!” She didn’t remember ever being so angry with herself. Or so out of control with her body, her emotions. Was this because of the head injury?
“What?” Ever vigilant, he glanced around.
