Her phone buzzed. Her stomach dropped as she read:
ANDREW: NEED TO MEET. EMERGENCY. THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME.
“What?” Cory asked.
"Andrew just texted. Thinks someone’s going to kill him."
His jaw tightened as he pulled into a scenic overlook, the valley spreading below them in shades of gray and white. "Could be a trap. Probably is a trap."
"Duh."
Izzy studied the message again. All caps. Classic Andrew panic mode. "But look at the pattern. Brad knew something, Brad's dead. Reed knew something, someone tried to kill him. Now Andrew..."
"Who's been taking MedFlight money to harass you." Cory drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "He's a loose end."
"For sure."
"You think it's genuine?"
She slapped her phone against her palm. Maybe. Maybe not. With her ex, everything depended…. "I think whether it's a trap or not, whoever's behind this will be there. Watching." She met his eyes. “Regardless, we’ll get a shot at whoever's pulling the strings."
Cory stared out at the snow beginning to fall harder now, fat flakes catching on the windshield. "It's a gamble."
"Everything's a gamble at this point." She gestured at the spa behind them. "I just got a facial consultation after committing a felony. We're past playing it safe."
"Where does he want to meet?"
She texted back.
Where?
Andrew: Old mining overlook. Sunset Point. One hour. PLEASE.
"Sunset Point." Izzy knew the place—abandoned scenic overlook twenty minutes up the mountain. Popular with teenagers during the summer. But in the winter, the trailhead was isolated, a single access road with plenty of places for an ambush. "Perfect place for a trap."
"Or a desperate man who knows he's being hunted." Cory started the engine. "We go in careful. First sign of an ambush, we bail."
"Agreed." She checked her weapon, then looked back at the ski runs one more time. Somewhere up there, families were laughing, racing each other down the mountain, thinking about hot chocolate and warm fires. “We’ve got plenty of time to gear up first.”
Whether Andrew had devised a trap, or someone more serious was behind this, she’d go on loaded for bear.
33
Cory’s stomachroiled as he pointed his SUV up the mountain, windshield wipers fighting a losing battle against the wet flakes that seemed determined to blind them. The December sun was already surrendering to the mountains, weak light filtering through heavy clouds that promised more snow.
0415 and it felt like midnight was approaching.
"Next left," Izzy said, though he already knew the way. Everyone who'd lived in Hope Landing knew Sunset Point.
Single access road—bad for escape routes. Steep drop off on one side, rock wall on the other. Limited cover except for the old viewing platform and concrete barriers. If this was a trap, they were driving straight into it.
Beside him, Izzy checked her Glock for the second time in five minutes. The motion was subtle, but he caught it. She was nervous too, though she'd never admit it.
"Could park below and approach on foot," he suggested.
"In this snow? We'd be sitting ducks if we need to move fast." She was right, of course. Her tactical experience outweighed his by years. "Besides, if Andrew's really in trouble, we need to be mobile."
The old mining road was barely visible beneath the fresh snow, just twin ruts that his SUV's tires followed more by memory than sight. Pine branches heavy with white bent low over the road, occasionally scraping the roof with sounds like fingernails on a coffin.
