“Just as well,” Scott said. “They weren’t going to find anything, because Jackson is with us. Just like you said all along.” He would never forget her reminding him that their job was to save people—no matter what.
“How far is it to the cars?” Jackson asked.
“Not far.” Scott swung the boy onto his hip, steeling himself against the sharp pain in his back. He could do this. Only a little farther to go.
Brian’s truck was still there, parked beside Lily’s Subaru. But they hadn’t gone far before Scott realized something was wrong. “What the—?” Lily asked, failing to finish the sentence.
All four tires of the truck were slashed, and the front windshield had been shattered. The tires on the Subaru wereruined as well, only the driver’s side window broken. But someone had raised the hood. When Scott reached the car and looked inside the engine compartment, he could see the battery was missing.
“Who would do something like this?” she asked.
“Someone who doesn’t want us to be able to go for help,” Scott said.
She turned to him, her face pale. Then she looked around them. He could read her thoughts. Was someone watching them now?
Jackson began to cry again. “I’m never going to get home!” he wailed.
Scott passed the boy to her. She rocked Jackson in her arms and kissed the top of his head. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
He looked at the snow-covered road. It was miles to any home or business, but what choice did they have? “We’ll have to keep walking,” he said. “At least it will be easier terrain to cover than the woods or the avalanche field.”
She set Jackson on his feet once more. “I’ve got a better idea,” she said. “I’ll ski ahead of you. You two can follow on foot with the dogs, but I’m bound to get there faster. With a little bit of luck, I can send people back to meet you.” She had already removed her pack and was unfastening her skis. She dropped them on the ground and stepped into the bindings.
“I want to go with Lily!” Jackson wailed.
Scott wanted to go with her, too, but instead he put a restraining hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Lily will be a lot faster than us,” he said. “She’ll reach help sooner. We’ll follow along at our own pace.”
Lily shouldered her pack once more. “I’ll send help as soon as I can,” she said. Shelby danced beside her. She looked down at the dog. “You’d better keep her here,” she said. “She’s alreadyworn out. I don’t think running all that way would be good for her, and I’m too tired to carry her.”
“Shelby, come.” Scott beckoned. The dog glanced at Lily, then hurried to his side. He took hold of her harness. “Good luck,” he said to Lily. If Jackson hadn’t been with them, he might have kissed her.
She nodded, then turned her back to them, planted a ski pole and set out.
Chapter Seventeen
The memory of a shot ringing out, the bullet felling Scott, haunted Lily as she skied down the snowy road. Anyone could be hiding in the trees on either side of her, maybe whoever had vandalized their vehicles. She forced the thought from her mind. She didn’t have any choice but to keep going. Jackson was weakening fast. She didn’t know how much longer he could do without food and shelter in the cold. She concentrated on sliding one ski forward and then the other, poles planting rhythmically. The road sloped downward slightly, and she began to pick up speed, the cold air stinging her cheeks even as her muscles warmed. After so many hours of trudging along in difficult terrain, the sensation of floating across the snow untied some of the knots in her shoulders and stomach.
She didn’t know how long she had been skiing or how far she had traveled when she spotted the lights of a car moving toward her. She slowed and waited, torn between darting into the woods to hide and waving her hands to flag down what could be her rescuer.
The car slammed on its brakes, skidding a little in the snow, and the driver’s door popped open. “Lily! Lily, you’re safe!” The familiar stocky figure of Mike Swanson emerged from the car and hurried to her. He stopped directly in front of her and pushed sunglasses to the top of his head.
“Mike!” Relief surged through her. “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad to see you.”
“I’m relieved to see you, too.” He hugged her tightly, then stepped back and looked over her shoulder. “Where are Jackson and Scott?”
“I left them back down the road just a little ways. We decided that since I was the only one with skis, I should go ahead to bring back help.”
“Terrific.” He lowered his glasses. “Let’s go get them.”
“Where is the sheriff?” she asked. “Did he send officers to Pandora?”
Mike frowned. “The sheriff refused to take my report about your phone call seriously. I don’t know what he’s doing, but he isn’t looking for you and Scott. I’m not even sure he’s looking for Jackson anymore.”
“What do you mean he wouldn’t take you seriously? You told him Jackson was with me, right? And you told Denny?”
“Denny is as frustrated as I am. We decided to give up on Howard and put together our own team to rescue you all.”
“Where is Denny now?”
