Brooke shifted. “How long do you think before we can get out?”
“Depends on how bad it is. We know the river will be running fast. My rig can handle a lot, but too much water and downed trees could put us right back into danger.” Nick rubbed his face, feeling the exhaustion settling into his bones. “Tomorrow, maybe.”
The thought of spending the night in Bearwater didn’t appeal to any of them, but it was already dark, and they weren’t going anywhere. At least George was no longer a threat. Nick tried not to think about the body pinned under the massive tree just outside the front door.
“Med check,” Gina said, positioning herself so her shoulder was no longer touching his. The absence of her warmth was immediate and noticeable. His chest tightened. He’d known her for less than a day, but somehow she’d become essential. Not tomorrow. Not eventually. Now.
“I’m good,” Joe said from his position across the hall.
She nodded as she stood. “No doubt, but it’ll make me feel better to check you.” She raised her voice slightly and looked toward the tent. “Each of you. I want to make sure nobody’s developing hypothermia or going into delayed shock.”
Gina moved to Joe first, checking his pulse and looking at his fingernails. The altitude had hit him hard during the run, and the stress of the past few hours couldn’t have helped.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Alive, which is more than I expected a few hours ago.” Joe smiled, pen paused just above the lined paper of his notebook. “Thanks for defending me earlier, by the way. When that maniac was trying to make everyone suspicious of each other.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Gina said. “None of us did, except...” She glanced toward Kelsey.
From inside the tent, Kelsey said, “Except me. I did everything wrong.”
“You saved our lives in the end,” Nick said. “That counts for something.”
“Does it? I put you all in danger in the first place. Used your friendship, your trust, your running group as a cover for criminal activity.” Kelsey’s voice was flat, defeated. “How do I come back from that?”
Nick knew what he wanted to say—that people made mistakes, that everyone deserved a second chance, that the circumstances had been complicated.
But looking at the faces around him, he wasn’t sure everyone felt the same way. He wasn’t even sure that was how he felt. The truth was, he blamed Kelsey and believed that blame to be justified.
“I don’t know,” Brooke said. “I honestly don’t know, Kelsey. You’ve been lying to us for months. Every run, every coffee, every time we hung out...you were using us.”
“I never wanted to use you,” Kelsey said desperately. “You have to believe that. The running group, our friendship—that was real. That was the only thing keeping me sane through all of this.”
Joe’s pen returned to his paper as he quickly scribbled something before looking up. “But it wasn’t real, was it? Not if you were thinking about drop sites and criminal meetings every time we met up.”
There was a long pause before her voice came again. “It was real to me.”
“Joe’s got a point,” Nick said. “Trust is hard to rebuild once it’s broken.”
There was a rustle from the tent as the zipper came open. Kelsey poked her head out. “So that’s it? I’m out? After everything we’ve been through together?”
“I don’t know,” Gina said, pausing as she moved to check Brooke. “That’s not a decision we can make right now. We’re all traumatized and exhausted. After we’ve had time to process everything...”
“When the police start asking questions,” Kelsey added bitterly. “When the lawyers get involved and I’m facing criminal charges.”
The reality of their situation was sinking in. They’d survived George, but the legal aftermath was just beginning. Kelsey would be facing charges for theft, conspiracy, and possibly more. The rest of them would be witnesses, their lives disrupted for months or years while the case worked its way through the system.
“We’ll figure it out,” Nick said, though he wasn’t sure how.
“Will we?” Kelsey’s laugh was hollow. “Look at you all. You can barely stand to be in the same room as me. And that’s before the media gets a hold of this story. Before everyone in town knows what I did.”
“The media is here,” Nick pointed to Joe, who was back to scribbling.
Without looking up, Joe nodded. “It’s an amazing story.”
“You’d do that to me?” Kelsey asked, her voice tight.
Brooke snickered. “You’re kidding, right? After what you did to us? The danger you put us in? Joe writing about it pales in comparison to us almost dying.” She tapped Joe’s foot with hers. “Let me know if you need a quote. I’m all in.”
