Deke’s chin rose. With a sneer, he turned away, looking at Vic. “How many more did you get while I was gone?”
“Two. We’ve already processed them.” Vic nodded toward the work area.
“Good. I think it’s time we move to another spot.” His gaze traveled over Dustin, then Toren and me. “We’ve attracted too much attention here.”
“Just say the word. We’ll pack it up.” Ankles crossed in front of him, Vic glanced at Deke, then went back to staring at the fire.
“Soon. You got any food made?”
Vic jerked his head toward the tents. “There’s a pot of stew in my tent. Help yourself.”
My stomach growled at the mention of food. If Deke heard it, he didn’t acknowledge it, nor did he bring any out for us when he returned with a pot and a spoon.
While he ate, he wandered, stopping in the workspace and at several places at the edge of the clearing to stare into the trees.
My gaze tracked him. I’d rather not let him out of my sight. The man gave me the willies, and there was no telling what he’d do.
Metal scraped against metal as he finished the food in the pot. He wandered back to the tents, and I was left straining to hear what he was up to.
Probably just putting the pot back. But, again, I didn’t trust him.
I eyed Vic and Toby, who sat on the other side of the fire. Vic had a pine bough in his hands and was steadily plucking needles off. Toby sat several feet away from him, alternating between staring at the fire, then his hands clasped between his knees, then at Dustin and us. He looked like a scared animal ready to bolt.
I nudged Toren with my shoulder. When he glanced at me, I said one word on a breath: “Toby.”
A moment later, he let out a soft grunt, acknowledging what I’d noticed.
If we had a way out of here, it was through him. He’d already made it clear he didn’t want to hurt anyone.
As I contemplated how we could get Toby alone and persuade him to help us out of here, Deke reappeared, holding my phone in his hand.
He held it out to me. “Your pilot friend should be calling.”
I took the phone.
“Pilot?” Toby’s brows knit together.
“I found us a ride.”
A moment later, the phone rang.
I looked up at Deke.
He nodded. “Put it on speaker.”
I tapped the speaker. “Hi, Walker. You’re on speaker. Toren’s here with me.”
“Hey there.” Walker’s voice came through as easy and as warm as ever. “You two still doing all right? Any changes up there? Things are clearing here, but I saw some pockets of stuff when I was flying around.”
“We’re good. We moved, though,” I said, keeping my voice even, eyes on Deke. “Where we were was a bit socked in.”
“Okay. Hopefully, you’re not too far from the sites I noted. The river’s a no-go. Too much water flowing, and too much snow covering the sand bars. I did find a couple of clearings that look promising for a snow landing. I need your coordinates, so I can check these against them. I’ll go wherever’s closest.”
“Um, sure.” I lifted an eyebrow at Deke. He had our GPS unit, so I needed his help.
He grinned that cold smile and took it from his pocket. After pushing a few buttons, he handed it to Toren, who read the location off.
I kept my eyes down as he gave Walker the coordinates. Deke had just handed over his exact location to someone who knew we’d been taken hostage and could get law enforcement to us.
