Untraceable. Elizabeth Goddard
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and you got it. That’s what we’re here to do, but you have to trust us. And believe me when I say we can’t guide you out of this saddle tonight.”
Isaiah’s heart battered his insides. He thought he’d already seen enough trouble to last him a lifetime. But he needed to try to talk their way out of this.
Zach didn’t appear to like to be challenged, especially in front of his friends. He stepped toward Isaiah, waving his weapons around, his thick gloves raising the threat of him accidentally putting too much pressure on a trigger guard. Isaiah didn’t think Zach had the safety locked on either weapon.
An image of a woman covered in blood suffused his mind. He shook the memory. A vise gripped Isaiah’s chest. He wanted to grab the guns and stop this insanity.
“Didn’t I already warn you that if you slow me down, I’ll get rid of you?” Zach aimed both guns at Isaiah, point-blank.
“No!” Heidi screamed.
Zach made a mistake, standing too close. Isaiah could grab him, disarm him, but with Cade and Heidi so near and Jason holding the other weapon, that would gain Isaiah nothing. He couldn’t risk someone else’s life, but then again, if he didn’t take the chance now he was risking all their lives.
To Isaiah’s regret, Heidi put herself in the line of fire and pulled on Zach’s arm. “Please, don’t.”
“Get back, Heidi.” Isaiah skewered her with his gaze. He didn’t need her risking her life for him.
“To get out of these mountains, you need all three of us,” she said again.
Zach’s gaze slid to Heidi. It was all Isaiah could do to keep from wiping that leer off his face. But he didn’t have to worry about it for long. Zach slammed his weapon into the side of Isaiah’s head, just under his helmet. He fell back into the snow, dizziness engulfing him.
“Isaiah!” Heidi’s scream sounded as if it was coming from the other end of a tunnel.
She appeared by his side. “Isaiah,” she whispered. “Talk to me.”
He tugged off the helmet and grabbed his head. “These things don’t protect against raving lunatics.”
What had he expected from Zach, anyway?
“Heidi’s right,” Cade said to Zach. “We can help you climb out tonight, but it’s going to take all three of us.”
Ignoring his pounding head, Isaiah focused his vision. He had to stay with it. Heidi scrambled over to the medical kit a few feet away.
“I’m not convinced,” Rhea said. She looked at Heidi.
What? That woman expected Zach to do away with Heidi?
Cade’s tension was palpable. “In addition to our equipment and expertise, you’ll need us to physically assist you down. There are four of you. You need all of us.”
Something ran down Isaiah’s neck. He pressed his gloved hand against the side of his head where he felt a knot and drew it back. Blood. Zach had given him a gash.
This was an absolute nightmare.
“That settles it, then,” Zach said. “Now that we’re all in agreement, let’s get this stuff put away and get geared up.”
Heidi dropped next to Isaiah. She examined his head and swabbed it, then looked him in the eyes. He wished she wouldn’t do that. Give him that look that showed him how much she cared, and yet how much she couldn’t care. How much he’d hurt her, on top of everything else that had happened.
“You shouldn’t challenge him like that,” she whispered. “Just do as they ask. We’ll make it out of this. We have to.”
She moved to stand, but he grabbed her wrist. “Don’t put yourself between me and anyone like that again.”
Shaking her head, she tried to stand, but he kept his grip on her. “Do you hear me?”
“You’d do the same for me,” she said.
Yes. Yes he would, and more. But he couldn’t have her risking her life for the likes of him. He didn’t deserve the sacrifice.
Heidi stood and offered her hand. Of course, Isaiah could stand without her help, but he took her hand anyway. Felt the strong, sturdy grip beneath her gloves. Maybe Cade had been right. Heidi needed to get back into climbing and helping people. Search and rescue. Only Isaiah was certain she didn’t need it to come at her like this, with crazy people waving guns around.
The moon finally dipped behind the north summit, and the silhouette of thick clouds edged into the sky from the west. Isaiah put his helmet back on.
“Hey!” Zach directed his attention to Isaiah and Heidi. “What are you doing? Let’s get the gear packed up and ready to go.”
Isaiah growled under his breath. This guy had no idea what he was getting them all into. He bent down to help Heidi pack the tents and stuff the equipment back in the pack. The helicopter had dropped more gear. How were they going to carry all of it down? He watched Cade studying all their supplies, probably wondering the same thing. If they were really going to do this, hike out tonight, at least until the storm prevented them from going farther, there were few items they could do without. Added to that, they had no idea how long Zach and his crew were going to need their assistance.
David monitored their activity from the command center and would want an update soon. Isaiah had no idea what they would tell the man. Did Zach even have a clue about that? And did he have a clue that it might be mid-April but up in these mountains it might as well be the dead of winter? Well, except there was more daylight. The thing was, if they went tromping off into this mountain wilderness and survived, at some point, another team would be sent to search for them when they went missing.
Oh, yeah, someone would look for them.
But the storm could very well prevent that search from happening anytime soon, and with Zach pressing them they could be far from here by then. They might never be found.
How far was Zach planning to push them?
Isaiah finished zipping the last pack, itching to ask Zach exactly that. Just how far were they intending to hike? How long would they need the SAR team’s assistance?
How long before Zach killed them?
Heidi decided to wait until the last possible moment to tug her heavy backpack on. As overfilled as it was, it would weigh her down and tire her out before they made whatever unreasonable destination Zach had in mind. They’d yet to learn where exactly it was he wanted them to guide him other than off this saddle between the summits. All she knew was that leaving tonight was a potentially lethal idea.
Regardless, she couldn’t afford to slow them down. By killing the other man in the group, Robbie, Zach had already shown he didn’t have patience. Didn’t care about others. A radio squawked somewhere. Heidi stiffened. They had to update the command center. That had to be David calling.
Zach approached her. Why me? Heidi wanted to be invisible.
Her nerves slid down her back and into the snow at her feet. Please, God, make me invisible. She didn’t want this man to look at her. To talk to her.
But somehow she knew it was already too late. He’d...noticed her. The look in his eyes confirmed it. He tugged her tight and leaned in close, his breath warming her cheek. She could fight him with everything in her and even wound him, but she knew that would only end up hurting Isaiah or her brother in the end. So she stood her ground instead.
Then Zach smirked at Isaiah while he kissed the side of her head. She tried to move away, but Zach held fast. A shudder crawled over her.
Even in the firelight, she saw the murder in Isaiah’s dark hazel eyes. She could see Cade’s jaw working from