Head over Heels for the Holidays

by Jennifer Bernard

  Rune would have thought she was just doing her best to throw the stalker off kilter—except for the ring of deep truth in her words.

  She loved him. His heart filled up with so much happiness he almost forgot where they were. Maya Badass Badger loved him and was willing to stand between him and a bullet.

  Too bad she’d waited until she was facing an armed lunatic to tell him—but he’d take it.

  “Took you long enough,” he murmured, so low only she could hear. Her shoulders, squared off and braced for action, quivered slightly. She’d heard him.

  “So, what’s it going to be?” she called to the stalker. “Time’s running out. Tick-tock. I’ve gotta say, your plan was pretty brilliant. What’d you do, get a job with the medevac crew so you could skulk around town?” For some reason, she’d suddenly gotten chatty. It was very unlike her, but she must have a reason. “You knew Cara was coming out here, didn’t you? When you heard about the injury, you saw your opportunity. I’ll give you credit for—”

  A dark figure ducked under the helicopter and jumped onto the stalker’s back.

  A knife flashed in the beam of the headlights.

  Maggie latched herself to the stalker’s back as she plunged the knife into his gun arm.

  “Go, Cara!” she screamed.

  Chapter 34

  The man howled in pain and shook Maggie off his back, while Cara tore herself away from his chokehold. She ran toward Rune. He caught her against him and held her tight for a brief, powerful moment, then shoved her behind him.

  The stalker whirled toward Maggie, who’d landed on her back on the snowy pavement. She was clutching her ankle in pain.

  “Touch her and I’ll fucking shoot,” yelled Maya, leaving no room for doubt that she would. He backed away and transferred his gun into his left hand. Maggie’s knife protruded from his right arm, blood seeping into the cloth of his blue coveralls.

  The stalker kept his gun trained on Maggie as he used his wounded arm to open the helicopter door and hoist himself onboard. It must have hurt like fire, but he showed no visible sign of it. Military experience, for sure.

  With the helicopter in his possession, he had a ride out of here. He was going to disappear, and the whole cycle would start all over again. Rune and Cara would have to leave Lost Harbor, just when Maya had finally confessed that she loved him.

  He looked desperately at Maya. Wasn’t there something she could do to keep him here?

  “You won’t get far,” Maya called to him confidently. “Everyone’s going to be looking for you. You should really stop right there and let us treat that wound.”

  “And arrest me? Fuck that.”

  He pulled the hatch closed and a second later the blades stirred into motion. If only Maya could shoot the gas tank. But no way would she do that, not with Kelsey onboard.

  As the helicopter lifted into the air, Maya lowered her weapon and ran to Maggie’s side. “Are you all right, Maggie? Rune, come look at her ankle.”

  Cara dashed ahead of him toward her fallen friend. Rune followed at a run.

  “He’s getting away!” Maggie cried. “He has my mother!”

  “Don’t worry, wherever he touches down he’ll be arrested. I’ve already called it in,” Maya reassured her. “There’s nowhere for him to go.”

  Rune crouched in the snow next to the girl. “Which ankle, Maggie?”

  “My right—”

  Just then the crack of a gunshot from the trees made them all look up. The helicopter was still in its ascent over the forest, like a giant moth heading for the sky. It shuddered, then flames ripped from its belly. It veered to the right, then to the left, then plunged into a spiraling fall toward the trees.

  “No!” screamed Maggie. “My mother!’

  Maya wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl, while Cara flung herself on Maggie’s other side and huddled over her.

  Rune watched in stunned awe as the flaming helicopter disappeared into the forest. A second later flames and black smoke rose into the sky.

  “It’s setting the trees on fire,” Rune shouted. “We need to go.”

  “The fire won’t get far,” Maya said. “Too much snow.” She didn’t move from where she was, holding Maggie while she sobbed.

  Cara stroked Maggie’s arm, tears falling down her cheeks as well. Even though she’d nearly been kidnapped, right now her only concern was Maggie. His little sister was such a sweetheart. She deserved so much better than to be chased around the country by a stalker.

  Movement at the edge of the runway caught his attention. Someone was limping out of the woods. Another gunman? He couldn’t take a chance on that, so he grabbed Maya’s weapon and leaped to his feet.

  He marched toward the figure. “Who’s there? Drop your weapon.”

  “It’s me,” came a female voice, so weak and thready he could barely hear it.

  Kelsey.

  He put the safety back on the gun and tucked it into his coat pocket, then ran toward her. As soon as he reached her, she collapsed into his arms.

  “I got you. You’re okay.”

  Heaving her into a fireman’s carry, he headed back toward the others. “It’s Kelsey,” he called. “She’s alive. She wasn’t on the chopper.”

  Maggie scrambled to her feet. “Mother?”

  “I’m okay,” Kelsey managed as Rune came up alongside them. “I woke up again when the helicopter took off. I was in there alone with him. The pilot was gone. He was ranting about going back for Torrey. I didn’t know what he meant, he just sounded nuts. When he landed again, I climbed out and hid in the woods. I would have come to the lodge but I was getting too woozy. I just had to get out of sight. I think I passed out again, until the sound of the helicopter woke me up.”

  Maggie cuddled her mother’s hand against her cheek. “First I thought you were kidnapped. Then I thought you were dead. And that’s just today!”

  “I’m sorry, Magpie. I’m so sorry. I’m fine.” Kelsey stroked the girl’s hair as tears froze on her cheeks. “Cold, but fine. We’re going to be okay. But we should get back to the lodge. I might be going hypothermic.”

  “Agree,” said Rune. He could feel the tremors still shaking her body. “The sooner the better.”

  He headed for the closest snow machine, staggering into the wind. Maggie limped alongside him, keeping tabs on Kelsey. Cara kept close to Maggie, while Maya ran toward the snow machine the stalker had driven to the airstrip.

  Rune got Kelsey settled into the back of the snow machine. Maggie squeezed in next to her and wrapped her arms around her. Sharing body heat, good.

  As he straightened up, Maya came zipping alongside in the other snow machine. Frost clung to her curly eyelashes and the wool of her hat, but she looked exhilarated and just stunningly, heart-stoppingly beautiful.

  “Have you noticed that there haven’t been anymore gunshots from the woods?” Rune asked. “Any chance whoever shot the helicopter got a taste of instant karma?”

  Maya smiled wryly. “Strange things do happen in Lost Souls Wilderness.”

  “That they do,” Kelsey agreed from the back of the snow machine. “The stories I could tell…”

  “And I want to hear every single one that relates to this crime ring,” Maya said. “Later. Around a fire, with some hot cocoa and a tape recorder. Cara, hop in with me. Rune can take Kelsey and Maggie.”

  “Can I try driving?” Cara asked her hopefully.

  Rune grinned with a kind of full-bodied relief. If she could ask that question, it meant that she was already recovering from nearly getting kidnapped.

  Maya caught his eye. In the glow of the snow machine’s headlights, their dark honey shine stopped his breath for a moment. “Is this what I have to get used to now? Life with a teenager?”

  His heart turned over, then righted itself again. The entire world of cold and windy darkness instantly transformed into pure sunshine and joy. He knew what she was saying: they were going to be together.

  “Yup. For bette
r or worse,” he said. “Think you can handle it, Chief?”

  She revved the snow machine and blew him a kiss. “Watch me.”

  Chapter 35

  Christmas

  * * *

  Maya curled up with Rune on the loveseat next to the Aurora Lodge’s woodstove. A fire crackled cozily behind the smoked glass. The firelight sparked deep garnet glints in her glass of merlot. Outside, the snow fell steadily, as it had been for the past few days, ever since Ben had brought the rest of the group to the lodge.

  Their Christmas feast had just ended, and they were all in various stages of food coma. Jessica lay stretched on the thick pile carpet, her back propped between Ethan’s knees while he toyed with her coppery hair. Kate sat on the couch with her legs draped across Darius’ lap.

  Maggie and Cara and Dylan played Uno at one of the inlaid mahogany card tables nearby. Dylan and Maggie had made up enough to carry on a civil conversation, although he kept nervously asking if she’d found her knife yet. It had last been seen in Cara’s stalker’s arm, before the helicopter crashed.

  For the past few days, Maya and a few others had been strapping on snowshoes and skis and searching the crash site for evidence of survivors or victims. They’d found the stalker’s remains. Maya had hired Ben to fly the Piper Cub to the Anchorage FBI office with a DNA sample. They’d identified him and notified his next of kin.

  His name wasn’t Chad after all; it was Dale Nestor. He’d been dishonorably discharged from the Army due to misconduct overseas. After that he’d bounced around from job to job, gotten addicted to meth, gone in and out of rehab, gone through a bitter divorce. At rock bottom, he’d walked into a café in Montana and set eyes on Cara. She’d smiled at him—innocent and kind—and he’d become obsessed. In his delusional state, he saw her as some kind of angel meant only for him.

  All of that information had been gleaned from a manifesto that he’d left with Boris Clancy, of all people. Dale Nestor had threatened him and his chickens if he said a word to anyone before Dale left Lost Harbor. Clearly, Dale had an abuser’s eye for vulnerable people.

  When Boris heard about the crash, he brought the manifesto to Sergeant Hollister, who’d scanned it and emailed it to Maya at the lodge. Reading it through, Maya came to the conclusion that he hadn’t expected to survive kidnapping Cara—and he intended her to go down with him.

  Thank God that hadn’t happened. A Christmas miracle.

  Unfortunately, instant karma hadn’t claimed the sniper after all. But the fire caused by the helicopter crash had helped them discover a hidden bunker in the forest—the hideout for the people surveilling the lodge. Enough evidence had survived the flames to connect it to the transnational ring that Kelsey had told her about.

  The ring she’d spent the last few years gathering evidence against. All of it was now in the hands of federal authorities.

  Calling Agent Clement about the thumb drive loaded with names and dates and photos had been one of the most satisfying moments of Maya’s life.

  The investigation had already led to the identification and arrest of the man who’d shot down Alastair’s sister’s plane. He was cooperating with the FBI; that was how it worked when the rats started fleeing the ship. So was Edgar Murchison, now that the ring was busted. He’d revealed all sorts of information and allowed them to piece together a cohesive timeline regarding Maggie.

  Alastair padded in from the kitchen in the cozy slippers Kelsey had lent him. He carried a tray of gooey fudge brownies straight from the oven and a stack of glasses. Close behind him came Kelsey with a pitcher of something steamy and smelling of nutmeg and rum.

  Despite her limp, she smiled brightly from behind her horn-rimmed glasses. To Maya, she seemed like a new woman, now that the threat had been lifted. “God, it feels good to be mobile again. Makes me want to celebrate. Who’s up for eggnog?”

  A general chorus of agreement swept through the drowsy group. Maggie and Cara jumped up to help Kelsey pour out glasses of eggnog and distribute them.

  “Yes, you can have some,” Rune told Cara before she could even pester him. “We have some toasts to make here, so get ready.”

  As soon as everyone had a glass in hand, Rune raised his up high. “This is for Maya, who’s about to get the biggest freaking commendation the LHPD has ever had. An international money-laundering operation, whew boy. That’s a big deal. Apparently the head of the entire FBI is going to call her and personally thank her for her brilliance and hard work.”

  Everyone raised their glasses, while Maya shook her head, fighting back a smile. “I owe it to Kelsey. She’s the one who kept logs of everyone who came through here. With photos and every other detail they need to prosecute.”

  She lifted her glass to Kelsey, who gave a modest bow. “Yes, but I didn’t feel safe enough to do anything with it. But you kept at it. You deserve this, Maya. Congratulations.”

  “Hear hear.” They all drank from their glasses. The rich, creamy drink slid down her throat and warmed her to the core.

  Or maybe that was the pride and joy radiating from Rune. He really was the ultimate supportive dude. How had she gotten so lucky?

  “So this place was kind of a criminal secret clubhouse, is that it?” Jessica asked from her cozy spot between Ethan’s knees.

  “More or less. It’s remote, but close enough to Russia that it’s possible to fly a private plane across the border,” Maya explained. “When there was a need for face-to-face meetings between their contacts here, this was the spot they chose. And sometimes cash or documents had to be smuggled out, so they’d use the cove out by Far Point.”

  “So that’s why they shot my float plane?” Jessica asked, just as indignant about that crime as ever.

  “The lake you chose to land on was a little too close to their smuggling route.”

  Ethan lifted his glass. “A moment of silence for Jessica’s late lamented plane. A noble death, never to be forgotten.”

  “She’ll live in our hearts forever,” Kate murmured as they all drank again.

  Ethan continued, turning to Alastair. “Should we toast to you finally getting your answers?”

  “I’ll take a moment of silence for Caroline and Tony instead. It seems Kelsey’s ex—”

  “Belnikov, and ‘ex’ is overstating it,” Kelsey cut in. “It was a fling. Apparently the reason he came here fifteen years ago was to scope out the lodge.”

  “The organization wanted to expand into Alaska, and establish a cell here,” Maya explained.

  “We had our fling and I got pregnant,” said Kelsey. “He went back to Russia, but he’d already recruited spies here. He found out about Maggie and my plans to give her to the Berensons.”

  Alastair picked up the story. “He was still in Russia, but he wanted his kid, so he paid a couple to kidnap Maggie before my sister could pick her up. The ransom was a smokescreen.”

  “So they were flying to pay a ransom that wasn’t needed?”

  “Right. Belnikov didn’t want loose ends, so he ordered their plane shot down.”

  Kelsey dropped her head and stared into her eggnog. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea who Belnikov was and what was going on. I had medical issues and I was a scared kid. I thought I was doing the right thing for my baby and for your sister—”

  “Good God, it wasn’t your fault.” Alastair hovered his hand over her, as if he wanted to touch her. But he didn’t. “These people are ruthless.”

  Maggie came over and perched on the arm of Kelsey’s chair, listening avidly. She’d heard the story already, but clearly was still fascinated. “Then what happened? After I was kidnapped?”

  “Internal power struggle,” Maya explained. “It happens a lot in criminal enterprises like this. A rival faction planned to grab you from the couple Belnikov had sent and use you as leverage against him. They sent the trapper, Edgar Murchison, after you. He tracked down the couple, drowned them in a lake, and claimed you. But then he never got any more instructions. By that point, Belnikov had
survived the challenge and come out on top. But he didn’t know where you were.”

  “So the trapper just kept me?”

  “He just kept you. Belnikov was killed a few years later. He died before he ever found you, I’m sorry to say.”

  “I’m not sorry,” Maggie said flatly. “At least I have one good parent now. I didn’t have any before.”

  She tilted her blond head to rest it on top of Kelsey’s dark one. Even though Maggie had her Russian father’s coloring, Maya could see the resemblance between her and her mother. Both of them were survivors, tough and direct and blunt.

  “Keep going,” Jessica urged. “All of that happened fifteen years ago. What about now?”

  Maya got up to fill her glass with more eggnog, then settled back under Rune’s welcoming arm. “After Belnikov died, the other faction regained power. In the meantime, private air travel across the Alaska-Russia border had been reinstated. That made it even easier to access the lodge. The organization decided to activate Belnikov’s original plan. So they came back over the border and contacted Murchison. They discovered that you were alive, Maggie. They decided they could make use of you as a way to gain control of Kelsey, who was now the manager of the lodge. Murchison insisted on keeping you—”

  “Because I did all the work,” said Maggie.

  “Yup.” Maya treated herself to another swallow of soothing eggnog. It was so disturbing to think of what had been going on here in this pristine wilderness. “So they came up with the plan to provide photos that would keep Kelsey scared out of her wits for your safety.”

  “That’s so creepy,” Cara exclaimed. She and Dylan had abandoned their game and were hanging on every word of this tale.

  “Very creepy, but it worked,” Kelsey said briskly. “To a point. I turned a blind eye to all the meetings, all the things I overheard. After the sheriff deputized me I was even more useful to them because law enforcement trusted me. But after Maggie ran away to Lost Harbor, things changed. They knew they couldn’t control me anymore. That’s why they eventually decided to get rid of me.”