by Sharon Dunn
Ted piped up. “Where is it you wanted to go?”
She pulled the phone away from her ear and addressed Landon. “What’s the name of the place we need go?”
“Pirta Bay,” he told her.
She repeated the village name into the phone.
“Just a second,” Ted said. “Let me check the conditions in that direction.” She heard the sound of Ted typing on a keyboard.
Her stomach tied into a knot. If they couldn’t get out by plane, that left driving. Many of the roads probably still weren’t cleared, and they were way more vulnerable in a car. Alaska really didn’t have much of a highway system.
Landon pulled onto another residential street and then turned down an alley where no one would be able to spot them.
“Thank you.” She handed him back the phone and listened to the one-sided conversation.
“Hey, Ted, it’s me on the line... Okay... Two hours... Sure we can be there. See you then.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “He can take us?”
Landon clicked off the phone. “He’ll meet us at the marina where Gary was caught. We’ve got some time. We need to go to the store and get some things. There is not much in the village. Their supplies are brought in by plane.”
“I have supplies back at my house in my car,” she said.
“Best to stay where there are people, don’t you think? Besides, what if the road to your house isn’t plowed yet? The last thing we want to do is get stuck in the middle of nowhere when we have flight to catch.”
The truth was, whether she was in a crowd or by herself, Natasha never completely dropped her guard. All the same, she nodded. “Okay.”
Landon turned the SUV back on and rolled down the alley. “Also, I want to have a trooper check out the ER to see if a wounded man came in there. We don’t know how badly he was hurt.”
“We don’t know what he looks like or even exactly where he was hurt. People could have been wounded for other reasons?”
“All the same, procedurally. I need to cover all the bases.”
Even though Landon was taking every step possible to ensure her safety, she could not let go of the fear that made her stomach tighten.
“I need to see if anybody reported finding my snowmobile. He probably left it by wherever he hid his car, but we still need to check it out. If we could get this guy in custody, it would go a long way in keeping you safe, even if the mafia can line up someone else.”
As Landon entered the city limits, he noted that some of the places were still dark and the streets unplowed. He clicked his blinker and turned into a lot by a store that was both a hardware and grocery store. Like so many places in a small town, Wilhelm’s Market served a dual purpose. He didn’t park in front. Instead, he found a parking space at the side of the building where the employees probably parked.
“Let me call to send a trooper over to the hospital first before we go inside,” he said.
She rubbed her hand on her thigh and took in a deep breath, trying to release some of the tension building up in her body.
Landon pressed in a number and glanced over at her. “It’s a small hospital. Like, twelve beds. If any stranger came in, he would stick out like a sore thumb.” He turned his attention back to the phone and gave the other trooper instructions.
She was glad that Landon was trying to get the guy in custody.
Landon clicked off his phone. “One more call,” he said.
She listened while he called his friend in Pirta Bay to let him know he was coming. She gathered that his name was Mitch.
Landon ended the call and looked her way. Her body language must have given away how tense she was. He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Just stay close to me in the store. It will be okay.”
They got out of the SUV and walked to the front of the store. He opened the door for her and let her enter first. She noticed that he glanced over his shoulder before stepping in behind her. Inside, the young man behind the checkout counter nodded in recognition of Landon. Natasha didn’t know him.
The lights in the store seemed unusually bright, she thought as Landon grabbed a cart and directed her toward a food aisle. As they walked, she noticed only two other people in the store besides the clerk.
Many of the shelves were bare.
“Looks like people went into a bit of a panic with the storm,” she said.
“We’ll find what we can.” Landon grabbed the last box of protein bars. “In addition to some food for us, I like to bring some things to my friend since he doesn’t get supplies often. Any little gift I can take is appreciated.” Landon loaded in a few more groceries.
They walked past a display of Christmas decorations. The festiveness of the holiday seemed so far away. Knowing that Natasha had no relatives close by, Judy and Betty had invited her to join them for Christmas Day dinner. She had been looking forward to it. As guarded as she needed to remain, the invitation had made her feel less alone and like she was finding her place in Little Bear.
Landon worked his way toward the hardware section of the store. Natasha followed. As they turned the corner, she glanced up to the convex security mirror mounted high on the wall. She saw boots and jeans coming toward them. The footsteps of the man pounded heavily. She turned to see who it was.
“Hey, Landon.” An older, fit man was making his way toward them.
Landon held out his hand to the man. “Richard.”
“Heard you had some excitement with Gary Tharp.” The man looked at Natasha. “You’re the waitress from the diner that was involved. Saw it all over the news.”
“Yes, that was me.” She could feel her face growing hot. Just a reminder that the news story wasn’t dead yet. She looked away and then feigned interest in a display of hammers.
“Natasha, Richard is a retired trooper.” Landon’s tone suggested that he wanted to put her at ease.
She pulled one of the hammers off the rack and glanced back at them. “Pleased to meet you.”
“So what are you two up to?”
“This and that,” Landon said. “Just trying to recover from the storm. That was a doozy.”
Landon’s body language suggested a high level of trust toward the older man. She wished she shared his confidence. If Richard used to be in law enforcement, he had some shooting skills. They’d never gotten a good look at the hitman. Landon seemed to understand the importance of not saying they were headed out of town.
She put the hammer back on the hook. “Landon, don’t you think we should get going?” Then she looked at Richard. “Storm did a lot of damage to both our places.” Her comment was meant to imply that she and Landon were working together on repairs. It was a well-practiced diversionary tactic. She hated the deception, but she knew from experience that it was necessary.
Landon said goodbye, and Richard walked away.
He threw a few more things in his cart. She grabbed a phone for herself. They headed toward the checkout counter. Landon stood close to her as the clerk rang up their items. She shrank back from the big, front display windows, slipping on the other side of Landon and pressing close to him. The windows would be a perfect opportunity for a sniper to shoot at them from the building across the street.
Though they were taking every precaution, Natasha could not let go of her fear. Fear and hyper-vigilance had kept her alive so far.
“Is there a back way for us to get out of here?” she whispered.
“That is for employees only.” Landon handed her a bag of purchases, and he grabbed the other.
They hurried outside and got into the SUV. The only way to get back to the main road was to drive through the front lot of the store. As they drove by, she noticed Richard standing in front of the big window. He lifted his hand and waved as they passed. Landon waved back.
“He’s a good guy,” Landon said.
/> “We just can’t take any chances. The more people who see us together around town, the more likely we are to be tracked down if the guy who’s after me starts asking questions.”
“A stranger asking questions would send up red flags.”
“You said it yourself. He’s probably a local guy. It could be Richard,” she said.
“I know Alaska is a good place for people who have a past to come and hide. It’s possible that Tan Creti called on someone who lives around here.” He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “We’ve got some time to kill. Since you don’t want to be seen, I’ll find us a hiding place close to the marina.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so on edge.”
He drove through town. “It’s understandable, but sooner or later, you have to accept that most people aren’t out to get you.”
“That kind of thinking gets you killed,” she said. “The funny thing is that after being here a year, I was starting to let my guard down...to think maybe this would be my home.” The intensity of emotion that came out in her voice surprised her.
“I wish this could have been your home, too. Wish I had taken the time to get to know you better.”
“Just bad timing, I guess.” Marshal Henderson had advised her that deep romantic attachments were not a good idea. It made it that much harder to pull up stakes. He’d said it was inevitable that if she grew close to someone, she might end up sharing who she really was. And there was always the danger of a former love interest spilling the beans on her real identity. “Another place and another time, huh?”
He took a turn onto the road that led to the marina. More cars were out on the road. “We can park where we have a view of the marina so we can see when my friend lands.”
As they drove over the hills that led to the marina, the lake came into view. Landon took another turn down a side road that looked like it hadn’t been plowed. “I don’t want to get too far down here and get stuck.” He brought the SUV to a stop. “We can climb that hill. We will be able to see Ted as he comes in for a landing.”
They got out of the vehicle and trekked up the hill. There was a light breeze blowing and the sun was shining. Though she couldn’t see the dock where the boats and seaplanes were, the lake had a sparkling-crystal quality. Despite the peaceful landscape, the deep and drifted snow served as evidence of the blizzard.
Landon pulled his phone out. “I’m going to have to call the other troopers to let them know to come out here and get the vehicle.” He held up a hand as if to stop her from protesting. “Before you say anything, I know that means the troopers will know that we took off in a plane. They are not going to know where we went. I’ll just tell them this is official business, which it kind of is, right?”
“Yes. I understand leaving the vehicle here for too long means it would be vandalized or stolen,” she said.
While Landon made his call, she sat and appreciated the peacefulness of the moment, knowing that it wouldn’t last. Maybe the guy who had come after them was so injured he was out of commission. That didn’t matter. Leo Tan Creti had plenty of hired guns at his disposal. The one thing she knew was that until she had a new identity and place to live, Tan Creti would not give up until she was dead.
THIRTEEN
After he made his call, Landon clicked off the phone and stared down the hill at the lake. A distant buzzing sound in the sky made him sit straighter. He shaded his eyes but still couldn’t see anything. “That’s probably Ted. His plane is red. Let’s wait and make sure. It will only take a few minutes to drive down to the marina.”
Both of them watched the sky. The plane became a black dot and the buzz of the engine grew even louder when it dropped lower in the sky.
Natasha stood. “It looks red to me.”
“Let’s go.” They walked down the hill, their boots sinking into the deep snow. A trooper would be along within minutes to pick up the SUV at the marina. Though they had not seen the hitman since he’d left his house, Landon could not shake the sense of urgency that plagued him.
The mafia boss knew that Natasha was in Little Bear. The faster he got her out of here, the better. They got into the SUV and headed for the marina.
Unlike the last time they had been there, the marina was buzzing with activity. Lots of boats may have come in seeking shelter from the storm. A very different picture from before when they were here dealing with Gary. He counted six planes. The parking lot had seven cars. Though the car the hitman had driven was utterly generic, none of the vehicles set off alarm bells for him.
They arrived at the dock just as his friend landed.
Landon parked the SUV and they unloaded the supplies they’d picked up. After checking to make sure no one was watching, he locked the SUV and placed the key on the top of the front tire where Russ would find it.
As they carried the supplies along the dock, Ted waved at them. He stepped toward Landon and Natasha and held out his hands to take Natasha’s box of supplies. “I’m all gassed up and ready to go.”
It took them only minutes to get loaded and belted into their seats. They skimmed across the water and then lifted up. As they gained altitude, Landon had a view of the dock below. He saw the SUV with the trooper insignia on its side arrive. It came to a stop and Russ got out to walk toward the vehicle Landon had left behind. Deb, the other trooper, must be behind the wheel.
The people, planes, boats and cars grew smaller as he stared down. Just as the dock slipped out of view, he saw a man park his car, get out and stare up at them.
Landon’s phone rang. It was Russ. “Yes?”
“Just thought you might want to know. There was a tracking device attached to your trooper vehicle. Just noticed it under the back bumper.”
“Thanks. Good to know.” He clicked off his phone. He’d been deliberate in his word choice, not wanting to scare Natasha. So they had probably been followed to the marina. Landon glanced over at Natasha.
She offered him a faint smile, but he noticed she was gripping the armrest. “Flying is not really my thing.”
He nodded.
“What was the phone call about?”
“Russ wanted me to know they had gotten the SUV.”
From her side of the plane, she did not have a view of the parking lot. Even if it was short-lived, he thought she deserved a brief reprieve that wasn’t filled with worry and hyper-vigilance. “We’ll be in the air for a couple of hours.”
She rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.
Landon, on the other hand, found his mind racing. So they’d been tracked to the marina. That didn’t mean the man after Natasha knew where they were going in the plane. All pilots had to file flight plans before they took off. He didn’t know who might have access to that information. Certainly, it wasn’t public knowledge. The name of the plane was painted on the side. Natasha had said that Tan Creti had resources and a reach that Landon could not begin to fathom. He had to assume that though it might take some time, they would be tracked to the village.
Natasha’s head had tilted to one side, and her breathing had changed. At least she was able to get some rest even if he couldn’t.
* * *
Natasha was surprised at how deeply she’d slept despite not liking flying. She didn’t wake until the plane was bouncing along the water, headed toward a dock.
The plane shook from the impact of hitting the water, rising up and coming down again. Landon stared at her. She saw a softness in his expression and warmth in his eyes.
“Sleep okay?”
She nodded. Through the window, she saw only a fog on the water and the faint outline of houses in the distance. “You can’t drive to this place, huh?”
“Plane, dogsled or snowmobile work best,” Landon said. “Depending on the time of the year, the roads are pretty iffy.”
Landon had said they’d be safe here.
Once the plane was in the dock, they helped Ted unload the stuff he told them he’d brought to sell and trade, along with their own boxes.
Such short days. It was already dark, though it wasn’t even dinnertime yet.
The pilot looked up. “Looks like a fog moving in. I’m going to deal with some things and try to get out of here before takeoff becomes impossible.”
“Let us help you haul stuff.” Landon leaned over to pick up a duffel, and she did the same.
The village of Pirta Bay looked like a series of random houses, many of them trailers, and none of the streets followed a straight line.
Natasha walked beside Landon as they passed several houses that had kennels where dogs were kept. “What does your friend who lives here do?” she asked.
“He’s the schoolteacher.”
“Oh, a teacher.”
“No, he’s the teacher, all twelve grades.”
As they made their way up the winding dirt streets, children and adults playing outside stopped and stared at them and then resumed their activities.
“You folks are just in time for the Christmas program,” Ted said. “They usually put on a pretty good feed afterward. Everyone goes. Hopefully, I’ll be in the air by then.”
“I know about that,” Landon said. “Mitch, my friend, is probably the guy in charge. I don’t know if we will be going, though.”
Natasha wondered why Landon seemed on edge. Hadn’t they come here because it was such a hard-to-reach place?
“I got to head off this way,” Ted noted.
“Thanks for the lift on such short notice,” Landon said.
The pilot veered down what passed for a side street. At the end of the street there was a house with a hand-painted sign that said General Store.
“We can dump our stuff at Mitch’s place. He’s probably at the school,” Landon said.
Mitch’s place was a single-wide trailer. Given the transportation challenge, Natasha wondered how they had even gotten the trailer here. She had noticed some stick-built houses, as well. Landon knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he eased it open and shouted, “Mitch, are you home?”
