Pain flickered in his eyes but compassion quickly took its place. “I’m your half brother.”
“I know who you are.” She hesitated. “I just don’t know what to say. How to feel.”
Despite her clumsy words, he tossed her another easy smile and she finally relaxed.
“I know this is a shock for you. It’s a lot to happen at once.” He grabbed Will’s shoulder and squeezed. “And please don’t blame Will, but I was there on the scene to get you guys, and well...we weren’t sure if you would make it. Will didn’t think it was right for him to keep your identity from me.”
“I understand. I... I just wasn’t ready for this. For any of it.” For someone trying to kill her. For meeting Cade Warren. “I had dreamed of meeting you under different circumstances.”
Now Sylvie could finally offer her own smile, begging for some grace. By his demeanor and the look in his gaze, she believed he gave her the understanding she needed and much more.
“I can’t keep this to myself, you understand. I need to share the news with the rest of the family.”
“Are you sure you don’t resent me? That they won’t resent me? After all, learning about my existence couldn’t have been pleasant. The circumstances under which I was born...” Sylvie regretted her words. They must open the wound even deeper.
Cade held up a hand to keep her from saying more. “None of that is your fault. I don’t blame you. None of us do. We can’t change the past, so we’ll all go forward and celebrate that we can finally meet and, hopefully, get to know you. I know the family will want to meet you as soon as I tell them.”
She blew out a breath, rested her head against the pillow. “Not yet, please. Give me some time. When I came to southeast Alaska, I was looking for my mother. Other than my stepfather, she was my only family, and now she’s gone. It’s a bit overwhelming to suddenly have brothers and sisters.” Though she’d known for years she had them, and now she wondered why it had taken so long for her to find the courage to connect. She hadn’t initiated the meeting today, and she wasn’t sure she ever would have.
“And a grandmother, and brother-and sisters-in-law, nephews and a niece on the way,” Cade added with a smile. “I’ll give you some time, let’s say a day tops.But they’ll kill me if I keep this news from them for very long.”
“I understand.” He owed more to his family, the brothers and sister he’d grown up with, than he did to her. “But when you do tell them, no one else can know. No one besides family. Agreed?”
“Agreed. You take care of yourself.” Cade glanced from her to Will, his smile still in place. “I’ll leave you two alone now.”
As he left, she almost missed his subtle wink at Will, as if he thought there was something going on between them.
Sylvie rubbed her arms, careful of the IV. How could Cade truly be so gracious? After all, she was the daughter of his father’s mistress. And was his acceptance of her real? Meeting the guy in person, she had a hard time believing he was anything but completely up front. Otherwise, why even come here and introduce himself? But what about the others? Would they be so anxious to meet her? So willing to receive her?
“I’ve already talked to the police.” Will’s soft words broke through her chaotic thoughts. “Given them my statement. They’re going to ask you a lot more questions.” Will’s expression grew somber. “Before things get crazy around here, I want you to know that I’m in this with you for the long haul. I can’t help but think the men after you wanted to stop you from finding the plane. Finding your mother. And my mother. And if that’s the case then the plane crash wasn’t an accident. Is that what you believe?”
“Yes.” Sylvie had suspected all along that it wasn’t an accident because of the words her mother had said to her before she left. But she needed to find the plane.
“We’re in this together. I want to help you find out who tried to kill you. And what happened to that plane carrying precious cargo.”
Precious cargo. Her and Will’s mothers.
“Tried to kill us, Will. Not just me. Now that you’re part of this, your life is in danger, too. I’m sorry this happened to you. That I involved you.” Since he was involved, she needed to tell him everything. But how? She wasn’t sure she could trust him with everything. “Thanks again for coming back for me on the island.”
“I’m not sorry I’m involved,” he said. “I’m just glad I was there when you needed someone. Even knowing the danger, I would do it over again, Sylvie.”
Sylvie didn’t have time to ponder his meaning. Two Alaska State Troopers stepped into her room and sent Will on his way.
NINE
While in Snake’s cabin, Will had contacted those he trusted, and the North Face Search and Rescue team—including Cade Warren—had responded along with someone from the Mountain Cove PD. But they weren’t the ones investigating the crimes now. The Alaska State Troopers were the law-enforcement entity to ask the questions. The crimes had happened outside Mountain Cove and even the large area encompassing Juneau’s jurisdiction, but there were no county sheriffs in Alaska.
Even though the Alaska State Troopers were officially in charge, Will would also share everything that had happened with Mountain Cove Police Chief Winters. What happened to Sylvie and Will, this investigation, somehow involved Will’s mother. If he followed through with this line of thinking, she had been murdered right alongside Sylvie’s mother. But what Will couldn’t be sure about was which one of the mothers was the target and which one was the accidental victim. Or had they both been caught up in something together that had gotten them killed? His mother, Margaret Pierson, had been a citizen of Mountain Cove since she and his father had moved there from Montana three decades ago. Chief Winters should be kept informed on everything about her murder so he could do his own investigation if warranted.
After Will sipped the last of the vending-machine coffee, he crushed the paper cup and tossed it, growing impatient with the troopers to finish taking down Sylvie’s statement. He had a burning question of his own. Would Sylvie share anything more with the police than she’d shared with Will?
If Will went with his gut on this, then he thought Sylvie had suspected her mother had been murdered long before men had come onto the scene and tried to kill her. The attack just confirmed her suspicions. It was those initial suspicions that had sent her looking for the plane.
What did she know? What or whom did she suspect was responsible?
Or maybe Will was wrong and Sylvie knew more but didn’t realize it. But that didn’t seem likely, either. Sylvie was smart. No. She knew something about that plane and was holding it close. Was she protecting someone?
He didn’t like being played or manipulated, but to be fair, Sylvie hardly knew him. Why should she trust him? Except they had this one strange connection, this one thing in common.
Their mothers had both died together in that crash.
That gave Will a reason to see her again. He’d already told her that he’d help her find out what had happened to their mothers. Still, his reasons for wanting to see her again went beyond the precarious situation they found themselves in together. The thought took him by surprise.
But Will couldn’t follow through. He’d already suffered with the deep pain that came from experiencing a shattered heart. If remembering the pain from his past wasn’t enough to keep his heart safe, he’d simply remind himself that Sylvie hated to fly. He got up every morning eager to meet the sky. Nothing inspired him more than drifting or soaring in the air through wide-open spaces, over the lofty snow-covered peaks of Alaska, or dipping deep into the valleys and seeing the fjords and waterfalls.
Nothing better than soaring with the eagles where the sky had no limits.
Nothing inspired him more. He would never give that up. No sense in falling for another woman who disdained his greatest joy. Will didn’t have time to ponder more when the two Alaska S
tate Troopers exited Sylvie’s room.
Will kept his distance. He didn’t want to be dragged into more questions for which he had no answers. Plus, he figured she would need a few minutes to compose herself. He had needed that himself. They had to have drained her with their interrogation, as they had him, and he hadn’t been recovering from a gunshot wound or decompression sickness. He hadn’t lost so much blood that he’d almost died.
The thought sent his mind back to their narrow escape through the woods behind Snake’s cabin, and then to the tree behind which they’d taken cover. To the gunshots fired and to Sylvie nearly bleeding to death. Shaking the morbid thoughts away, Will thanked the Lord for Sylvie’s life. In the waiting area, he stayed in the shadowed corner a little longer and sent up another prayer for the Lord’s protection. They were going to need it. Until these men were caught, they were both in danger.
Will opened his eyes in time to see a male nurse enter her room. The man’s scrubs pulled tight across his chest and over large biceps as he glanced both ways down the hall before he closed the door. Will frowned. Something didn’t feel right. He might be too paranoid after everything they’d been through, but he always listened to his instincts.
He shoved from the wall and headed to her room, wondering why the Alaska State Troopers hadn’t thought to post an officer by her door. Asking them would be Will’s next order of business after he checked on her. Will opened the door and stepped inside the room.
Sylvie slept, looking exhausted and fragile. The nurse prepared a syringe presumably to stick in Sylvie’s IV, adding medication to the drip. His gaze flicked to Will—and something in the man’s eyes sent warnings through Will’s head. Yeah, it was always in the eyes.
Will edged close to the man, getting in his space, preparing for a negative reaction. “What’s that you’re giving her? She’s already asleep.”
The nurse threw a fist at Will but he ducked in time. Adrenaline surging, Will launched at the brawny man, pulling him away from Sylvie as he tried to insert the needle into Sylvie’s arm instead of the drip. Will had him in a choke hold but still the syringe edged dangerously close to Sylvie’s arm.
“Help!” Will yelled. “Sylvie, wake up.”
She needed to help him fight for her life.
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Will pulled the man back away from the hospital bed, and he fell on top of Will, knocking the air from him. But at least the syringe slid across the floor and out of reach. Will would crush it. Destroy what had to be a deadly poison.
Except the man posing as a nurse climbed off Will and pulled out a gun.
He aimed at Sylvie. She was awake now, her eyes wide with terror as she screamed. Will scrambled to his feet and shoved the weapon’s trajectory away from Sylvie, aware that if the gun went off, it could very well go through a wall and injure another patient or hospital staff. He didn’t want that, but neither would he let this man kill Sylvie.
Will wrestled to gain control of the thick-necked bouncer man again, trying to force him to release the gun by twisting the man’s arm back and over the corner of the nightstand. The weapon fired.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A cacophony of screams erupted, echoing through his ringing ears.
God, help me! Protect Sylvie. Protect us all.
Muscles straining, sweat beaded his forehead. But he wouldn’t let the man shoot Sylvie. “Get out of here, Sylvie. If you can, get out.”
She tried to move from the bed to escape, but in her weakened condition she collapsed to the floor. Releasing a grunt, Will shoved the man against the wall, slamming his arm and pinning him, crushing his wrist until the man cried out and the weapon fell. Strong though he was, the man wasn’t as motivated to kill Sylvie as Will was to save her life.
Will kicked the weapon across the floor against the wall.
The man growled and twisted out of Will’s grip then shoved Will out of the way before running out the door.
Breathing hard, Will glanced at Sylvie, who’d crawled to the corner of the room. “I’m all right,” she said.
A nurse rushed in as Will exited. “Take care of her and call security, call the police if you haven’t already.”
“Will!” Sylvie called. “Don’t go!”
Her words knifed through him. He didn’t want to leave her, but neither could he let this man get away. Instead, he rushed into the hallway, quickly spotting the man who was shoving doctors, nurses and hospital staff along with their carts, out of his way, leaving screams and clattering trays in his wake. Security guards appeared at the opposite end of the hallway. Of course. They would never catch up. Will gave chase and followed him down the hall. He pushed through the doors into the stairwell a mere ten seconds behind the man.
Hastening footsteps echoed through the stairwell below. Will continued his pursuit, wishing he had a weapon, or that he had grabbed the man’s gun even though he knew that same weapon could get Will killed when the security officers or police caught up. Still, why was he the one giving chase? Where were the police when you needed them? Frustration churned in his gut, propelling him forward.
He had to catch this guy. Couldn’t let him get away, or he might try to hurt Sylvie again. Lungs burning, he flew down the steps, taking more at a time than was safe. Another door opened and slammed shut. Will peered over the banister and saw nothing. But there was only one exit. He reached the last floor and shoved through into another hallway where it was obvious the man had torn a reckless path through hospital staff and bewildered patients.
“Where did he go?”
Visitors and nursing staff stared at him, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open.
Will kept running, following the trail of destruction, and peered through every door that would open as he went. Nothing. “Please, somebody help me. Did you see which way he went? I need to catch him.”
A brunette staffer pointed. “Out the door.”
He nodded his thanks as he passed. God, please don’t let me lose him.
When he ran out into an alley he found a garbage receptacle and a delivery truck. Will carefully searched as he ran down the alley and into a hospital driveway, the visitor parking lot across the road. Catching his breath, he turned, searching the area for the man running from him. Cars came and went along the street that encircled the hospital. Could the man be driving one of them, making his escape?
Will sagged in defeat. He’d been so close. How could I have lost him?
Someone shoved through the door behind Will. A security guard. He looked at Will ready to pounce.
Will had to deflect those thoughts immediately. “He got away,” Will said. “Drove off. Disguised himself. Melted into the walls. I don’t know.”
He could still be in the hospital for all Will knew. Sylvie needed 24/7 protection. Someone was willing to go to great lengths to kill her, and there could be no doubt that they would be back.
They would keep trying until they succeeded.
* * *
Sylvie sat on the edge of the bed in her hospital room, anxious to be free of this prison. She was grateful for the clothes Heidi Callahan—her half sister—had purchased for her. Only a few years older than Sylvie, Heidi sat across from her in the only chair in the room. Her rich and thick chocolate hair splayed across and down her shoulders. Both the hair and the deep warmth in her smile reminded Sylvie of Cade. She was so beautiful. Sylvie wondered why she hadn’t inherited some of those looks, but that was the least of her concerns.
Still, she could see some resemblance between them.
Sylvie had mixed emotions about this whole thing. “I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”
“Whatever the circumstances, at least we’ve met, and at least you are alive.” Heidi pushed from the chair, her five-month pregnancy barely showing. She was pregnant with the
niece that Cade had mentioned. “I’m looking forward to spending some time together when this is all over.”
“Yes, when this is all over.” Sylvie knew her own smile was tenuous, at best.
“I have an appointment with my OB soon but I’m going to use the little girl’s room before I leave. Not like I didn’t just go. Just wait until you get pregnant.” Heidi gave a bashful grin then disappeared.
At her words, Sylvie could hardly hold back her tears, and let them fall when Heidi was gone.
The fact that Heidi was pregnant drove home Sylvie’s misgivings about the trouble she was facing—she hadn’t known her search for answers would put others in danger. Nor had she known she would meet her half siblings like this—and had been completely unprepared in that respect. They’d all stopped in the day after Cade’s appearance. He’d given her a day and not one minute more to prepare for meeting the rest of the family. That meeting had all but overwhelmed her on top of another attempt on her life.
They’d all crowded into the room to see her. First, Heidi and her husband, Isaiah, then Cade’s wife, Leah, who had presented her and Cade’s son, little Scottie. Then firefighter David and his wife, Tracy, who had newborn twin boys; and Adam and Cobie, who’d recently gotten married. What a wonderful, beautiful family, and if Sylvie had any regrets, it was that she had missed out on knowing them all this time, and on knowing her real father.
Would that have been so bad? Having time to know him? To know them all? She couldn’t help but think he would have wanted to know her, too. But she’d been informed he hadn’t been aware of her existence. And what about her grandfather? Had Regina even told him about her? Tears burned her eyes, mingling with the anger of it.
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