Alaskan Mountain Pursuit

by Elizabeth Goddard

  She’d been so wrong.

  Helicopter rotors drew her attention, and she watched it heading away.

  She slumped and leaned away from Heidi. “Will...”

  “He’s fortunate Isaiah met us here in the SAR helicopter. They’ll get him to the hospital.”

  Sylvie shook her head, confused. What kind of help had Will requested? He couldn’t have known they would need it.

  Heidi must have read the question in her eyes. “Isaiah was already in the air, returning from a call-out that didn’t require it. He didn’t want me to come today since I’m pregnant, but I wasn’t going to stay behind. So he did what any overprotective husband would do. He did a flyby.” Heidi flattened her lips. “My point is that could save Will’s life.”

  He was already dead, wasn’t he? Heidi must have seen the doubt in her eyes and gripped her hands. “Believe, Sylvie. You have to believe. Have some faith. We all made it here in time. Before it was too late.”

  When Heidi released Sylvie’s hands she opened her palms, free from the gloves. “The thumb drive. Ashley took the thumb drive. The whole reason for everything.”

  “It’s all right. You can tell the police everything. We need to get you to the hospital, too. Looks like you have a nasty cut on your arm. You could need the hyperbaric chamber, too.”

  Sylvie hadn’t noticed before, but Ashley had caught her with the knife.

  “Let’s get you below deck.”

  “Will and I borrowed a boat from one of his friends.” She glanced over.

  “We got it, Sylvie.” Heidi smiled. “This is what we do.”

  Sylvie decided to let someone else take control. She trusted her search-and-rescue half siblings. And she had trusted Will.

  Still trusted him. God, please be with him.

  Sylvie sat on the cushioned sofa below deck, praying for Will. Letting Heidi offer her hot chocolate and comfort her. But her heart and mind refused to be comforted.

  Too late, she realized the letter she’d thought had been from her mother Ashley had generated on her own computer. Made it sound like the words her mother would have said. Ashley must have copied her mother’s real letter and twisted it to suit her purpose. Addressed it as though her mother had meant to mail it.

  It had been a ruse to send Sylvie back to her search for the plane and to find the thumb drive.

  All that so that Ashley could have the thumb drive, and dispose of Sylvie and Will at the same time.

  Her stepfather and Ashley were working with Diverman and his accomplice, that much was clear. But why had they initially tried to kill Sylvie when she was searching for the plane, if they had wanted her to find it and the thumb drive?

  Sylvie pushed back another tear. She didn’t care about any of it. The police could figure all of that out. All she cared about was Will. His warm brown eyes and his thick dark hair. His sense of humor. The sacrifices he’d made for her. He had to live.

  Without Sylvie, of course. She had caused him far too much trouble and heartache. She would see that Will was alive and well, and then she would disappear from his life.

  NINETEEN

  Sylvie leaned against the hospital wall outside Will’s room, nursing a tepid cup of coffee. He hadn’t wanted to dive. But he’d done it for her. Would the guilt ever leave her? Could she ever let go and move on? They’d both been desperate to solve what happened to their mothers. The price had been too high.

  If I lose Will...

  No. She couldn’t think like that. She had to hang on to hope like Heidi said. Sylvie couldn’t lose Will. He’d sacrificed everything for her.

  At least it hadn’t been for nothing. The Alaska State Troopers had apprehended Ashley at the Juneau airport, confiscating the thumb drive containing incriminating evidence, thanks to Chief Winters. Once he’d heard the story he was quick to act, calling in the “state boys,” as he’d termed them.

  The state police hadn’t wanted to share the status of their investigation with Sylvie, although they’d taken her statement, but Chief Winters had kept her informed. She’d been wrong about so much. Misled. Her stomach soured.

  The information on the thumb drive turned out to be trade secrets that Ashley had stolen from Damon Masters’s company in order to sell to the highest bidder. Apparently, she already had a buyer, a company competitor, for millions. With that money, she could live her dreams.

  Masters Marine Corporation’s R&D had been developing a new eco-ship in order to solve fuel-efficiency problems in the shipping industry. That kind of technology would mean everything to a shipping company. A secret worth millions—money Ashley had been able to leverage to get the hired muscle she needed to take out Sylvie’s mother, and try to kill Sylvie, as well.

  She peered into Will’s room to see if the nurse had finished. Sylvie wouldn’t leave his side until he woke up from his induced coma, except for when the nurses sent her away.

  Pressing her back against the cold wall, the smell of antiseptic accosting her nose, Sylvie squeezed her eyes shut. Damon hadn’t been involved in her mother’s death, after all. Shame filled her that she’d believed he would have been. When her mother had taken the information from Ashley and realized what she’d found, she was afraid for her life. She’d already been followed and nearly killed. She had to leave and find a safe haven.

  When Ashley learned Regina was planning to leave and that she had the thumb drive, she hired a mercenary to take Regina out. He engineered the plane crash, timing it over waters in no-man’s land in southeast Alaska. Unfortunately, Ashley was concerned that Regina had shared her secret with Sylvie. Ashley learned through a contact at the diving school that Sylvie was still searching for the plane. That was when her mercenary accomplice rigged trackers on her scuba gear and boat. As soon as she got near where they suspected the plane had gone down, he was sent to kill her and make it look like an accident.

  Like her mother, she would be lost forever.

  Since Ashley was Damon’s assistant and right-hand woman, she could easily retrieve the information again. Once she sold it, she could leave the country.

  Except that Damon had grown increasingly agitated, believing someone was stealing R&D secrets from his company. As a precaution, he locked her out of the system and called the FBI. When Ashley could no longer gain access to the information, she needed to retrieve the thumb drive, after all, and Sylvie was the person to do it, since she believed she’d found the site of the crash. All Sylvie needed was incentive and to know what precisely she was looking for, i.e. a thumb drive. Then she could die in a diving accident, after all.

  Problem solved.

  So Ashley copied the letter her mother had intended to send, only tweaking it to serve her purposes, and planted the seed. Diverman had wanted to kill Sylvie and Will at her stepfather’s house, and he nearly ruined Ashley’s new plans.

  Sylvie gulped back the rest of the coffee, ignoring the bitter taste.

  She should have seen this coming a mile away. Should have seen through Ashley. But Ashley had seemed so genuine. So warm and caring.

  The squeak of footfalls, somehow familiar, drew her attention up. One of her newfound siblings? Her heart skipped at the thought.

  But then tumbled.

  Her stepfather made his way toward her from the elevators. Sylvie fought the need to turn her back on him. How could she face him? She peered at the white sterile floor, waiting for his approach. Hospital staff exited Will’s room, so she could finally go back in. But now she had to speak with Damon.

  “Sylvie.”

  She glanced at him. Saw the regret.

  “I’m so very sorry about what happened.” He cradled her elbow.

  In years gone by, she might have gone into his arms to receive a fatherly hug, but so much stood between them now. Even though he was innocent regarding her mother’s death and the attacks on Sylvie, he’d still cheated on her
mother. Betrayed his family.

  She looked away. “Me, too. I’m sorry I thought you were involved. I know that hurt you.” More than she would ever know. “Because it hurts me.”

  “I can’t say that I blame you. Things were so volatile and explosive between your mother and me. And then...there was the matter of the affairs. I’m sorry for those, too, and for the hurt I’ve caused both you and your mother. I’m sorry that I was idiot enough to think I could trust Ashley.” Bitterness spiked his last words.

  Unsure what to say, Sylvie stared at her feet. She wanted her life back. She wanted those years back spent with a loving stepfather and mother. When she actually was his princess. His betrayal had been far-reaching. She’d carried it into adulthood where it had colored the way she looked at others. Damaged her ability to trust men. But she was done with letting their actions affect her life. Their mistakes rob her.

  “So what’s next?” he asked. “Where do we go from here?”

  She gathered the nerve to look him in the eyes. “We take it one day at a time. None of it really matters to me anymore. All that matters is that Will wakes up.”

  Because somewhere along the way, she’d fallen in love with Will Pierson.

  * * *

  Will’s eyes fluttered, squinting open to the dim lighting of a room. His limbs were too heavy, or he was too tired, disconnected, but he couldn’t move.

  Where am I?

  His lids grew heavy and closed again. That was much better. Sleep. He could sleep forever and be okay with that.

  But wait...there was something or someone. Some reason he needed to wake up. Except his body wouldn’t respond to his commands, and his mind was trapped in the past.

  He was only fourteen and learning to fly, taking the controls of the plane for the first time. His dad beamed with pride, and when he landed, he didn’t think he could ever have a better day. He’d come home to chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven. Mom and Dad were working to build up Mountain Cove Air bush piloting services. He could stay here forever with them, and soaked in the rare warm day in Alaska. He didn’t want to grow older. No, he didn’t want to see the future. He knew what he would face, and the pain was too much, as it rushed in and over him anyway. His father’s death, and then his mother’s.

  But then there was someone else...someone vitally important to him. And he couldn’t save her, either. She was going to die because Will had let her down, too.

  A flash of light golden brown hair. Athletic body, and strong mind and spirit.

  She can’t die. No, Will has to die for her, to save her.

  And then he could fly with the eagles, riding the winds of heaven.

  He jerked; his eyes opened. Pain sliced through his head. Sylvie stood there, looking at him. That was painful, too. Seeing her standing there in his dream. He shut his eyes, shut out the light and the pain and Sylvie. He’d let her down. He couldn’t look at her, face her, even though it was a dream.

  “Will,” she whispered.

  He cringed inside, wanted to run away, but he couldn’t move. She took his hand in hers and squeezed. And Will, to his surprise, squeezed back.

  “Can you hear me?” Again, she whispered, hurt and fear twisting her voice. “I have to tell you something. I can’t keep it inside anymore. I know it’s crazy. I haven’t known you for long, but I’m in love with you.”

  Will wanted out of this dream. He had to wake up to get away from Sylvie. It was as if she voiced all his fears of loving someone, all he’d run from. She was taking his fear and offering him the one thing he’d ever wanted—someone to love. But he could never admit it, never let it happen. Why was she torturing him?

  And then she sniffled. “They told me you couldn’t hear me, but I don’t believe that’s true. I think you can hear me and that’s why I’m begging you to please wake up. I love you. I need you. Come back to me.”

  Sylvie’s voice was so sweet, so comforting, Will decided he didn’t want the dream to end, after all, but then he realized...this isn’t a dream. He fought to open his eyes. Hearing her gasp, feeling her breath against his arm, motivated him to try harder. Will turned his face toward the warmth emanating from her body.

  This isn’t a dream! Wake up! Don’t lose her again!

  When had she become everything to him? Will’s eyes opened and he stared into the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. Her smile nearly did him in again. He tried to return it, but wasn’t sure his lips so much as cracked the hint of a grin.

  “You’re awake,” she said through tears, and squeezed his hand with both of hers. “Will, you’re awake.”

  “Yes.” His voice sounded ancient to his own ears.

  “Did you hear me? I mean, could you hear me talking?”

  “Yes.” Her words had brought him back, he was sure of it. They had saved him. “I heard.”

  Fear flickered in her gaze. “And?”

  Finally, he felt his grin, and he saw it reflected in her response. Wow, he loved her smile. Her strength. Her beauty both inside and out. Her spirit.

  “Oh, Will, I’m sorry. I’ve hit you with all this when you’ve just woken up.” She turned from him, pulled her hands away and called the nurse. “He’s awake!”

  “Sylvie, wait.” He reached for her, but there was no strength in his arms.

  She rushed back to him as others came into the room.

  “You didn’t let me finish. It’s your words that brought me back, and they weren’t too much. They were just right. I love you, too.”

  But Sylvie wasn’t allowed to respond as the nurse asked him questions, welcomed him back and took his vitals. Just where had he gone that everyone appeared surprised he was back with them? It wasn’t as if he’d been dead. The doctor would explain the details, the nurse said, then left him alone with Sylvie.

  Images of his dreams crawled over him, leaving the fear and memories in their wake. The loss, his personal loss, had been too much. Nausea roiled.

  “What’s the matter?” Sylvie asked.

  But Sylvie was here in the flesh. Alive, not dead, as he’d believed. He would move forward. Be grateful for her. But...

  “What if love isn’t enough? We’re too different. I love to fly. And you’re not happy if you’re not in the water.”

  The horror of what had happened came rolling back and rammed him. The pain in his leg, fighting the diver, and then he hadn’t been able to breathe. The anguish and pain of it and everything went black.

  “I don’t care about any of that. I just care that you’re alive.”

  “I must be a weak man. I don’t think I can ever go diving again. Can you still accept me, love me?” He didn’t doubt it, but he had to ask. He had to put it all on the table.

  “Isn’t that what love is all about? Giving up, sacrificing, for the one you love?”

  He nodded, waiting to hear what more she would say.

  “I can give it up for you, Will. I don’t need to dive. You sacrificed everything for me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  He saw the truth in her eyes. “Well, there’s at least one thing we have in common. We’re both willing to sacrifice. But I wouldn’t ask you to give up something you love.”

  “Good. Because I’m not giving you up.”

  * * *

  Mountain Refuge

  Sarah Varland

  Sarah Varland lives in Alaska with her husband, John, their two boys and their dogs. Her passion for books comes from her mom; her love for suspense comes from her dad, who has spent a career in law enforcement. When she’s not writing, she’s often found dog mushing, hiking, reading, kayaking, drinking coffee or enjoying other Alaskan adventures with her family.

  Books by Sarah Varland

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Treasure Point Secrets

  Tundra Threat

  Cold Case Witnessr />
  Silent Night Shadows

  Perilous Homecoming

  Mountain Refuge

  Alaskan Hideout

  Alaskan Ambush

  Alaskan Christmas Cold Case

  Alaska Showdown

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.

  —Hebrews 6:19

  To Elizabeth, my editor. I often think that the books should have both of our names on them for how much of what you do impacts the story for the better. I love working with you, look forward to your comments and smile when I read an edited section we added to the book and can’t remember if I wrote the addition or if you did. I had no idea when I started writing how much polish an amazing editor like you brings to a manuscript. Thank you for every single book.

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ONE

  Summer Dawson was alone on a mountain when she heard the first out-of-place sound, felt the first inklings that something might be wrong, that danger might be close.

  She’d been running uphill, relishing the burning in her legs and lungs that reminded her that she was alive, when something rustling in the bushes made her pause and listen.