Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-UpForce of NatureYuletide JeopardyWilderness Peril

by Lynette Eason

  Aiden’s expression grew somber and he nodded. His faith in God had been tenuous at best, but Rick believed in his brother. Believed he would find his way to overcome. Rick offered up heartfelt words requesting protection and a way out. And he thanked God for leading him to his brother.

  Their prayers finished, quiet filled the old mine shaft. Rick shifted to ease the pain in his shoulder, dreading what was ahead of them. “Let’s move out.”

  The words took his mind back to places he didn’t want to go.

  “The airstrip is on the far side of the camp, opposite this shaft,” Shay said. “How do we get there without getting caught again?”

  “We need to get there quickly but without risking our lives. We’ll move as fast as we can but we’ll need to stay as far away from the claim as possible without veering too far off course. We want to approach the airstrip from the other side without Kemp or anyone else spotting us. It’s going to be tricky.”

  They had to beat Kemp to the plane, get it running and make it out before the snowstorm buried them.

  We could already be too late.

  TWENTY

  Rick slid the handgun over to Aiden, but he kept a firm grip on the rifle.

  “Lock and load,” he said as they exited the shaft.

  Shay witnessed the look they shared. Two brothers who knew the score. Two ex-marines who knew how to handle this operation. If anyone could make this happen, these two could. As the temperature dipped, an unrelated chill shivered over her. She was not at all eager to leave the shelter of the mine shaft and trek through the woods. They’d grown even darker as the predicted storm moved in and covered the moon and stars, blocking out their only light.

  Although Shay knew her way around an airplane in the dark and was certain she could get the plane running, the weather worried her as much as Kemp and his men. With no radio and nothing but the instruments, how would they fly out if the weather was bad? In zero visibility, they were going nowhere.

  The task seemed impossible. But that was the only choice they’d been given. They couldn’t count on help sweeping in to save them. Any law enforcement that might be on its way after her call to Connor would take time to get here, and the storm would slow a possible rescue down, if not halt their efforts completely. Then it would be too late for Rick, Shay and Aiden.

  They were on their own.

  Rick led the way down the path, followed by Shay with Aiden last.

  Shivering with the drop in temperature, Shay would be grateful when they made it to the plane—it could at least serve as shelter. Honestly, she’d be grateful when they made it out of Alaska, period. Thankfully the exertion of hiking through the woods generated warmth.

  If they survived the night, flying out in the morning would take away their one advantage—darkness. Any way you looked at it, they had to hurry. She also needed to rewire the ignition so they could be ready to go as soon as conditions allowed.

  The two strong men with her made her feel safe. She still hadn’t forgotten the memory of that day in the office when Rick had aimed his gun at her. For a long time, Shay had thought she could never get past that, at least on a more personal level. In that moment when the drunken miner had aimed, ready to fire, Rick had saved her. He’d killed to save her.

  Hiking in front of her, he turned his head to the side, making sure she was behind him, and Aiden, too. Seeing him in action like this, she tried to imagine living through what he’d lived through. She recalled what he’d told her of his time as a marine helicopter pilot—the crash that stayed with him in his dreams.

  She doubted she could ever fully grasp what he’d gone through, but she saw things clearly now. Rick had opened up to her, showing the deepest part of who he was at his core, so that she could trust him. And with that trust, that understanding of who Rick was, Shay could finally remove the restraints on the love she had for him—a love that felt as though it would explode if she didn’t open that bottle cap.

  She hoped she would get the chance to tell him.

  Except she wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Back at the mine shaft, he’d pulled away from her. Physically…and emotionally. She’d felt it, but she didn’t know why.

  As if reflecting her thoughts, the sky took on the dark gray of morning clouds heavy with snow. She hadn’t realized just how late it was or how close they were to morning.

  At least the storm hadn’t started during the night. The clearing that indicated the airstrip became visible through the trees, and Rick slowed up. He brought the rifle to his shoulder and peered through the scope.

  Aiden pressed in behind Shay. “What is it?”

  “Just checking it out. Making sure no one is waiting for us to step out into the open where they can gun us down.”

  “Right,” Aiden said. “If Kemp is still alive, and he’s free from his pursuers, he’ll expect us to take the plane.”

  “What do you think is going on back at the claim?” she asked. Had they all killed each other? Or had Kemp survived the innumerable murderous men he owed money?

  Shay hadn’t heard any gunfire in a while, but that meant nothing.

  “Maybe they’re all dead, but we can’t know.” Aiden stepped forward to stand beside Rick. They waited and listened. “I think we should stay hidden but walk the perimeter just to be sure.”

  “Roger that,” Rick said, and offered a half grin.

  Shay couldn’t help but smile, too, at how clearly happy Rick was to have Aiden back.

  Rick and Aiden led the way together around the perimeter with Shay trailing behind them. They peered through the foliage as they went, moving slowly to avoid notice. After they’d made it three-quarters of the distance around the airstrip, Rick finally stopped.

  “The hangar is exactly opposite where the trail opens up on the other side,” he said.

  She’d noticed that before but she’d had too much other stress going on to think about it. “Why would that be? Seems kind of strange,” she said.

  “They probably thought they were going to start mining on this side. Who knows? But if anyone bent on finding us or taking the plane hikes up the trail, they’ll likely come from that direction and quickly spot us.”

  “But we’ll see them, too,” Shay said.

  “Right. We’re going to move on that plane like we’re expecting someone to try to take it from under us.” Rick held her gaze. “You ready to fix her up, Shay?”

  Panic rose in her chest. “Sure, but don’t you need to go through the preflight checklist, too?”

  “Aiden will do that while you work. I’ll stand guard.” Rick looked at her.

  “How can we fly in this weather? And without a radio? It isn’t safe, is it?”

  A grin cracked Aiden’s face. “Flying in the Alaskan bush is different than how we do it in the mainland. No air-traffic control out here, so the lack of a radio doesn’t make as much of a difference. I’ll fly low, just under the clouds. As long as I can see, I’m good to get us somewhere safe,” Aiden said. “I spotted an airstrip halfway between here and Fairbanks on the way in. We should be fine since we don’t have to stay in the air that long. We can call for help from there.”

  “You’re safe with Aiden,” Rick said. “There’s not a better pilot, especially in this kind of weather.”

  Shay nodded her consent.

  “Are we ready to do this thing?” Rick asked.

  Aiden gestured for Rick to lead the way.

  Rick sucked in a breath as if he were preparing for a serious military operation. “Double time.”

  Shay understood Rick’s marine speak to mean “make it quick.” She tucked her head in, parka hood in place, and jammed her hands in her pockets to get them warmed up for the mission ahead. She prepared her thoughts, running through her head what she needed to do to complete the task. Though under normal circumstances, she could do it in her sleep, the pressure and the time constraints were great and she feared her panic might render her useless.

  Rick crept in front of he
r, Aiden behind, the two men scanning the perimeter, their weapons ready, guarding her as if she were someone important. They rushed across the short distance to the rudimentary hangar shed.

  Reaching the cover of the structure, Shay rushed around the Cessna to put the wire back into place, connecting the magneto with the ignition starter. She rubbed her hands together and got busy on the remaining maintenance. Aiden worked through the flight checklist at the same time to make sure they weren’t about to fly away in a death trap. And Rick positioned himself nearby, peering through the scope of the rifle, adjusting it so it didn’t press against his wound. The weapon looked as if it were made for him. She’d just finished her last repair when Rick spoke.

  “Shay?” Tension threaded his voice. “You done yet?”

  She swiped her hands down her pants. “That should do it.”

  “Aiden, time to get Shay out of here.” Rick took aim. “Someone’s coming up the trail. I’ll stay behind to give you a chance to get away.”

  *

  “What?” Aiden’s question came out at the same time as Shay’s gasp.

  “Rick, get in the plane,” Shay pleaded. “We’re all leaving together.”

  “Aiden, do as I ask.”

  Aiden stared at Rick long and hard, knowing what leaving Rick behind might mean. Finally, he handed over the gun. “You might need this.”

  “No….” Shay whispered.

  “Thanks.” Rick took the weapon from his brother, wrapping his hand around the custom grip he’d installed. Strange to think that the gun had traveled all these miles with him and landed in so many different hands. In the end, he had a feeling it would save his life. Regardless, he was glad to have his own weapon to carry home with him if he made it out alive.

  “Come on, Shay, we have to go,” Aiden said, and squeezed her arm. “Rick knows what he’s doing.”

  “Rick thinks he needs to be a hero. But he’s already a hero. He doesn’t have to do this. Rick…” Shay’s voice echoed through him, splitting his heart.

  Rick heard Shay fighting Aiden off. Knew the instant she stood next to him.

  The engine thrummed to life behind him. Now to convince Shay to leave without him. She gripped his arm, yanking his gaze away from the trail.

  “What are you doing? Get on the plane with me, Rick.” Anger infused the tears in her eyes.

  “Whoever is coming up the trail will shoot at the plane hoping to render it inoperative. They’ll shoot to kill if I don’t stay behind and prevent that from happening. One of us has to stay. Aiden is the best man to get the Cessna out of here. I’m better with the rifle.”

  “You don’t have to do this,” she said. “I understand that you somehow think you can change the past in Afghanistan with your actions today. But you don’t need to sacrifice yourself to make things right. I won’t let you. I’m not leaving you.”

  Rick gripped her arms and pulled her close. How he loved this woman. And that was exactly why he had to do this. But he couldn’t tell her that. Couldn’t show her that. Not if he wanted to keep her safe. “Forget about me. I’m not the man you think I am.”

  The wind picked up, gusting all around them, and snow began to fall. It would be a tricky takeoff even now—and if they waited any longer, it couldn’t happen at all.

  “You’re wrong. I know exactly who you are and I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I love you, Rick Savage.”

  “If you love me, then let me protect you. I can’t let something happen to you. Don’t you understand that?” He drove the words home over the wind. “I need you to take the only chance you have and trust me to find my own way out.”

  He’d said those same words to her before when they’d discussed leaving Aiden. He’d wanted to prepare her then, knowing it might come to this. Tears streamed down her red, frozen cheeks as she nodded. Rick thought his heart would break. This woman saw him for what he was—the whole ugly truth—and she still loved him.

  Why, God? Why had he made it to this point only to have to give it up?

  Maybe…maybe things could work out if they could survive. “Then go, be safe. I can manage better on my own. Do you understand?”

  “Come back to me, Rick.” She stood on her toes and planted a sweet and tender kiss against his lips.

  “Go with Aiden now. I’ll hide in the woods, keep them from shooting you out of the sky.”

  Shay nodded and stepped away from Rick. She paused just before she climbed into the plane and glanced back at Rick.

  “Goodbye, Shay,” he said.

  She frowned and climbed into the waiting plane, the propellers roaring and ready. Get her out of here, Aiden.

  The Cessna crept from the hangar and onto the airstrip, then roared forward without wasting a second.

  Rick backed into the space where the airplane had been seconds before and watched the trail. He planned to do just as he’d told Shay—protect them from would-be shooters until they were well out of range. His opportunity to live up to his responsibility came just seconds later.

  Kemp burst onto the airstrip waving a gun in one hand, a bag thrown over his other shoulder. “Don’t leave without me!”

  Kemp would have to wait for the authorities with Rick. Unquestionably, the man was up for the task—he’d already proved he was resilient. Rick stepped from the hangar so Kemp would see him and aimed the rifle at him.

  “Stop right there, Kemp,” he yelled over the deteriorating weather, “or I’ll shoot.”

  “What are you doing? We have to get out of here now.” A desperate man, Kemp ran down the airstrip toward the plane as if he could catch it. As if he hadn’t heard what Rick had said or seen his intention.

  Rick wouldn’t shoot him unless he became an imminent threat. Right now he was just a madman chasing a plane. But then Kemp aimed his gun at the Cessna.

  “Kemp!” Rick yelled, giving him one more chance. “I’ll shoot you if you don’t put down the gun.”

  Kemp took aim and Rick fired, too, but the rifle misfired and jammed, and Kemp got a shot off at the Cessna, which hadn’t gotten out of range yet.

  Come on, Aiden. God, please keep them safe.

  The rifle’s misfire didn’t go unnoticed by Kemp, and the man ran toward Rick. Behind Kemp, several men who had also heard the shots started from the woods and across the airstrip.

  Oh, man.

  With the men on him now, he didn’t have time to clear the jam only to discover he couldn’t fire the rifle. Without the rifle, Rick didn’t have enough ammo to take on all those men. Nor could he hope to be much of a threat with just his 9 mm handgun, but he cocked it anyway, took aim and fired again at the snow near Kemp’s running feet, hoping to deter him. Then Rick disappeared behind the wall of the hangar and ran for cover. He exited on the other side and slipped into the protection of the woods so he could fire at anyone who took aim at the Cessna.

  The airplane was in the air now, and he watched it make a wide, circling sweep. A measure of relief swept through him that Aiden and Shay could make it to safety. His brother was a top-notch pilot, experienced in flying under the worst conditions. She was in good hands.

  As for himself… Rick was in God’s hands now. There was little left for him to do other than pray for help to arrive soon. If those men didn’t kill him first, the weather would come in a close second.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Shay pressed her hands against her eye sockets, trying to keep the moisture and the pain inside.

  When Rick had said goodbye, she’d had a feeling he’d meant it for good. She could see it in his eyes.

  Aiden circled the airstrip at a safe distance.

  “This is wrong. All wrong,” she said, watching what was happening below. “How could you leave him, Aiden?”

  “You think I like being forced into leaving him behind? Those men would take us out before we made the runway if it weren’t for Rick. There wasn’t any other way, Shay.”

  A sob lodged in her throat. “We have to help him.”

&n
bsp; “Right now I need to concentrate on flying. Getting us to safety before there’s zero visibility. If we’d had any other choice, I would have taken it, but remember, Rick is trained to survive. He’s probably better off than Kemp or any of his men. He’ll come out of this, don’t worry.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “It’s more than a matter of skills. You’ve given him something to live for, Shay. I can see it when he looks at you.”

  “But the way he said goodbye, I don’t think he’s planning to make it out alive.”

  Aiden frowned and Shay wasn’t sure if he was frowning in concentration as snow beat the small plane or if he had a bad feeling about Rick, too.

  “Let’s go back,” she said.

  The engine stammered. Shay’s heart clenched as she realized what that meant. “There must have been water in the system. And it’s freezing now, blocking the fuel flow.”

  Kemp hadn’t been careful with the fuel he’d used.

  “There’s an airstrip up a ways where we can get help,” Aiden said. “But I don’t know if we can make that distance.”

  Shay gripped the seat, her knuckles white. Had she survived Kemp and his men only to die in a plane crash?

  *

  Rick pushed deeper into the woods, the snow beginning to pile up even beneath the forest canopy. Each step drained his energy. He paused, listening to the distant hum of the Cessna, hoping the sound would drift from range soon. Only it wasn’t the sound of a vibrant and healthy plane he heard. The engine stuttered and so did Rick’s heart.

  She’s icing up.

  God, please, no. He sank to his knees and prayed.

  “Haven’t we been through enough, God? Please, don’t let me have sent them to their death.” His heart palpitated as he waited, listening, not caring that Kemp and others were most likely headed this way.

  The Cessna steadied out in the distance. Rick sent up a heartfelt thanks and shoved to his feet, pushing forward in the driving snow. Even in the snow, Aiden had decent visibility if the clouds were above a few thousand feet. He could get them to safety as long as the small plane didn’t have a heart attack and die on them. And even if it did, Aiden could bring her in for a landing in the snow.