by Susan Stoker
There was no answer, of course, but the thought that his dad had somehow kept Zoey safe for him until he could find his way to her was one that wouldn’t leave.
Bubba was a big believer in fate, and now that he’d gotten to know Zoey, and was impressed by what he’d learned, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his pop had a hand in this somehow. He probably hadn’t meant to die, but Bubba hoped like hell he was somewhere watching over them now.
When the burner phone rang, the Boss swore long and low before answering.
Only one woman had that number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Boss, it’s me. The job is done. Now I need the money you promised me.”
Shocked as hell that Eva Dawkins, also known as Eve Dane, was still alive, the Boss knew the shit was about to hit the fan. Eva had been hired to fly Mark and Zoey to Juneau, then pretend to have “engine trouble” along the way and ditch them.
Except the engine trouble should have been real…and Eva was supposed to have died along with her passengers.
It wouldn’t do any good for Mark and Zoey to disappear! Their bodies needed to be found. But clearly something had gone wrong, since Eva was actually on the phone when she should’ve been dead. But before the Boss could figure out how to fix whatever had been fucked up, Eva needed to explain what she’d done with her passengers.
“Not so fast. I need details. Where’d you leave them?” the Boss asked.
Eva sighed on the other end of the line. “Mark fell asleep right after I took off, thank goodness. If he’d been as hyperaware as you said he was, he would’ve known we weren’t flying southwest toward Juneau. I flew straight west and circled a bit before heading down into the Lake Clark Preserve and Wilderness. I went down between two mountain ranges and landed on a tributary of Two Lakes.”
“And he didn’t suspect anything?”
“No. I don’t think so. Not until it was too late to do anything. I cut the fuel to the engine and made it seem as if we were crash landing. They went into brace position. I landed on the lake and told them I had to check things out. I had them get out, then when they were on shore, I backed up and flew away.” Eva paused. “The looks on their faces will haunt me forever, if I’m being honest. Mark knew what was happening immediately, and wasn’t happy at all. Zoey simply looked confused. But after I turned the plane around, I looked back. She had a look of utter disbelief and terror on her face.”
“And you didn’t leave them with anything that might help them survive, right?”
“No. All they had were the clothes they were wearing. But, I have to tell you, Mark had approval to carry a knife on the plane, and I’m pretty sure the pockets of his cargo pants were full, but I don’t know with what. Otherwise, all they had were the clothes on their backs.”
“Good.”
But it wasn’t good. Everything was fucked now. For most people, having a knife wouldn’t be much help, but this was Mark. Everyone knew he was a SEAL. Even just having a knife in the Alaskan wilderness could give him enough of an advantage to save his life, along with the life of that bitch he was with.
“You’re sure no one knows where you went and where you are now?”
“As positive as I can be,” Eva said. “When I filed the flight plan, I used a fake name and fudged the N and serial numbers. So if anyone goes looking for me or my plane, they won’t find us. I left the plane in some backwater town with a dirt runway and convinced a local to take me back to Anchorage, where I boarded the flight here to Seattle. Also, since we were flying in the complete opposite direction than I’d declared in the flight plan, anyone who tries to find them will be looking in the wrong place.”
“Serves them right. They have no right to Colin’s damn money. None. They’re getting what they deserve.”
But the plan was well and truly fucked. Their bodies were supposed to be found quickly. The plane was supposed to crash not too long after takeoff, so all the bodies would be recovered within hours. Now that Eva had actually carried out what she’d thought was the real plan…there was no telling when, or if, Mark and Zoey’s bodies would be found.
And that wasn’t good. Not at all. A motion to have them declared dead—just to start the process—couldn’t be filed for several years. The fucking money left to them by Colin would be tied up in the courts until their deaths were official!
“So…when am I getting my money?” Eva asked.
“You’ll get it when I know they’re not going to show up and claim their part of that inheritance.”
“That wasn’t the deal! You said when I finished the job, I’d get paid.”
“Well, the job’s not finished yet, is it? I’ll be in touch.”
Not giving Eva time to reply, the Boss clicked off the connection, then turned off the burner phone, and made a mental note to ditch it so the bitch couldn’t make contact again.
Eva wouldn’t call the cops though. She was stuck. She was desperate for the money she’d been promised. If she dared to go home empty-handed, her ex would disappear with her kids, and she knew she’d never see them again.
Eva had been perfect for the job. Expendable and way too naïve. She’d word-vomited her entire sob story, one that made her the perfect patsy for the plan. When Eva had met Jay, her ex, she’d thought she’d hit the jackpot. He’d swept her off her feet, married her, gotten her pregnant…then his true self came out. He was an abusive asshole who dealt drugs for a living.
It took her a while to get out from under Jay’s thumb, and she’d thought she’d succeeded. But then he’d called in some favors and gotten a judge to award him full custody of their kids. He didn’t want them. Hated them, as a matter of fact, but he loved having the upper hand. Loved knowing he was hurting her. But he said he’d hand over her kids and disappear forever if she repaid him every dime he’d spent on her over the last four years.
It was more money than she could ever come up with on her own. Of course, Jay had helpfully given her the name of a contact—the Boss—who would pay her what she needed if she did one little favor…
Fortunately for Ms. Eva Dawkins, the real plan had gone sideways. But unfortunately, she’d never see a dime of the money she’d been promised. She wasn’t supposed to have survived. She was supposed to be dead, right along with Mark and Zoey.
Sighing, the Boss knew the only hope of getting Colin’s money would be for his son and that stupid bitch Zoey to be found. But that would be tricky. Everyone thought they were headed from Anchorage to Juneau, when in reality, they were hundreds of miles in the other direction. This was a disaster…but it might still be salvageable.
It would take careful planning and lots of acting, but with a little luck, poor Mark and Zoey’s bodies would be found sooner rather than later, and everyone could get on with their lives…a whole lot richer.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Bubba didn’t immediately wake Zoey. He knew they needed to start moving, but he couldn’t make himself get up yet. At thirty-one, he’d been in his share of relationships, but he’d never really understood the allure of cuddling. He was a morning person and was always ready to get up and go.
He’d never felt the urge to lie in bed simply for the hell of it. He always had shit to do. Most of the time he had to get to PT with the rest of the team. But after waking up with Zoey for just two mornings, he realized what he’d been missing out on.
The air was chilly but not frigid. Apparently Zoey didn’t know that. She’d once again turned to face him sometime in the night and had buried her face in his chest. Her hands had snuck under his arms, seeking the warmth she knew would be there. Their legs were intertwined, and Bubba couldn’t remember ever feeling this…content…simply being with a woman.
Yes, they were in a unique situation, but he had a feeling he would’ve felt comfortable around Zoey even if they weren’t in a life-threatening position. Bubba figured part of the reason he felt so comfortable with her was because they weren’t exactly strangers. He’d liked her b
ack in high school, and even though that was a long time ago, he felt drawn to her now.
They knew the same people. Hell, she was closer to his dad than he’d been. The night before, they’d talked about the old hangout spots from when they were in high school, and they’d laughed over the fact the kids today were doing the same things they’d done over a decade ago. Things in Juneau hadn’t changed all that much, which was both comforting and a little disconcerting at the same time.
Bubba shifted, trying to dislodge the rock that was jabbing into his ass, and his movements woke Zoey. He smiled as she groaned and slowly came awake. She was so different from him. When he was awake, he was awake. He could go from being dead to the world to on his feet, ready to fight, in seconds. It took Zoey several minutes to even crack her eyes open after she woke. He had a feeling she was a three-cups-of-coffee girl before she’d be awake enough to talk.
“You sleep okay?” he asked quietly after a moment.
“No,” she mumbled into his chest.
Smiling, Bubba merely shook his head and waited for her to wake up a bit more. It wasn’t as if they had to be anywhere at a certain time. He could lie there all day with her in his arms.
It took another five minutes or so for her to wake up enough to think about moving. Five minutes during which Bubba ignored the rock poking his ass and simply enjoyed the curvy body cuddled against him. When she finally lifted her head and looked up, Bubba felt something jerk inside him at the look in her eyes.
She was still sleepy and her hair was in complete disarray. Her cheeks were red, from both sunburn and a touch of windburn, most likely. Any makeup she’d been wearing had long since been rubbed and sweated away. Neither of them smelled all that great, but for some reason, he was more drawn to her than ever.
“Hi,” he said inanely.
“Hi,” she returned. Then after a moment, she asked, “Do I look as rough as I feel?”
Bubba chuckled, then lied straight to her face. “No.”
She rolled her eyes, and Bubba couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. He’d never see someone roll their eyes again in his life and not think of her.
“Liar. But I appreciate it.” She slowly sat up and groaned once more. “I have no idea how in the world you’re always so damn warm, but I have to say that I appreciate it more with every minute that goes by.”
“Anytime you want to use me as your own personal heater, I’m at your disposal,” Bubba assured in a much more serious tone than he’d intended.
“Thanks,” she said with a laugh. “Maybe you can just follow me around and let me stick my icy hands under your shirt whenever I get cold.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she closed her eyes briefly, and Bubba saw her cheeks pinken even more than they already were. “Ignore me,” she mumbled. “I’m obviously delirious.”
Bubba chuckled. Then he stood and held a hand down to her. As she took it, and he helped her stand, he said, “Nah. Tired, hungry, and worried, maybe, but not delirious.”
Then he took both her hands in his and slipped them under his shirt at his sides and held them against his skin. They were chilly, but not so much as to really bother him.
The look of ecstasy on her face was more than enough reward for the slight discomfort he might feel.
She closed her eyes and groaned, and Bubba couldn’t help but think about her having that same reaction to him doing something else with her, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. The last thing either of them needed was adding any kind of sexual tension to their already stressful situation. He needed to be her friend right now.
“Oh my God,” she said quietly. “That feels so good.”
Bubba stood there with his hands on her waist, hers clutching his bare skin under his shirt, for a couple of long minutes before she sighed and looked up at him. “Thanks. What’s on the agenda today? A little fly fishing followed by a nice quiet walk in the woods and a four-course dinner at the lodge when we get tired? Oh, and let’s not forget the soak in the hot tub under the stars too, huh?”
He chuckled. “I was thinking we should see if we caught anything in the snare. If so, we’ll cook that up, then see if we can’t make some more headway to get out from between these two mountains. I also thought we could have a competition today to see who can find the most mushrooms.”
Zoey sighed but smiled up at him gamely. “You’re going down, SEAL Boy.”
“It’s good to have confidence,” he replied.
Then she blew his mind by getting serious and saying, “Thank you for making this not suck as much as it could. For keeping my mind off the fact someone literally left us out here to die. And thank you for packing more shit in your pockets than I have in my entire suitcase. A knife, compass, twine, flint, and who the hell knows what else you’ve got in there. Just…thank you. I can’t imagine this going very well with anyone other than you.”
Bubba couldn’t help it. He reached out and palmed her cheek. “You don’t have to thank me, Zo. In fact, I’m guessing if you hadn’t had the bad luck of being on that plane, you’d be back in Juneau cursing my name because I didn’t bother to show up for the reading of my dad’s will.”
She frowned at him. “What are you saying? That you think you’re the target of whoever did this?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Do you know what’s in your dad’s will?”
“No. You?”
She shook her head.
“Right. Obviously Pop left you something. I can’t say what, you’d probably know better than me, but it’s most likely not enough for someone to want you dead.”
Zoey stared up at him but didn’t respond.
“But me being his son…and knowing how much his business is worth, I’m guessing there’s quite a bit of money in there for me.”
She blinked as if something had just occurred to her. “Oh my God, Mark. Do you think Malcom’s okay? What if someone went after him too?”
Bubba had thought about that himself, but he hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want to worry her. And…if his brother had done this, then he’d obviously not be in any danger.
When he didn’t answer fast enough, Zoey asked, “Do you think Malcom’s behind this?”
“I don’t know,” Bubba said quickly. “But at this moment, the only thing I’m concerned about is the two of us. We can’t control anything else but our own situation. There’s no sense worrying about shit we can’t do a damn thing about.”
Zoey closed her eyes, and Bubba saw her shoulders slump as she leaned into his hand. He held her gently and waited for her to work through whatever she was thinking about.
Eventually, her eyes opened and she said, “I hate that money can do this to people. Hate it. I mean, I’m not stupid. I know money makes the world go ’round, but it’s insane how little money it takes to make people do terrible, awful things. I’m not that fond of your brother. He’s kind of a jerk. But he works hard and was really helpful to your dad. I don’t wish him ill will, so I hope he’s okay.”
“What about Sean?”
Zoey sighed. “Yeah, I could see him doing this. I know he and Colin had been arguing a lot recently about the business. I think Sean wanted to move the factory overseas, where it would be cheaper to make the products, but your dad was fighting that. He wanted to keep jobs here in America. In Juneau. They’d been fighting a lot about it.”
“What side was Malcom on?”
Zoey shrugged. “I don’t know. But all the fighting and tension was really eating at Colin. That, along with him being sick all the time, was making him cranky and short with just about everyone.”
Bubba hated to think about anyone wanting to kill him, but especially not the people who were closest to his dad. Zoey was right, it sucked that money could make someone want to kill to get it.
Just then, Zoey’s stomach let out a loud rumble. She wrinkled her nose, and Bubba finally dropped his hand from the side of her face. She put a hand over
her belly and said, “Can you call room service and ask what’s taking them so long to get our order to us?”
He smiled down at her, and not for the first time, thanked God that they’d been stranded together. “I’ll get right on that.”
“And I don’t suppose you have any shampoo in those pockets of yours, do you?” she asked with a hopeful arch of a brow.
“Unfortunately, no. But I do have this…” Bubba reached into a pocket low on his pants, near his calf, and produced a small black comb. At the look on her face, Bubba would’ve thought he’d pulled out a miniature helicopter that could take them out of there.
“A comb! Oh my God, you’re my hero!” she exclaimed.
Bubba had never cared much for that word, but hearing it come from her lips and seeing her look up at him like he’d given her the world felt good. Then, looking at her hair, he grimaced and said, “You might need some help.”
She grinned, and one of her hands immediately went to her hair to try to smooth it down. “That bad, huh?” she asked.
Bubba shook his head. “Nothing we can’t figure out.”
“Thank you,” she told him again.
“Nope. None of that. We’re a team and in this together.”
She looked at the comb longingly for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Well, I’m thinking my hair can wait. If you aren’t afraid to be seen out in public with me, with my hair looking like it does—if this forest can be considered ‘out in public’—then I can wait until later to deal with it. We need to check the snares, get a fire started, and figure out where we’re going today.”
Putting the comb back in his pocket for later, Bubba had to force himself to not take Zoey in his arms. She was incredible. Practical and down-to-earth. But he could still see the vulnerability and uncertainty in her eyes. It made him want to encourage her to spread her wings and enfold her in his arms to keep her safe at the same time. He settled for asking, “Do you want to check the snare or try to start the fire?”
“Fire. I’m not sure I can do it, but I’ll leave the dead animals to you, if that’s okay.”
