Desire in the Arctic (12 page)

Chapter 15

Redd had fired his first bullet straight up into the air. It was the only way to ensure he wouldn’t hit either the bear or Ana. Because the sound of the gun was loud and large, it brought about the desired effect. The bear took off with its life intact. Now that there was only one bullet left, he could only hope
their
lives would stay intact as well.

Relieved he had at least gotten them out of immediate danger, he spun around to Ana. But when he saw her limp body on the ground his heart fell. “Ana? Ana!”

It was as if the air had been knocked out of him. He wanted to keel over from the horror of seeing her incapacitated, but he didn’t have the luxury. In a heartbeat he was by her side, picking up her limp body.

“Ana? Talk to me. What happened?”

“I’m all right,” she said weakly. Her head bobbed back and her eyes seemed to be rolling backward.

At least she was conscious. She must have fainted from fright.
Poor thing.
He could understand that level of fear.

Redd picked her up then shifted her until her upper body was slumped over his shoulder, her arms resting against his back. Then he somehow managed to gather their gear. And trudge forward in the snow.

Getting her to a safe place, and fast, was critical. The snowshoes thankfully gave him the traction he needed.

But how long could he keep this up? The travel was exhausting. The weight, and the snow, getting heavier with every step. Would it better to build the tent, make a fire and leave her alone while he explored for better shelter? He’d gain better ground if he was alone. It would stress her body less if he only carried her once he knew where he was going.

The risk of leaving her alone, however, was high. It would mean leaving her to fend off frozen weather and more wild animals. How much more exposure could she take? There were plenty of animals out here besides bear, all capable of attack. Moose were almost as bad as bears. Although moose rutting season wouldn’t begin for another two months at least, Bull Moose could still be aggressive, even deadly. They spooked easily and were often eager to go on the offensive. Or, God forbid, she could encounter a wolverine. Powerful and deadly, a wolverine could kill a person with ease.

Redd unconsciously shook his head
no
. Leaving her alone would not be wise. But how long could he carry on like this? He felt himself tire, even as he plowed ahead.

“Redd,” she said weakly, “thanks for carrying me.”

Her soft spoken words were not a balm, they were a bayonet. A sharp knife stabbing away at the fortress around his heart.
See? This is why I don’t get involved with women.
Once you start caring, you become obsessed with their safety. And once they’re hurt, you become obsessed with losing them.
Wait, where did all this come from?
As if he didn’t know.

He didn’t get too much farther before Ana started pulling away from him.

“I can walk,” she protested.

He was laden with two backpacks, a rifle, and one struggling woman. “Damn it, Ana, cut it out. It’s almost impossible to carry you and everything else when you’re struggling.”

A tired-looking Ana managed to grin at him. “That’s the general idea.”

He almost dropped her to the ground out of aggravation. “What exactly are you trying to accomplish?” he gritted out.

“You’ve got to let me pull my own weight. You can’t do all this.”

“You fainted,” he pointed out.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to panic you. Or burden you. But I’m okay now, I promise. You scared the bear away and I’m feeling a bit better.”

“No, you’re not. You’re cold and still terrified. Starving, too, I’m sure.”

“I said I’m fine.” She wiggled out of his arms until she was on the ground, standing tall. For someone who had passed out moments ago, she now seemed amazingly full of vim and vigor. He watched her put hands on her hips and stare him down. Lord above, was the woman preparing to argue with him? “How would you know how I’m feeling anyway?” she demanded.

He tried his best to breathe deeply and garner patience. “I thought we established you passed out,” he answered dryly.

“We did. But we also established I’m over it. You can’t carry me. We’ll never make it. Not without you injuring yourself in the process.”

“Stop worrying about me,” he said dismissively.

“Stop worrying about
me
,” she retorted.

“I’ve got to worry about you, damn it. If I don’t, you’ll wind up just like Hailey!”

Now what had he gone and done? Why couldn’t he shut his mouth? And why couldn’t she shut hers? In fact, her jaw hung open like one of the fish he’d managed to hook.

Great. Now she’s going to really be after me to talk about this. Damn it all!

“Who is Hailey?”

“I knew it,” he snapped. “You’ve got to stop nagging me!”

Ana didn’t say anything but her eyes were round with hurt. Silently she took her backpack from him. He didn’t fight, he gave it to her. Even a full-on blizzard was not going to deter her, so why try?

She stormed off ahead of him. Watching her take the lead was pretty funny, considering she had no idea where to go.

Picking up speed, he caught up to her. “I’m sorry,” he said after several solid minutes of silence. “I shouldn’t have yelled. It wasn’t at you. I’m more mad at myself. I should be doing a better job of keeping you safe. If I had done a better job, maybe you wouldn’t have passed out. Or been up close with a bear. Or . . .” He paused. “Or feeling like you have to fight me.”

He saw her face soften. Oddly, it triggered a softness in his own demeanor as well.

“We would have fought anyway. Only over something else.” She shot him a wink.

“You’re probably right.” He laughed.

“Probably? I’m always right.”

He grinned. “You know, I think you’re very brave.” He held out his hand to her. “Friends?” Surprisingly, she shook it. The gloves made it impossible to feel her heat or skin. But he still felt a connection. Maybe both of them really were in this together.

“Friends,” she confirmed. “We are going to make it out of this okay, aren’t we?”

“Yup.”

“I think we changed personalities. Now you’re the optimistic one. How come?”

“Because I know some of this land. It’s been a very long time, mind you. But my memory, for an old retiree, is not half bad. I think we can make it to the edge of a village. Screw Teleworld. I’ve got to worry about getting us through this.” Even if we shot a flare, no plane would make it in this storm. And if by some miracle it did, it would have nowhere to land.

He tugged her hand harder and they set off with more determination than they had so far.

As time wore on, Ana slowed her pace, and Redd
slowed down, too. He placed an arm around her midriff, supporting her body with his as they marched forward. Until their steps became no more than trudging. Their energy, and progress, ebbing. The wind whipped the snow around them. They’d have to take off their soaked pants and let them dry if they weren’t going to get hypothermia or frostbite. Either way, they’d be in for a real problem soon.

“Screw this,” he spat out. “Ana, I’ve got to get you someplace better than this. I think I’ve got us on track for where I want to go. I’m going to take all the equipment and leave you here with the gun.”

“You’re
what
?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back for you soon. You know how to shoot it in case something else charges at you while I’m gone.”

“
What?
” Her face lost the little remaining bit of color it had.

“Just be very careful when you take aim. We only have that one bullet left.”

And did her knees just buckle?
Yep.
Ana swooned again. Redd shot his arm out to support her before she fell. He held on to her tightly, helping her stay upright. At this point, her face matched the color of the snow.

He shook his head, disgusted with himself.
I’m doing this all wrong. I’m supposed to be reassuring her, not scaring the shit out of her.
“I’m going to build you a snow shelter to sit in until I get back.” Before she could protest, he had her body weight supported by a tree with a wide trunk and started using his arms to shovel away snow at the tree’s base.

At this rate, I’m going to get wet from sweat and snow and then
I’m
going to get hypothermia.
How will I take care of Ana then?
But the disturbing thought didn’t slow him down. He learned early on in his military years that sometimes action had to move faster than thought. When the enemy shot at you, you shot back. You didn’t have time to think about it, you simply took action if you wanted to live. Well, he wanted to live. And he wanted Ana to live.

Soon he had made a snow pit at the base of the tree and ordered Ana in. Thankfully, she was too exhausted to protest. He helped her in, threw broken pine branches on top of her to form a roof and then covered up the pine “shingles” with snow. “You’ll be insulated like a bunny in here,” he called out through the roof cracks.

“Then you’d better hop right on back to me,” she answered sleepily. Then she mumbled words he couldn’t quite hear.

“What did you say?”

“I said when the fortunetellers told me I’d grow up to be a bunny, I thought they meant Playboy.”

If he wasn’t scared shitless for her, he would have smiled. “Funny. Just try not to fall asleep, okay?”

“No promises . . .”

“Damn it, Ana, you’d better promise!”

“Okay, okay. Yeesh, what a grouch.”

Yep, he was learning about Ana real well.

Ana shivered under the snow. Fighting sleep. Dizziness. Nausea. At least the numbness in her toes and fingers wasn’t stinging so much anymore. It was like she was starting not to feel any pain at all.

Slowly her thoughts drifted into dreams. William Redding, the proud, handsome military hero was getting pinned with a medal of honor by a top commander at the Pentagon. His chest was puffed out in pride but his mood was somber. In the audience, among the onlookers, was a coffin. The casket was open, with her face staring out through sightless eyes. And then suddenly Redd was peering down into the coffin, placing a kiss on her cold, dark lips.

Chapter 16

When the cabin finally came into sight, Redd was half-convinced it was a mirage. He reached his hand out, wondering if it would go right through the dreamlike image. When his fingers actually felt hard wood he shouted in excitement.

He had fought his instinct, however, to yank the door open. Being safety conscious meant walking around the building’s exterior and surveying the scene. No light, smoke or sound emitted from the ten-by-twenty-foot wood structure. No sign of life appeared around the structure either, and the snow was pristine in an undisturbed circumference.

Still, caution was the way of the wise. He hadn’t become a Special Ops Marine only to take the enemy for granted. Walking into an abandoned cabin without a loaded gun would be like walking into a terrorist camp wearing a sign that said,
Take me, I’m at your mercy
.

He swallowed hard when he realized he left the gun, and the one last bullet, with Ana.

“Shit,” he spat out through gritted teeth. He shifted from one foot to the other in indecision, oblivious to the cold. He knew what he had to do, not that he was happy about it. Because although there was no sign of human life, that didn’t mean there was no animal life inside. Bears’ ability to open doors was uncanny. Agile bears would then proceed to destroy the cabin in search for food, eating everything inside until they decided to leave.

He put his hand on the door handle and sucked in a deep breath as a thought occurred to him—a substitute for a gun. He threw the camping equipment in the snow and dug around in his backpack for the lighter. The forest floor provided plenty of wood and he picked up a dead branch. He ignited the end of it, hoping the tree sap would allow for a slow burn. In one quick move he threw open the cabin door so hard it banged against an interior wall. He braced for a bear to come running out, right toward him. Holding the flaming branch higher, he was ready to use it like a hot poker.

And yet nothing charged out. A fast swish of the flame inside the structure revealed no one, and nothing had been in there in ages.

“Safe.” He stepped back out into the cold, shutting the door behind him. Then he extinguished the flaming branch in the thick snow and went back to his most important mission, bringing back Ana. Relief flooded through him, coursing steadily through his veins.

He hiked back to the snow shelter so quickly sweat dripped from his brow, soaking his clothes and hair. If he didn’t get her to this cabin soon it wouldn’t only be Ana’s health jeopardized. His own would be in serious trouble, too. The only thing worse than exposure to severe cold was exposure to severe cold
while wet
. Once hypothermia kicked in, so did real problems. Like death.

He called out when he reached the bunny hole. “Ana? Ana!” Redd felt sweat pour off him. When she didn’t answer his call the first time, he ripped the branches off the roof to get to her. Now he was shaking her hard, begging her to respond.

Nothing worked. She seemed lifeless, her body limp and cool to the touch. He shook her harder. Nothing.
Damn it!
He would not lose her. He could not lose her.
No!
His body tensed, bile built up in his throat. Redd felt his stomach sway, a sea of acid. “Ana!” he placed his forehead against hers, held her body tight.

Until he felt weak, warm breath against his. And felt her eyelashes flutter.

She’s conscious.
Relief washed over him, calming his upset mind and soothing his heart. “You had me so worried, Ana. I couldn’t take it if something happened to you.”

“I knew you felt this way about me,” she said in a soft tease.

“You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Maybe I’m dead already. I can’t get up.”

“You’ll be fine. I carried all the camping equipment up ahead so I can carry you.”

“Carry me where?”

He almost laughed. The woman could be on the verge of death and she was still up for a game of twenty questions. “I found an abandoned cabin.”

“You did?” He could see her body quiver. From excitement, relief, or simply a response from the cold and pain, he didn’t know. The faster he got her there, the better. “Do you think being carried will be too uncomfortable for you? I could try gathering some of these downed branches and twine them to form a flat sled. At least then you could lie down. But I don’t want you to have to wait—”

“Please don’t do all that. Carrying is good.”

With that, he lifted her up and carried her in his arms. He felt none of the strain he knew he was under. He was too overcome by emotion to care what his body was going through. Ana was safe, but for how long? If he didn’t get her out of these elements, and fast, the damage to her body would be severe. If it wasn’t already.

“Thanks,” she said, snuggling her face to him.

If the situation weren’t so dire, he’d really be enjoying the feel of her body against his. Relishing the close contact for a minute, he shook himself out of it.
Mission first.

“How did you find the cabin,” she asked, her words muffled by his parka.

“I know this area a little, remember? At least enough to know where to start scouting. I found a hunting cabin not being used. Don’t know the last time it was lived in because hunting out here isn’t legal any more, but it’ll work.”

“Is it far? I don’t want to be dead weight for too long.”

Leave it to Ana to worry about someone else. Her words, like the rest of her, was infinitely endearing. “It’s not too far. I can manage your light weight. No problem.”

She let out a weak laugh. “Suuure . . .”

“I said, it’s no problem,” he barked. But slugging himself, and her, through mountainous snow was quickly becoming a herculean feat. Especially after the hike he’d just had to find the cabin in the first place.

Short, quick breaths mirrored the pace of his walking through the mounds of dense snow, but trying to slog through snow drifts with speed was like trying to race through quicksand.

They had gone a full mile over the rocky, uneven, terrain when he suddenly noticed a line of animal tracks off to the side. How had he missed them before? He must have been too focused on finding the cabin. A rookie mistake.

He stopped, drawing her limp body even tighter to him.

“Are we there?” For the first time in hours Ana’s voice reflected hope. It was a pity he had to dash it. False hope was the Devil’s gift.

Without shifting his gaze from the tracks, he answered, “No. Shhh.”

He could feel her try to pull away from him, try to free herself from his grip to explore on her own. If she thought she’d be able to stand she was crazier than he’d thought.

“What is it?” she whispered hoarsely.

If he wasn’t busy scanning the area he would have rolled his eyes. “Damn it, woman, I said
shhhh
.” His words came out in a low, angry hiss. Sometimes he could swear she was actually looking for danger, conjuring it up like black magic.

A moment was needed to “read” the tracks. Snow had fallen over most of the prints though he could still decipher what they were. He exhaled hard. “It’s long gone, thankfully.”

“Can I talk in a normal voice then?”

“Yeah. It’s safe enough.”

“From what?”

“Nothing you need to know about.”

“It must be another bear.” The hope which had been in her voice a second ago was replaced with quivering fear.

“No, it’s not.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Her shoulders visibly relaxed a bit, an inch further down from her ears. She was looking at him quizzically though, her head cocked to the side as if trying to gauge his words for truthfulness.

“It
is
good, isn’t it?” she asked. “Nothing is worse than a bear. Right?”

“Can we debate this later? We’ve got to move.”

“Are you going to tell me what it was?”

“No.” He was walking again now, her body still borne by him.

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t have a good reputation. But since I’m going to keep you safe there’s no need to worry about it.”

He could sense her body go heavy, becoming dead weight. “Oh my God, it’s a wolf, isn’t it? A lone wolf on the prowl. Maybe it got separated from its pack because it’s injured. Which will make it double aggressive, right?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I’m going to go crazy if you don’t tell me.”

He sighed. It’d be easier to fight the creature that left the marks than her. And much less scary. “The tracks were made by a wolverine.”

Despite her apparent fear, she burst out laughing. Her body vibrated from it.

He held her tighter so as not to drop her. “I would have told you right off if I knew this was going to be your reaction.”

“You’re telling me a Marvel Comic Book character is in Gates of the Arctic National Park with us. How’d he get here? Wolverine can’t fly, and a plane can’t land with all these trees . . .”

“Are you done yet, Kathy Griffin?”

“Not hardly. Are the rest of the X-Men going to join us, too?”

He flinched. “If you keep this up, I’m going to assume you’re feeling well again and make you walk the rest of the way.”

“No you won’t,” she quipped, grabbing on to him tighter and making doe-eyes at him.

Shit, she’s right. The woman should be an X-Man herself. She can read minds.
“Wolverines are real. They are nasty animals, small but lethal. The males can get to be about the size of a small bear. Powerful predators that’ve been known to take down huge animals like full-grown elk and moose. They’ve got powerful jaws, strong muscles, and sharp claws. Plus, they can be tough to kill or injure because they’ve got thick hide. Worse, they’re very agile in the snow, as you can see. Basically, you don’t want to encounter one. Ever.”

He could feel her head strain to look up at him. He did his best to keep his eyes on where he was going. Scanning for his earlier trail marks while watching where he was going was not easy. Then again, dealing with her wasn’t easy, either.
But maybe I shouldn’t have told her all that.

Ana fell silent, which was a relief. The only sound heard was his sloshing through the snow. They trudged on for what seemed to be hours.

At last, a break in the clouds let in a brief ray of sunlight that illuminated the cabin in the distance. “We made it,” he said, smiling down at her.

For once, Ana didn’t respond. Was she asleep? Or too ill to maintain consciousness? Redd trembled.