Josh (30 page)

The old man lowered his voice. “Stay close to him, Clemmy, until Cole and I can be there with him.”

Quinn, Cheyenne, and Jake found Big Jim out behind the barn, standing inside the circle of grave markers. From the amount of snow already piling up on his wide-
brimmed hat and parka, they knew he’d been out there for some time, talking over his worries with Clementine.

He looked up when they drew near.

Quinn lay a hand on his grandfather’s snowy sleeve. “We’re heading up the mountain, Big Jim.”

He didn’t argue or try to discourage them. As though anticipating their plan, he merely nodded. “I’d do the same if I were your age.”

Jake was startled by his grandfather’s admission. It was the first time he could recall Big Jim conceding anything to his age. “I told Pa we’d leave a trail carved in the snow, showing you which way we’d gone.”

“That’s good.” The old man lifted his head to study the curtain of snow. “As soon as this stops, Cole and I will be airborne.”

“It can’t come soon enough.” Quinn hugged his grandfather. “We’ll keep our cell phones on, hoping the authorities can track our signals. I know Josh will do the same.”

Cheyenne hugged the old man, then stepped aside to allow Jake to say his goodbye.

He grabbed his grandfather in a bear hug. Against his cheek he said gruffly, “I know you’re worried. We all are. But it’s going to be fine, Big Jim.”

“I know, boyo.” The big man took a step back and studied his two grandsons. “I know you’ll do all you can to find your brother. Stay safe.”

They saluted him and turned away, heading into the blinding snow.

When Jake turned back for a last look at his grandfather, the old man was standing, head bent, hand on the tombstone, his mouth moving in quiet conversation with his Clemmy.

Because of his years spent tracking wolf packs, Quinn took the lead as they headed into the foothills, looking for anything that might point to where Josh and Sierra had made camp.

Cheyenne and Jake followed his lead, keeping their voices low as they picked their way through snowdrifts, some of them waist-high.

“A lot more snow up here than down in the lower ranges,” Jake muttered.

“Yeah. But have you noticed that the higher we get, the less snow is still falling?”

At Quinn’s remark, the other two lifted their faces to the sky.

“You’re right. The snowstorm is blowing over us.” Cheyenne breathed a sigh of relief. “Maybe we’ll find some tracks we can follow.”

Quinn shrugged. “I’m sure any trail that Josh and Sierra left was covered over by a fresh snowfall hours ago. But if they venture out now, we’ll be able to follow any fresh tracks.”

He paused and studied a bit of thread snagged on the low-hanging branch of a fir growing along the trail. “I can’t say if this is fresh, but it’s definitely from Josh’s parka.”

Cheyenne touched a finger to the thread. “But how do you know if it was left here today, or months ago?”

Quinn frowned. “I can’t say. I’ll need a lot more to go on than this.”

As they climbed higher, they felt the sting of cold, frosty air on their faces.

Winter was coming early to the Tetons. At least that
was what they blamed for the chill that had settled around their hearts.

Several hours later Big Jim poked his head in the utility barn, which they used as a hangar for their plane. After scraping snow from the runway, he’d parked the plow in the vehicle barn.

“The storm’s just about blown itself out. I’ve cleared the runway. I say it’s time to take to the air.”

Cole looked up from his final check of the single engine Cessna. He’d been there for the past hour, working off his frustration. “Then let’s get going. I’ve got it fueled and ready.”

While Big Jim rolled open the double doors to allow the plane to exit, Cole climbed aboard.

A short time later, when both father and son were seated side by side at the controls, the plane rolled down the runway and they were airborne.

Cole tuned to the state police frequency to announce their location and intended destination. Then, leaving the frequency open so they could receive any important information sent by the authorities, they headed due north, keeping their attention focused on the frozen landscape below.

A short time later Big Jim pointed. “There’s a giant arrow down there stomped into the snow. It has to be from Quinn and Jake.”

Cole nodded and turned the plane in the direction of the arrow.

Some distance away they spotted a second arrow, and Cole made a slight adjustment, in order to follow the trail. He pointed to the dim ribbon of pink light on the horizon. “It’ll be dark soon.”

Big Jim kept his tone bland, to mask his frustration. “We’ve got maybe another hour.”

“Maybe.” Cole frowned.

Sometimes an hour could feel like an eternity. But right now, while they fought desperately to outwit a dangerous stalker, an hour felt like mere grains of sand sifting too quickly through an hourglass.

The thought that Sebastian Delray might have already located Josh and Sierra was too painful to consider. And so Cole held on to the thought that Delray was, like him, flying blind, with no idea where to begin to look for his prey.

It was the only way Cole Conway could keep his sanity.

Josh knelt on a snow-covered rock shelf and stared at the pristine landscape spread out below him.

He would give Sebastian this. The man had been clever. Clever enough to follow a swollen stream to cover his tracks.

Josh had followed the trail to the stream, then, with no trace of movement on either side, had been forced to make a choice. First he had hiked to the lower elevations, hoping to find some tracks. Finding none, he’d backtracked to the stream and was now on the higher elevation. But so far, he’d found no sign of any footprints in the snow.

The climb had greatly taxed his strength, and he could feel himself beginning to fade. Not a good thing, when he was well aware that he would need his wits about him whenever he managed to encounter the armed madman.

He continued to hope that Sebastian would become careless, thinking he would be able to carry out his plan without interference.

Josh pressed his forehead to the cold metal of his rifle and struggled to think. He prided himself on knowing every trail, every pass, every cave in these hills. And yet, so far he’d found no trace of Sierra and Sebastian, though he’d explored most of the larger caves in the area.

If the two were in plain sight, he would have spotted them by now. He was convinced that they were hidden in one of the many caves in this area. But which one? There were hundreds of small indentations in the rock-strewn area that could conceal two people.

He got to his feet and was about to turn away when something below caught his eye. Creeping carefully to the very edge of the rock, he peered down.

Below him was a flat plateau called Wolf River Plateau. Though most of it was hidden from this vantage point, he could make out what appeared to be a series of straight lines and squares.

At first they didn’t make any sense.

And then the thought struck.

Letters.

Someone had carved giant letters in the snow.

He needed to climb higher, away from all this rock, in order to get a clearer view.

Though every step caused fresh pain, he managed to make his way higher up the mountain until he came to a spot overlooking the plateau. He peered down.

Reading backward and upside down, he finally realized what the letters spelled:

LANDING AREA

Josh’s heart leaped to his throat. Of course. Delray must have an accomplice. A pilot who could fly a copter and land it on the plateau.

He swore as he turned away. He’d made a very wrong choice and had climbed too high. It would take him half an hour to make his way to the plateau marked as a landing area.

As he started his descent, he held to one thought. Unless he made it in time, Sierra was lost to him.

Sierra struggled her way up through layers of darkness. The sedative had left her vision muddled, and that in turn left her dizzy and viciously nauseous.

The slightest movement made it worse.

The one thing she could see through the clouds of confusion was the fading light just beyond the entrance to the cave. Despite her fuzzy brain, she clung to the fact that somewhere out there was freedom. She knew instinctively that if she remained in here, Sebastian would soon take her away with him. And once he escaped this place, she would never be free of him.

She had to let the world know that he’d killed Josh.

Josh dead.

The thought left her numb with shock and pain, and for a moment she curled into a ball, fighting a depth of despair that rolled over her in waves.

Before the tears could start she shook her head, as though to deny the pain in her heart. If she gave up now, Sebastian would win. She couldn’t let him get away with what he’d done. She had witnessed his crime. She would do whatever it took, pay whatever price necessary, to avenge Josh’s death.

She saw, through the mist of sedative that still clouded her vision, a shadowy image step into the entrance to the cave, blocking the light.

A ripple of sheer terror crawled along her spine.

Sebastian was back.

She didn’t know where he kept going when he left her alone, but he had said something about a message for his chauffeur.

She prayed that his driver hadn’t appeared yet.

As he walked closer, she steeled herself. This time, she had to be ready for him. She wouldn’t react, no matter what he did to her. She had to convince him that she was still unconscious, so that he wouldn’t administer any more of the hated sedative.

“Sierra, my love.”

She heard his voice above her and remained as still as a statue.

“Are you playing with me?” He kicked her with the toe of his boot.

She fought to keep her breathing slow and easy. There must be no hint that she was alert.

“Sierra.” His voice was closer now, and she knew that he was kneeling over her.

His rough hands caught her shoulder, shaking her so hard she had to grit her teeth to keep from reacting to his touch.

“So.”

She felt his hand at her throat, and for a moment she felt a rush of panic. Would her accelerated pulse rate give her away?

To distract him she moaned slightly, but kept her eyes closed.

“Open your eyes, you lying whore, or I’ll blow you away right now.”

She felt something icy cold pressed to her temple and knew instinctively that it was the muzzle of his pistol.

She knew she was risking her life by defying him, but she dared not open her eyes now.

She couldn’t breathe as she waited for the explosion that would end her life.

The minutes ticked by interminably, and then, without warning, she heard his footfall as he made his way to the cave entrance. In the distance she could hear the sound of a helicopter.

She’d convinced him that she was still unconscious. Almost dizzy with relief, she waited a full minute or more before daring to open her eyes. When she did, she could see that she was alone.

When she tried to stand, her legs were trembling so violently, she knew they wouldn’t support her. On her hands and knees she crawled across the floor of the cave to the entrance. Once there she breathed deeply before using the side of the cave to pull herself slowly to her feet. For a moment she feared that she would collapse in a heap. Instead, moving cautiously, she took a step and then another until she was standing outside the cave.

She stood there, breathing in the frigid air.

The sound of the helicopter was much closer now, as though hovering somewhere just out of sight beyond these peaks.

Was this what Sebastian was waiting for? Could this be his magic carpet?

She had to run. Now, while there was still time.

She was about to take a downward route when she
caught sight of the helicopter coming into view just over a ridge. On a plateau just below stood Sebastian, waving his arms at the pilot of the aircraft.

There was no time left. If Sebastian found her here when he returned, all was lost.

Without giving a thought to where she would go or how she would survive, she plunged into the snow and began clawing her way upward. At times crawling, at other times struggling to her feet, she used the branches of trees for support as she made her way unerringly into the cover of a line of trees and, hopefully, away from the clear and present danger.

Q
uinn, Cheyenne, and Jake looked up at the sound of the helicopter.

“State Police?” Jake shielded his eyes, hoping to see the familiar markings.

“Definitely not the state guys.” Quinn studied the aircraft. “I haven’t seen it around here before.” He glanced at his brother. “You think Pa asked for help?”

Jake watched as the helicopter hovered above Wolf River Plateau. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. What if this is part of Delray’s plan? It would be an easy way to hit and run.”

As soon as the words were out of his brother’s mouth Quinn nodded. “Of course. Eliminate Josh, grab Sierra, and get clean away before the authorities know where to look for him.” He swore. “Come on. We have to get up there and stop him before he succeeds in getting away with it.”