Shattered (30 page)

Landon woke to the crackle of burning wood. Warmth radiated along his right side and pain along his left. He opened his eyes. Shadows danced along the ceiling—a rough-hewn wooden ceiling. Where was he?

He shifted, and pain racked his body. He groaned.

“You’re awake. Oh, thank God.” Piper knelt by his side.

He smiled, the simple movement excruciating. “Where are we?” His mouth was so dry that his lips cracked with the motion.

“An avalanche shelter.”

“Avalanche?” The horrid memory flooded back. “Are you okay? Are you safe?” He shifted to sit, and pain knocked him back down.

“I’m fine.” She placed a cool rag on his head. “You’re the one who needs tending.”

“My left side . . .”

“Your leg’s swollen but thankfully not broken. Your ribs, I’m not so sure about.”

Why weren’t they at a hospital? Why had the rescue team opted to take them to a shelter instead? “Where is the rescue team?”

“They haven’t found us yet.”

“Haven’t found us? Then how did we get here?” Had he managed to walk somehow and not remembered?

“I got us here.”

“You?”

She smiled, holding a cup to his lips. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

He took a sip of the cold water; it felt gloriously soothing along his parched throat. “How did you manage that?”

“I fashioned a sling of sorts.”

“A sling?” How could someone as slight as Piper bear his weight for who knows how far?

“I dragged you like a sled.”

“That probably explains the aches and pains.” He chuckled, regretting it the moment the stabbing pain returned to his side.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how else to move you.”

He covered her hand with his. “I’m joking. You saved my life—both our lives.”

“So far . . .”

“You got us shelter, fire, water. You’re amazing.”

“You’ve got a fever.” She brushed his hair from his face. “I crushed some Tylenol into your water, but I couldn’t get you to swallow it. There were no antibiotics or stronger pain-killers in the first-aid kit.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re just saying that.”

He clasped her hand tighter. “I’m alive because of you.”

She nodded, biting her bottom lip.

He reached up and cupped her face. “Your family will fly to the rescue as soon as they hear we’re out here. Cole won’t stop until they find us.”

“If he even knows where to look.”

“If he can’t find us, Jake will. I’ve never seen anybody track like Jake can.”

“The blizzard hasn’t let up.”

“Give it a day.”

“It’s been two.”

“Two?” He’d been out for two days? Piper had to face everything alone for
two
days.

She nodded.

“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to face the last two days alone.”

“I wasn’t alone. God never forsakes us, and I had you.”

“Unconscious.”

“I’d take you unconscious any day rather than face a single day without you.” She leaned into his hand.

“I love you, Piper.”

“I know you do.”

“No.” Ignoring the pain, he pulled to a seated position. “I
love you,
love you.”

“Like Cole loves Bailey?”

“More, if it’s possible.” He loved her so fiercely, so deeply.

“When did you know?”

“It hit me last summer.”

“Hit you?” She intertwined her fingers with his.

“Like a freight train. All of a sudden I realized how deeply I felt about you.” He stroked her hair, relishing the silkiness. “That I loved you. But looking back . . .”

She leaned into him. “It was there all along?”

“Yeah. In some way, buried deep down, I think it was always there.” It had just taken the events of last summer for him to realize it, for him to fully grasp the depth of his love for her.

She kissed his fingertips, and heat flared through him.

“I feel the same way. I always knew you were
my
Landon. I just never realized what that meant.”

He cupped her face. “Sure you still want me? Busted ribs and all?”

Her hand tightened on his. “Always.”

Landon finished the soup Piper had found stocked in the pantry and set the bowl aside.

“Okay.” She rubbed her hands together. “Now take off your shirt.”

He coughed. “What?”

“We need to take your shirt off so I can check you out.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “You want to check me out?”

Color flushed her cheeks. “You know what I mean. I need to check your injuries.”

“Oh well, can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“No.” She pursed her lips. “I suppose I can’t. Now, take off that shirt so I can check your ribs.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing. They’re just sore.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” She bent beside him, helping him lift his shirt over his head.

Piper sucked in her breath.

“What are the chances that was a ‘Wow, you are so sexy’ gasp rather than an ‘It looks really bad’ one?” He glanced down. Black-and-white splotches marred his left side.

She bit her bottom lip and then smiled sweetly, though concern still brimmed in her brown eyes. “It’s a combination of both, I’m afraid.”

He took a ragged breath as her fingers touched his bruised rib cage.

Her fingers felt cool, but her touch was warm. He winced as she pressed harder.

She frowned. “Just as I suspected . . . I think you’ve got a couple broken ribs. Try to take a deep breath.”

He inhaled.

“No trouble getting air?”

“No.” He grimaced.

“Painful?”

“It’s nothing,” he lied, not wanting to worry her. She was amazing and brave, and he felt horrible that she’d had to endure the past two days alone.

“Try it one more time, and this time let me listen.”

She wanted to be sure a broken rib hadn’t punctured his lung.

She moved behind him and trailed her fingers over the scar at the apex of his right shoulder blade. “I’ve never asked how you got this.”

Her touch felt so incredibly good—her fingers cool against his fevered skin, but she was inciting warmth all the same.

“Gunshot.”

“You were shot? How did I not know that?”

“It was my first week on the force up in Fairbanks. Fresh out of the Academy. I walked straight into the middle of a drug deal by accident.”

“How does that happen by
accident
?”

“I was in this pizza joint. I placed my order and went to use their restroom while I waited. Two kids were in the middle of a deal. One was high. He took one look at the uniform, panicked, and shot. Luckily I got a shot off too or he might have finished me off.”

“Did Cole keep that from me too, to protect me?”

“No. I never told Cole. I didn’t want any of you to worry or fuss.”

“Like I am now?”

“Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“I meant how I’m
fuss
ing over you.”

“Trust me,” he clasped her hand over his shoulder, pulling her against his bare skin. “I
love
how you’re fussing over me.”

“It’s suicide to go out in this,” Bob McAllister, the head of Oregon State Search and Rescue, said as Cole loaded supplies into his rental SUV.

“Our sister and my best friend are out there,” Cole said.

Search-and-rescue efforts to find Piper and Landon had been stopped before they’d even begun. Word of the avalanche reached the highway patrol within minutes of occurrence, but the news that the pass was completely buried came only minutes later. Before a search-and-rescue campaign could be launched, it was shut down until the blizzard passed. McAllister refused to add to the casualty count by sending rescuers into a deadly environment.

But Cole and his family could not wait out the storm while Landon and Piper perished in it.

“We’ll abide by every safety precaution available,” he said to the man still standing behind him, arms crossed, feet in the military “at ease” position. “Use guide ropes, beacons, stay in constant radio contact.”

McAllister looked him straight in the eye. “The overriding safety precaution to obey is the search-and-rescue commander’s call.
No go
means no go.”

As dive rescue captain and commander of Yancey’s search-and-rescue squad, Cole knew that only too well. He’d had to make that call numerous times over the years. It was never easy, but the lives and safety of his team came first.

But this was different. He wasn’t the captain of an official rescue team. He was a brother trying to rescue his sister and best friend. If he died trying, so be it.

He had peace. He knew Christ had died for his sins and he’d gladly accepted the free and glorious gift of eternal life with Him. He didn’t fear death; rather, he feared losing those he loved.

“I’d rather die trying to rescue them than condemn them to death.”

“You and I both know the odds are high that they’re already dead.” The statistics weren’t pretty. The odds of rescuing someone buried by an avalanche dropped below one percent after forty-five minutes. It had been
days.

Cole cinched his radio in place. “We know the risks.” Having worked search and rescue for years, Gage, Kayden, and Jake knew them all too well. “And we’re going. But I appreciate your warning.”

The big guy relented. “At least take the snowmobiles.”

“You sure? There’s a high chance they won’t make it back.”

Bob handed Cole the keys. “I’ll take that risk. I just can’t in good conscience send my people in.”

Cole shook his hand. “I understand.”

Their vehicle fully stocked and loaded, and the snowmobiles secure on the trailer, Cole pulled out of the station. Jake sat in the front passenger seat while Kayden and Gage sat in the rear. He’d done his best to dissuade Kayden from coming, but she’d have none of it. She was searching for Piper with or without him, which left him no choice.

The blizzard had lost its edge but hadn’t ceased. Snow still fell at the rate of two inches per hour, continuing to obscure their line of sight, and twenty-mile-an-hour winds continued to erase any trace Piper and Landon might have left behind.

“We’ll get as close to the pass as we can,” Cole said.

Jake spread the topographical map out across the dash. “Bob said this quadrant would be our best starting point. From there I think we should head south along this riverbed. The avalanche
would have pushed anything in its path down this steep embankment.”

“I don’t mean to be pessimistic,” Kayden said. “I’m bent on searching, but without some sort of sign, we could be searching right over top of them and never know they’re buried a few feet below.”

Cole knew it was true. “Then we need to pray for a sign.”

Piper lay curled up before the fire, the glow of the flames dancing along her pale skin. Her head rested against Landon’s shoulder. He threaded his fingers gently through her silky hair, trying to soothe her as she stirred restlessly in her sleep.

She’d done an excellent job rationing the wood and other supplies she’d found in the avalanche shelter, but the grim reality was they were running out. Should they attempt to hike out in a blizzard without equipment or wait to be rescued, knowing that it could be days, possibly weeks before they were discovered?

Father.
He inhaled, thankful for the breath that filled his lungs.
Please let this blizzard pass. I know Cole . . . if he has any idea we’re out here, he’ll be searching. Gage, Kayden, and Jake too. Please protect them and lead them to us.

He smoothed the hair from Piper’s brow.

Please keep her safe.

“Up ahead.” Jake pointed, his extended arm barely visible in the falling snow.

Cole squinted. A faint light flickered in the increasing darkness. Trudging through the snow by instinct alone and with no strength of his own, he pushed forward until he saw the shape of a cabin. He radioed Gage and Kayden. “We’ve found a shelter. It looks like someone is inside.”

Please, Father, let it be them. Let them be safe.

“Is it them?” Hope and anguish danced in Kayden’s voice.

“Give us a minute.”

He peered in the slit of the window that remained visible over the snow line. Even with a candle’s waning flame lighting the interior it was too dim to tell who was inside.

“I found the door,” Jake called.

Cole moved toward Jake’s voice and found him already shoveling. He joined him, warmth surging through his limbs from the exertion. Within minutes, they had the rough-hewn wooden door clear, and with a kick, Jake knocked it open. Swinging inward on its hinges, the door banged against something. His heart in his throat, Cole stepped inside.

“Here,” a weak voice said.

Pulling his flashlight, Cole scanned the room.

Landon and Piper huddled before an empty fireplace.

Relief swelled in Cole’s heart as at the same time concern racked his body. “We got them.” He surged forward, kneeling beside them.

“Piper,” Landon said, his voice barely audible. “They’re here. They found us.”

She opened her dark-rimmed eyes. “Cole?”

“I’m here, honey. We’ve got you.”

Landon woke to white-starched walls and the smell of antiseptic.

Every inch of him hurt.

“Well, hello there, sunshine. I’ll let them know you’re awake.”

Landon rolled his head to the side to find Jake with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper clasped in the other.

“Piper?” he asked, his throat still miserably dry.

Jake smiled and set his paper aside. “She’s fine. She’s in the next room. I’ll go get her.”

“No. Don’t trouble her.”

“Trouble her? Please. Wild horses couldn’t keep her away. She’s been bugging me nonstop to see if you’re awake.”

“She’s okay?”

“Right as rain.” Jake smiled.

Landon squeezed his eyes shut.
Thank you, Lord.

Jake’s boots echoed along the linoleum flooring. A door creaked. He heard Jake’s muffled voice and then a shriek of delight.

“Piper, wait!” Cole called.

Piper rounded the corner, her hair flying behind her, and an enormous smile on her face. “You’re awake.” She lunged for him, nearly tackling him in the bed. Cole, Gage, Bailey, Kayden, and Darcy entered after her.

“Piper, you’re going to injure him all over again,” Cole protested.

He’d take the severest of injuries just to feel her near.

“I’m sorry.” She pulled back. “Am I hurting you?”

“Not even close.” He tugged her back to him. “Jake said you’re okay?” He scanned her face and found the cut on her forehead was scabbing over nicely.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“A little sore, but I’ll live, thanks to you.”

“Good. Now how are we going to prove BioTech’s guilt?”

“Piper,” they all said in unison.

Landon chuckled and then regretted it. He clapped his hand over his ribs.

“I was right, by the way,” she said, sitting up beside him. “Two broken ribs.”

“Great.”

“But the fever finally broke and the swelling in your leg is going down.” Piper kissed his brow, and warmth filled him again. “So what is our next step?”

“You have no next step,” he said. “We’ll let the authorities handle it.”

She sat back. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Hardly. You just survived a car bomb and subsequent avalanche. No way I’m letting you back in the line of fire.”

She patted his face. “You’re adorable.”

He clasped her hand. “I’m not joking.”

“I know, and that’s what I love about you.”

Gage’s brows shot up, and his gaze shifted to Cole.

“That’s a discussion for another day.” Cole sighed. “When Piper told us what happened, we contacted the Portland police.”

“And?”

“We spoke with a detective. He said they’d look into it, but without any proof . . .”

“I figured.”

“So what are we going to do?” Piper said.

“The way I see it,” Jake said, sitting forward, “you’ve got a couple options. Without the microchip and without Erik as a witness . . .”

“Elaine,” Landon said. “She was heading for Portland a few minutes after us.”

Piper looked down.

“They got to Elaine too?”

“Brakes went out on her car. She careened straight into the mountainside,” Cole said.

“Let me guess, her car exploded upon impact.”

“Yeah.” Cole nodded.

“Any evidence of an incendiary device?”

“Police are still sorting through the ashes.”

“So that leaves us with no witnesses and no hard evidence.”

“Jake”—Piper turned to him—“you were explaining our options.”

“Why are you asking him?” Kayden said. “Landon’s the law official.”

“Yes, but Jake obviously has a plan.”

“Which no one else finds strange? I mean how does he know so much about criminals?”

“Not this again,” Cole said. “Jake’s just trying to help.”

Kayden slumped on the edge of the bed. “I can’t believe I’m the only one who finds it strange . . . or who cares.”

“Jake,” Piper said, “please continue.”

Jake nodded, his wounded gaze shifting off Kayden and back to Piper. “As I see it you have three avenues. You can try and find the microchip.”

“Definitely possible,” Piper said.

“You can attempt to figure out what was on it and re-create the information . . .”

“Not possible,” Landon said. They didn’t have the scientific ability or access to the data Erik had gathered.

“Or option three.” Jake leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “We catch the guy Ed Thompson hired to kill you and get him to turn on Thompson.”

“How exactly would we do that?” Cole asked.

“I’m sure he’s heard by now that his attempt on our lives failed. I just make myself a target while the rest of you set a trap,” Landon said.

“I’m the one he wants,” Piper said.

Landon shook his head. “No way.”

“I’m the one he tried to run off the road in Yancey. For some reason he is focusing on me.”

“She’s right.” Jake stood. “I know you’re all going to disagree, and with good reason, but Piper does make a far easier target.”

Landon knew it was true, but it meant endangering the woman he loved yet again.

“Why don’t we just locate the microchip?” Darcy asked.

“We’ll start searching,” Landon explained, “but we don’t know for certain that Karli passed it on to Reef. And even if we find it, nothing on it would prove that Ed Thompson had Erik and Karli killed. It only proves the insulin was tainted. If we want Karli’s and Erik’s killer . . .”

“And Elaine’s,” Piper added.

“And nearly both of yours,” Darcy said.

“ . . . then we need to catch him ourselves.” Landon looked
around the room. “Somehow we need to get him to show himself.”

“He obviously wants the microchip,” Piper said. “If we find it, he’ll come after us.”

“She’s right,” Landon said.

“So, what? We find the microchip and lure the killer in?” Darcy asked.

Cole cleared his throat. “That sounds incredibly dangerous.”

“But necessary.” Landon looked at Piper and sighed. How was he going to keep her out of danger?