Vivian Arend - High Passion

“Lana? What is going on?” Confusion was rapidly followed by fear as Lana answered.

“Please, it’s Devon. Vincent’s got him, and he’s going to kill him. There’s no time.”

Terror about Devon’s absence flooded her, but nothing Lana said made any sense. Still, instincts kicked in. Training procedure. Gather information, then make a judgment call. “Why are you on Devon’s phone?” Alisha demanded. “And where are you?”

“Takkakaw Falls. I’ll explain everything, but you have to call the police. Get over here and save him.”

Even as Lana continued to wail, Alisha made a decision and snapped into action. She gestured for Erin to join her, snatched up her gear bag, and was out the door even as she continued to speak with Lana. Erin ran ahead to open the trunk before hurrying into the driver’s seat. She had them headed toward Lifeline without a single question, only she did get out her phone and make a couple of calls.

“Okay, I’m on the way.” Alisha blocked out her teammate’s voice, focusing on Lana. “What happened? Why didn’t you call the police?”

Lana ignored the question, instead setting off on a rambling rant.

“Devon came to the hotel. He hit Vincent . . .” Lana moaned. “I didn’t want to do it, Alisha. I made one mistake, and once I fell for that, he had me. Vincent said I’d go to jail. That he had proof I’d drugged you. I wanted a chance to prove I could be on the team—that I had the skills. I didn’t know he would damage Xavier’s belt. I didn’t know . . .”

Her voice trailed away into more crying. Alisha wished she could reach through the phone and smack the woman, partly to get her to settle down and partly because Lana obviously needed a smacking in a bad way.

“Where is Devon now? What’s Vincent doing?”

“He’s taking Devon into the caves by the falls. Thought it would take forever for anyone to find him, and when they did it would look like an accident.” Another set of weeping interrupted her, and Alisha held on to her patience with gritted teeth. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, and once I realized Vincent was crazy, I tried to help. I stole Devon’s phone when he was unconscious.”

The idea of Devon lying helpless at Vincent’s mercy wasn’t a good picture, not in light of his recent threats. “Is Devon okay?”

“He was knocked out for a bit. I gave him my knife; I slipped it to him. My God, I had no idea Vincent would go insane like this.”

Yeah, Alisha could understand that one. “Are they in the caves already?”

“Not yet. Maybe. Probably not. It takes at least thirty minutes to hike, and Vincent had a gun on me, and we were only halfway to the caves when I tripped. Devon hit Vincent, and I ran. I don’t know what happened then because I went down the hill and hid behind a gully, and I can’t call the police because they’ll arrest me.”

They were pulling into the Lifeline parking lot. Alisha pointed Erin toward the chopper pad even as she attempted to talk sense into Lana.

“But if you don’t help, Devon could die.” She was talking to an empty phone. “Fuck.” She shoved it into her pocket as she scrambled out the door.

Erin was right on her heels. “I assume you need a ride?”

“Did you get through to any of the guys?” They raced up the stairs and into HQ.

“No.” Erin’s face twisted as she considered. “You’re not going to attempt a rescue on your own, are you?”

“Devon’s in trouble.”

That was all Alisha had to say. Erin smacked her palm against the wall and swore loudly.

The next moment she was settling her flying jacket around her shoulders. “Fuck it. It’s all kinds of wrong, but I’ll take you. I’m coming with you on the ground, and you call for RCMP backup right now, before we leave. Plus, we’re taking a weapon from Marcus’s case.”

Alisha pulled on gear as she scrambled to put her brain in order. “Police. Yes. Ground assist, yes, but what weapon?”

Erin darted into the office, shouting over her shoulder. “I don’t need long to get the chopper in the air. Just give me a second here . . . Where am I headed?”

“Toward Field town site, then north to the falls.” Alisha grabbed a first-aid kit. More rope. Shoved it all in a pack. Yanked on her boots.

Something grey and metallic was thrust into her line of vision. She jerked back in protest. “Shit, Erin. A gun?”

Erin rolled her eyes even as she tucked the firearm away and headed for the door. “You don’t even know where the safety is, do you?”

“God, no.” For all her training, guns had never been a part of it. “I’ve got bear spray.”

“Fucking princess.” Erin’s smile contradicted her insult. “Fine, I’ve got this. Now get your ass in gear; we leave in five minutes.

Erin slammed out the hangar door, her back visible through the opening as she ran full tilt toward the chopper.

Alisha paused inside HQ with her phone to her ear. She spoke with her contact at the RCMP and got transferred to Field in one step. Fortunately, by the time the chopper blades were going hard enough to make hearing difficult, the constable had gotten the message and she was able to hang up and sprint to the chopper.

She crawled in up front with Erin and yanked on a headset to catch the pilot up on details.

“We’ll be racing them to the cave entrance.” Alisha checked her watch, calculating time frames. “RCMP has to prep, drive to the trailhead, and then hike, while we can land a lot closer to the access point. They won’t be there for at least forty-five minutes.

Erin held up a hand, clicking to a different frequency for a moment and speaking to someone. She lifted them skyward before reconnecting with Alisha. “We owe Jason at the tower a bottle of something expensive—he got us clearance faster than usual.”

“Done. There’s a clearing above the cave entrance—you do know where we’re going, right? How long will it take?”

“Takkakaw Falls? Thirty-five minutes tops. But Alisha?” A pair of dark eyes flashed a warning as Erin’s hands continued to dance over switches and controls. “Don’t be a hero. You know the rules, and even though this is Devon and he’s in some royally fucked-up situation, you do it the safe way, understand?”

Her heart was in her throat, but she got it. “Agreed.”

Alisha leaned forward and stared out the window at the rapidly passing terrain beneath them, the brisk flick of the blades overhead not nearly quick enough to match the tempo pounding inside her.

Devon. She was going to tie him up and give him more than a tongue-lashing. What the hell had he been thinking?

It was a nightmare beyond anything she could have come up with. All the past weeks of caring and teasing played through her mind. The months and years before that when they’d always been there for each other, even when they’d fought like cats and dogs.

She wanted him back. God, she hadn’t even had a chance to tell him she loved him yet.

Alisha shook her head as Erin took them past Saddle Mountain, the familiar outline of the Devil’s Thumb out the left window. Below them the picturesque village of Lake Louise splayed out in the level space between mountain ranges. Shining metal roofs reflected red and blue in sunshine, glorious white surrounding most of the roads and homes as winter settled over the tourist community. It was all so innocent and peaceful.

An image of Vincent’s cool, sophisticated face flashed into her brain, and Alisha grimaced. Outside appearances could be so deceptive.

“Nearly there.” Erin interrupted her thoughts. “You’re in charge on the ground, so what’s the game plan?”

Alisha took a deep breath. She’d been lead climber for more than two years, but she’d never actually had to call the shots during a rescue before. “Nothing fancy. The only issue is there are a series of caves and entrances. Chances are Vincent will go for the easiest to access, but we’ll have to check the snow to confirm where they’ve entered. Low light on headlamps—we don’t want Vincent hiding and overpowering us.”