Elizabeth Goddard - Wilderness Peril

She sighed and stared at the paper with directions. He knew she was probably still worried about those men. He could only be grateful she wasn’t with him when the confrontation had happened. They could have easily used her against him in that situation, and then where would they be?

“This looks like it’s going to be the scenic route,” she finally said. “What happens when we get to the nine-mile ridge trail? Don’t we need ATVs or something? How’re we going to get there?”

“I suspect there’s an easier way in, but those directions are all I have for now.” If anyone was actually mining the claim, as his conversation with the woman had made him suspect, they’d have had to have built a road to move in the type of equipment used these days. But if something sinister was going on and his brother was in trouble, going in the direct way would be a mistake. The roundabout path would be their best bet.

“Rick,” Shay said, startling him out of his thoughts.

He realized now that she’d been talking to him for a while and he hadn’t been listening. Looking over at her, he sent her a look like he’d heard every word. “Just focusing on the road, thinking about the directions.”

Hoping I wrote them down right.

“These directions aren’t a stroll in the park,” Shay said. “Unless you’ve done a lot of shopping, we’re not prepared to get to this claim. Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said?” Her gaze skewered him, burning a hole through his head.

“I just want to drive the loop to get a look and feel, okay?”

If he was brave enough to stare her down at the moment, he might risk a look into her eyes. Back at the Deep Horizon shop, any time Shay explained some sort of complicated repair she was making, Rick would get lost in those eyes, then shake himself free and pretend he’d been listening. Just like he’d been doing now. He had a feeling he hadn’t fooled her then.

Or fooled her now.

She slapped his arm.

“Hey, what was that for?” He grimaced, making sure she witnessed it.

“What are the plans? I don’t like being left out.”

“Let’s check it out—or as close to it as we can get in the Jeep. See if we can find Aiden. Maybe he’s at the airstrip waiting for us and we just got our signals crossed.” Now, that was like Aiden.

Something in the rearview mirror caught Rick’s attention. Uh-oh. “We’ve got company.”

Shay twisted in the seat to see. “We can’t be the only ones traveling this road. They’re probably just heading home for the day.”

“Or maybe it’s the same two men who gave me trouble. Let’s test your theory and see if they come after us.” He punched the accelerator.

The engine roared to life and echoed the truck behind them as it raced forward, gaining on them. That was a bad sign. A very bad sign.

His weapon bounced on the seat and almost out of reach, but Shay caught it.

“You know how to use one of those?”

“My daddy taught me how to shoot. How to fire a weapon at a target after...”

The way she trailed off, as though her mind was a million miles away, made Rick wonder what had happened. He wanted to her to finish the sentence.

“But aiming at a living, breathing human is different,” she said, redirecting her thought.

She’d left something out.

Apprehension reflected in her expression. She understood what he’d truly been asking when he’d wanted to know if she could shoot. If they had to face off with the men in the truck behind them, and things got bad, could she pull that trigger?

As a marine helicopter pilot, he’d already had the experience of firing his weapon at living, breathing souls and knew he could do it. But he’d hoped to leave those days behind. Still, he wasn’t going to dump the responsibility onto the woman by his side who wasn’t trained for the job.

“Hand it over,” he said, and pressed the gun against his thigh in the seat.

Behind him, the truck’s lionesque roar grew louder as it gained on them.

TWO

“I suppose it’s too late to turn around.” Shay held tight to the edge of her seat to keep from getting bounced around, but her effort felt as futile as her words.

His focus on driving, Rick didn’t respond, but her question was mostly rhetorical. His frown seemed to engulf his strong features as he worked his jaw, the muscles in his neck straining. If anyone could get them out of this, Rick could, but this situation looked more than out of their league, if you asked her.

Still, what did she know? Maybe it was only out of her league. Rick had served his country in the Middle East. Probably in worse situations than this.

The road grew shoddier the farther they went, the thick evergreens closing in around them, and the incline began to rise, making Shay more uncomfortable. Her knuckles turned white, she gripped the seat so hard.

Rick whipped the vehicle around a corner too fast and the force pressed Shay against her door. She was more than glad it was locked, safe and secure.

“This thing had better not roll.”

The Jeep bucked and bounced next to a ridge—the drop a hundred feet at least. Her face pressed to the window, Shay yelled at him to be careful. But she didn’t scream. She’d never hear the end of it back at the shop if she dared to act “girlie.” Never. If they even made it back to the shop.

“Okay.” She gasped for air. “Did you get a good look at them? Was it the same ones who followed you in the village?”

“I think so, yes.”

“What would happen if we just stopped and faced off with them? Find out what they want. This is crazy.”

“That’s a bad idea,” he said. “We’ve lost them for a minute. Time for a new game plan.”

Suddenly, Rick shifted into four-wheel drive and started up an incline to their left, squeezing between trees. She could only suppose that the plan was for their pursuers to make the corner and miss them completely, clueless to the fact that Rick and Shay had turned off the road and made their own path up the side of the mountain.

Shay glanced behind them, and just beyond the ridge they’d almost tumbled from, she could see for miles. A river splashed over boulders and there was a lake a few miles out. Was that where they’d been headed? Or was that the lake near Tanaken?

But she couldn’t see an airstrip. The trees were too thick; they hid it from her at this angle. While the Jeep traversed the mountain, the grade growing steeper by the second, Shay imagined the vehicle just falling, much like the feeling she’d had on the steep streets of San Francisco.

I’m going to be sick. Rick’s going to know the truth—that I’m not so tough at all.

Connor would find out, and that would be the end of her job. He hadn’t been easy to convince she could do such a physically demanding job in a man-dominated field. But what did that matter if they didn’t get out of this? She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing too hard and fast. Her stomach rolled as if she were on an amusement-park ride.

Releasing her grip, Shay shifted forward and held her face to her hands against her lap and groaned. When would this be over?

Suddenly, it all stopped. Shay’s silent cries had been answered.

Rick’s warm hand gently squeezed her shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

She sucked in a few more breaths, slower now, until finally, she could breathe normally. She hated he’d had to see that, and she sat up to peer at him. “No, I’m not all right. Are you?” She glared at him. He’d better not tell her he was fine.

The concern swimming in his eyes surprised her. He frowned. “I only meant... You seemed... Never mind.”

Turning the other way, he studied their surroundings. Shay joined him. Her heart was still in her throat, but at least she could breathe now. Breathe...and think of the consequences of her little breakdown.