Elizabeth Goddard - Wilderness Peril

ON THIN ICE

Run off the road and left for dead, Shay Ridiker’s only hope for surviving the frozen claws of the wilderness is pilot Rick Savage. The beautiful airplane mechanic came to Alaska expecting a routine repo, but a missing coworker and a crippled plane are just the tip of the iceberg. Now held captive by ruthless killers at a derelict gold mine, Shay needs Rick’s protection more than ever. But Rick has shadows that follow him into the land of the midnight sun. With gunmen at their backs, can he be all Shay needs—a haven…and a hero?

How did she thank him for saving her from certain death?

The tenderness and concern she saw on his face was too much. Rick had never looked at her that way before.

His gaze locked on hers, searching, questioning.

She couldn’t let herself be in his arms anymore, and she worked to free herself from his protective embrace. “Let me go, Rick. They’re gone now.”

His eyes widened, as though he hadn’t realized he’d been holding her. He crawled over and slowly peeked through the brush that blocked his vision.

Was she wrong? Had someone stayed behind to see if they’d survived the crash, after all? Her pulse pounded in her neck. Breathe…just breathe.

“Rick, you’re scaring me. Why are you still looking for them? They’re gone, right? Please tell me they’re gone.”

He stilled. “For now.”

ELIZABETH GODDARD

is a seventh-generation Texan who grew up in a small oil town in East Texas, surrounded by Christian family and friends. Becoming a writer of Christian fiction was a natural outcome of her love of reading, fueled by a strong faith.

Elizabeth attended the University of North Texas, where she received her degree in computer science. She spent the next seven years working in high-level sales for a software company located in Dallas, traveling throughout the United States and Canada as part of the job. At twenty-five, she finally met the man of her dreams and married him a few short weeks later. When she had her first child, she moved back to East Texas with her husband and daughter and worked for a pharmaceutical company. But then more children came along, and it was time to focus on family. Elizabeth loves that she gets to do her favorite things every day—read, write novels, stay at home with her four precious children and work with her adoring husband in ministry.

Wilderness Peril

Elizabeth Goddard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

—Revelation 12:11

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died that we might live. Who said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And to those who have gone before and serve even now in the armed forces, laying down their lives so we might live, and live freely.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

Interior Alaska

“Did your brother ever show?” Shay Ridiker asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of an old rusty Jeep Cherokee. She fought to keep her voice calm and to shake off the eerie, uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched.

She might be one of the best aircraft mechanics around and people might think she was tough because of it, but that didn’t mean she could handle a day of travel to Nowhere, Alaska, without her nerves starting to kick in, especially if there was a chance they would have to face trouble.

And trouble was exactly what she saw in Rick Savage’s gunmetal grays. “No,” he said.

Aiden Savage—a fellow employee of Deep Horizon Recovery Services—was supposed to have met them two hours ago to lead them to the plane he had come to Alaska to repossess—only it needed a mechanic, hence why Aiden had asked for Shay’s help. They’d arrived to find no sign of him. But Aiden... He had a few troubles. Wasn’t always the most dependable person, and maybe this was one of those times.

Rick’s brother had struggled with alcohol abuse in the past, but Connor Jacobson, the owner of Deep Horizon Recovery Services, had given him a break because he’d served in the armed forces like Connor—the guy had a big heart and was all about second chances. Aiden had been sober for a year now and definitely deserved that chance. And as far as she knew, in the time that he’d worked for Deep Horizon, he’d never let Connor down.

Something was wrong.

“Maybe someone’s onto us taking the plane.” And had prevented Aiden from meeting them.

“Maybe.”

Shay rubbed her forehead. His one-word answers were getting to her. Obviously, he was thinking things through and didn’t want her opinion. Either that or he didn’t want to tell her everything.

Behind the wheel, Rick shifted into Drive and urged the vehicle he’d begged or borrowed for the day out of the dark alley where he’d parked and onto the street. The beautiful, sunny autumn day seemed to contradict the uneasiness spilling off Rick.

Their short visit to Alaska wouldn’t allow Shay to experience the midnight sun or inordinately long nights since it was September, and for that she was thankful. But it was the only thing she could find to be thankful about this trip. Shay wasn’t a wilderness girl. She might be a mechanic, but she didn’t like roughing it.

Rick steered away from the general store and the hostel next door that provided meager accommodations for the few who traveled into Alaska’s interior. A glance into the backseat revealed their bags and coats. Rick hadn’t checked them into the hostel as planned?

“Your tools, the replacement part for the plane, they’re in the back,” he said.

Shay blew out a breath. “So that’s why you got the wheels? We’re going to look for him? As in drive some wilderness back roads?”

“Yes.” Rick focused on the road, his voice gruff, concerned.

When Rick’s brother had called from Alaska to say that the plane they were supposed to repossess had a mechanical problem, it had been easy for Shay to diagnose the problem as an exhaust leak. The hard part had come when it was decided that she’d have to go out in person to fix it. Add that the plane was in the middle of the Alaskan bush and it was decided that Rick would escort her to meet his brother.

“He’ll make sure you get there safely,” Shay’s boss, Connor, had said.

Somehow, remembering those words didn’t make her feel any better now. Rick’s semiautomatic rested on the seat between them, but even that didn’t give her a sense of security. She had her reasons for disliking guns. Besides, Shay and that particular weapon had a past together that she wanted to forget.