When he said nothing, she finally looked his way and caught him watching her.
“Just being optimistic,” she said.
“I’m a realist, and in this case, that means that I know Aiden is not fine. And we won’t be either, until we find out who those men are and what they have to do with our missing plane and my missing brother.”
* * *
Rick started up the Jeep, shifted into Reverse and edged back, watching for their pursuers. When the vehicle lurched forward onto what went for a road around these parts, he headed back. Time to return Shay to town.
Optimism.
He liked that about her, but she was just too inexperienced when it came to dealing with the reality of criminals in the world. He wished she hadn’t come with him on this trip, but there had been no getting out of it. Aiden had said he needed a mechanic, and Shay was it.
They hadn’t known what they’d face or that Aiden would disappear, and Rick still didn’t know what was going on.
Guilt corded his throat as he pressed on the accelerator, pushing them back toward town. This road trip had been a waste of their time. “I know what I said about checking things out, but it’s clearly not safe. I shouldn’t have taken this road to begin with.” Though he would have loved to see where this road led and knew he might not get another chance.
But neither could he risk Shay’s safety. Aiden would have to wait. Aiden was an ex-marine, too, and knew how to take care of himself.
“It’s not your fault, Rick,” she said.
“I know what everyone thinks about my brother,” he said. “But I know him. This isn’t like him. And those men...” Rick sighed. “Doesn’t matter. I’m sending you back. The next flight out can’t be too soon.”
“No. I’m not going. If you’re staying, you’ll need someone to repair that plane. I’m your man.”
It shouldn’t have surprised him.
She hadn’t wanted to make the trip to Alaska but she’d come anyway, saying that it was her job. She’d expressed her displeasure taking to the dirt road and the backcountry, but here she was, offering up her help in the face of difficult circumstances.
He’d had a certain image of her, working on the planes at Deep Horizon, handling everything they threw at her with grit and determination. The resolve she was showing now fit in with that picture...but he couldn’t forget the fear in her voice earlier. She might be strong, might be tough, but she was still scared. It made him realize that in truth he didn’t know much about her. Not really. And now she was either going to live up to the image he’d conjured in his head, or she wasn’t. Likely, he would do the same for her. Live up to what she thought she knew about him or not.
As for Shay, he’d always had a feeling about her. And that was why he’d kept his distance. Rick slowed the Jeep, the road growing narrow. Somehow, he had to convince her to go back.
“If we don’t find Aiden, I’ll need to get help. We’ll worry about the plane later,” he said.
Of course, it wasn’t as if he could call 911 out here. They’d have to wait until they got back to true civilization—far from Tanaken’s wilderness. Cell service pretty much followed the Alaska Highway system, but there were still long stretches of road that weren’t covered, and anyone outside a major city was out of luck. Aiden had sprung for a satellite phone for this trek into the interior and since Rick had been simply meeting him in Tanaken, Rick hadn’t thought he’d need one. He banged his palms against the steering wheel.
“And if he’s not drunk somewhere and those men really have something to do with his disappearance, what do you think is going on?” Shay asked.
Rick knew of someone who’d been found dead—in Alaska, no less—recovering an airplane. That had been several years back. He hadn’t thought of it until that moment. “I couldn’t say.”
Considering they were about as far from civilization as a person could get, anything in the world could have happened to Aiden.
A deep sense of dread lodged in his gut. He had to find his brother. Couldn’t leave him behind. Images of a raid in the desert accosted him. He squeezed his eyes shut for an instant, hating the unbidden memories. In the end, he’d failed.
But never again.
Especially not this time, when it was his brother who needed him.
Around the curve in the road, a fallen tree log blocked their path. Rick jammed his foot against the brake, sliding to a stop inches from the log.
“Rick!” Shay’s scream sliced through the cab.
He jerked around to stare down headlights—the truck plowing straight for them.
THREE
Bright lights—laser beams on the grill of the truck—loomed in Shay’s vision, blinding her, growing larger as the truck raced toward the Jeep.
Her screams echoed in the cab, seeming to come from outside her body. She reached for the seat-belt clasp.
“We have to get out of here!” she yelled, struggling with the button. The seat belt kept her imprisoned, helpless against whoever in that truck wanted them dead.
To her right she glimpsed the ridge that dropped off only a few yards from her. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart hammered against her ribs, demanding to be free, but her fingers were too slippery as she grappled with the clasp.
“Rick.” Her desperate whisper cracked. “Who are these guys?”
Instead of answering her, Rick shifted into Reverse.
The truck roared forward, closing the distance too fast. Before Rick could back out of the way...
Impact!
Everything happened in slow motion.
The Jeep rocked with the collision, lurching to the side.
Oh, God, save us! Shay prayed as she felt her body thrown against the door, her head hitting the window, her screams filling the cab of the Jeep.
We’re going to die!
When the initial crash was over, Shay gulped a breath.
The truck had just barely missed Rick’s door, which would have completely pinned him behind the steering wheel. Behind his seat, the Jeep was crushed inward. The crash hadn’t killed her and Rick, but pain, fear and shock kept her frozen in her seat. She tried to gather her wits and take in what was happening.
Through Rick’s window, she could see into the cab of the other vehicle. She looked into dark, sinister eyes beneath an Alaska moose baseball cap, unable to grasp that the man driving the truck seemed to be enjoying this.
The truck pressed in on the Jeep; they were like two elks that had locked horns. The Jeep was moving, but not because Rick had put it in Drive. Instead, the tires ground against the dirt road
