whispered. “Just do as they ask. We’ll make it out of this. We have to.”
She moved to stand, but he grabbed her wrist. “Don’t put yourself between me and anyone like that again.”
Shaking her head, she tried to stand, but he kept his grip on her. “Do you hear me?”
“You’d do the same for me,” she said.
Yes. Yes he would, and more. But he couldn’t have her risking her life for the likes of him. He didn’t deserve the sacrifice.
Heidi stood and offered her hand. Of course, Isaiah could stand without her help, but he took her hand anyway. Felt the strong, sturdy grip beneath her gloves. Maybe Cade had been right. Heidi needed to get back into climbing and helping people. Search and rescue. Only Isaiah was certain she didn’t need it to come at her like this, with crazy people waving guns around.
The moon finally dipped behind the north summit, and the silhouette of thick clouds edged into the sky from the west. Isaiah put his helmet back on.
“Hey!” Zach directed his attention to Isaiah and Heidi. “What are you doing? Let’s get the gear packed up and ready to go.”
Isaiah growled under his breath. This guy had no idea what he was getting them all into. He bent down to help Heidi pack the tents and stuff the equipment back in the pack. The helicopter had dropped more gear. How were they going to carry all of it down? He watched Cade studying all their supplies, probably wondering the same thing. If they were really going to do this, hike out tonight, at least until the storm prevented them from going farther, there were few items they could do without. Added to that, they had no idea how long Zach and his crew were going to need their assistance.
David monitored their activity from the command center and would want an update soon. Isaiah had no idea what they would tell the man. Did Zach even have a clue about that? And did he have a clue that it might be mid-April but up in these mountains it might as well be the dead of winter? Well, except there was more daylight. The thing was, if they went tromping off into this mountain wilderness and survived, at some point, another team would be sent to search for them when they went missing.
Oh, yeah, someone would look for them.
But the storm could very well prevent that search from happening anytime soon, and with Zach pressing them they could be far from here by then. They might never be found.
How far was Zach planning to push them?
Isaiah finished zipping the last pack, itching to ask Zach exactly that. Just how far were they intending to hike? How long would they need the SAR team’s assistance?
How long before Zach killed them?
Heidi decided to wait until the last possible moment to tug her heavy backpack on. As overfilled as it was, it would weigh her down and tire her out before they made whatever unreasonable destination Zach had in mind. They’d yet to learn where exactly it was he wanted them to guide him other than off this saddle between the summits. All she knew was that leaving tonight was a potentially lethal idea.
Regardless, she couldn’t afford to slow them down. By killing the other man in the group, Robbie, Zach had already shown he didn’t have patience. Didn’t care about others. A radio squawked somewhere. Heidi stiffened. They had to update the command center. That had to be David calling.
Zach approached her. Why me? Heidi wanted to be invisible.
Her nerves slid down her back and into the snow at her feet. Please, God, make me invisible. She didn’t want this man to look at her. To talk to her.
But somehow she knew it was already too late. He’d...noticed her. The look in his eyes confirmed it. He tugged her tight and leaned in close, his breath warming her cheek. She could fight him with everything in her and even wound him, but she knew that would only end up hurting Isaiah or her brother in the end. So she stood her ground instead.
Then Zach smirked at Isaiah while he kissed the side of her head. She tried to move away, but Zach held fast. A shudder crawled over her.
Even in the firelight, she saw the murder in Isaiah’s dark hazel eyes. She could see Cade’s jaw working from where he stood behind Isaiah—the very reaction Zach was going for. This was it then. Zach would use her against them until this was over. She was their weakness. She hoped that his actions meant nothing more than taunting Isaiah and her brother, and had nothing at all to do with an actual attraction to her. God, please, no.
Holding her close, Zach pressed the gun against her well-insulated coat. “Say anything wrong, and she pays for it.”
He jabbed her rib cage and she winced. With his other hand, he lifted the radio from his pocket and tossed it to Isaiah.
“What do you want me to say, then?” Isaiah’s scowl deepened. “What about the body of the guy you shot?”
“Say nothing about him. Tell them everything is going as planned. You’re settled in for tonight. But tell them you’ll hike out tomorrow. We don’t need the helicopter to hoist anyone out, after all. We’re all fine here.”
Heidi couldn’t help but think that was good. David would probably suspect something was wrong but, then again, maybe not. It wasn’t as if he could imagine this scenario they’d walked into. He would have no reason not to trust their assessment.
Eyes flashing, Isaiah replied on the radio, relaying all that Zach had demanded. Isaiah’s pensive gaze never left Heidi. Something fierce and protective burned there, and it took her breath away. Now she couldn’t help but fear for Zach. What would Isaiah do to the man once he got the chance?
She didn’t want Isaiah to put himself in harm’s way for her, or to do or say something he’d regret later. Finally, Heidi was able to withdraw from Zach, and she noticed Rhea watching her with those crazy eyes.
“Well, then, we’re wasting time. Let’s gear up and head out.” Cade tossed the heavy packs, along with the bags dropped by the helicopter, to each of the climbers, since they apparently didn’t have their own gear except for the one green bag.
Jason, Liam and Rhea stared down at the stuff and back up at Zach.
“What’s all this?” Rhea asked. “We can’t carry this stuff.”
Zach shrugged. “We have to make it as far as we can tonight. Do the best you can.”
“We’ll need as much of that as we can bring.” Isaiah tossed headlamps to them.
Heidi almost smiled at that. He always thought of everything. And it was a good thing, too, especially for this unexpected situation because these people wouldn’t be able to see their way down. Maybe if the SAR team could show them what exactly they faced rappelling, Zach would change his mind. But he appeared to be a man on a mission and nothing would stop him.
The big question of the day: What was driving him?
This was insane. She didn’t want to be anywhere nearby if one of them fell or got hurt. She couldn’t go through that again. She had no idea what kind of shape this motley crew of criminals was in, but she’d guess they had no clue what they were in for.
