dropped off into nothing but air. Below, shattered parts of the snowmobile bobbed between chunks of ice floating like crystal barges in a small river.
Sunny had been that close to death.
Every other time threats had come their way, she’d been able to pull herself out of the fire. But it made him fucking ill to think what would have happened to her if he hadn’t been here. He did this sort of thing for a living. He’d plucked people from the jaws of death before. So what had him so off balance now?
She rested a hand on his back. “Maybe we could call for a tow,” she joked halfheartedly.
“My phone was on your ride.” He pulled away. Right now, he needed to get his head on straight and see to safety, to survival.
“But it was my backpack that went over.”
“I tucked it into your backpack. If we got separated I wanted to be sure you had a way to call for help. I have a GPS tracker in my pack and a beacon in my boot, so we’re not completely cut off from the world.” He walked to his snowmobile, boots crunching over ice. “I need to make sure this ride wasn’t tampered with too.”
“Too?” She padded softly over to stand beside him. “What do you mean tampered with? And what about your GPS tracker and a beacon?”
“Did you really think I would climb this mountain without making sure I could be found?” His brain was shifting into professional mode again, leading him down the logical trail to what very well could have caused this seeming accident. “I don’t have time to argue. We can’t afford to think anything that happens right now is coincidental. As much as I want to get this trip over with as soon as possible, I’m not risking either of us using this vehicle until I’m sure it’s in 100 percent working order.”
He hunkered down for a closer angle at the skis along the bottom, not even certain what he was searching for but determined to find it. If they set off on foot, they would have to bunk down in a cave for the night. But if they could double up on the snowmobile, they had more options. It was worth giving the vehicle a look-see.
Besides, he could use the time to get his thoughts together so they stopped humming like a damn beehive in his head. But instead of dimming, the noise only increased, droning louder until he realized it wasn’t in his head. He looked up sharply just as Sunny shaded her eyes.
“Wade?” Her hand slid to her waist, where she kept her knife strapped. “I think someone’s driving down the path.”
***
Brett flung his parka over the hook in the mudroom and unwound his scarf after his flight back from the islands that morning. He still had to go over to the plant, but since he would be working late, he wanted to stop by home first.
Seeing Andrea always brought his world back into focus again.
One foot at a time, he kicked off his boots in the mudroom, lining them up precisely. Andrea had always kept the house immaculately clean and organized before the accident and he tried to keep things as close to normal as possible. Otherwise, she fretted over things she wished she could do, the way life used to be. She had a live-in sitter, but as he knew well, caring for Andrea was a full-time job in itself.
He would hire a houseful of help in a heartbeat. He certainly had the money now. But he couldn’t afford to draw undue attention to himself with conspicuous consumption. Especially not when he was so close to a bigger payoff. Large enough to finance a life of ease in Europe and access to every doctor, every experimental treatment possible.
Soon, baby. Soon.
Echoes of the helper clanking pots and singing in the kitchen drifted into the mudroom. He ducked his head inside with a finger over his mouth. “Shhh.”
Mrs. Glotov waved from the dishwasher, loading lunch plates. Nodding his thanks to the widowed nurse’s aide and all-around helper, he tucked his gift for Andrea on the counter. Treats from the fishing lodge, from her aunt who owned the place. Oatmeal rhubarb bars, her favorites.
When he and Andrea moved to Europe, she would no doubt miss her only remaining relatives—the aunt, uncle, cousins. It already frustrated her that she couldn’t live on the island, but she needed to be on mainland Alaska with reliable