Untraceable (17 page)

“And then we cross carefully, one at a time.”

Now did Zach see how long this would take them?

“Everyone needs an ice ax,” Heidi added. “I think we have extras in the bags.”

“Let’s gear up then, and tread carefully, spread out and rope up.” Isaiah got the rest of the gear out.

Though he wanted to tell Zach they weren’t going to make it to the ice field in time, not before the storm rolled in, and not for his rendezvous, maybe it was best to let Zach see for himself. Isaiah didn’t care to have Zach threaten Heidi’s life yet again if he voiced his doubts.

When Isaiah started to tie Heidi on the rope, Zach yanked it away. “No. It’s you, then me, then Heidi, then Jason. What’s to keep you from dropping us into a crevasse and simply cutting the rope?”

Good point. Isaiah wished he’d thought of that himself.

* * *

The rope connecting her to Zach in front of her and Jason behind fully extended, Heidi put one foot in front of the other as they kept tension in the line.

Heidi was in top physical condition, and yet she wondered how much more of this she could take. Still, they were near the end of this nightmare. That both terrified her and kept her going. She had no idea what they would face once they actually made their destination and Zach’s ride came to pick him up.

From where they were, as the glacier wound through the mountains like a big river of ice, she could see where it opened up into the Juneau Icefield. One of the largest in the world, it was the source of not only this glacier but forty larger glaciers that flowed outward, and scores of smaller ones, too. Funny to think the ice field encompassed hundreds of square miles and was rimmed by a temperate rainforest.

Where was Zach’s rendezvous anyway? Crazy.

None of them had worried too much about where he planned to meet his buddy in the ski-plane before, but if it was on the other side, he’d need to change the location. Especially with the threat of inclement weather. The sky began turning gray, clouds moving in over the sun as it started an early descent behind the mountains.

The wind whipped around Heidi. How she wished for a rescue today. She didn’t want to spend yet another night with Zach, or another night in a tent surrounded by roaring wind and driving snow and arctic temperatures.

Zach yelled at Isaiah to move faster. He broke their line and moved ahead of Isaiah, tugging and yanking Heidi and Jason forward. Zach would get them all killed, including himself.

A sound broke through the wind. At the low whir of a single-engine plane, Heidi wanted to jump up and down. Wave her arms. But then she remembered.

Zach was expecting his ride. And they hadn’t made the rendezvous, just as she knew they wouldn’t.

In the distance, where blue sky met the clouds rushing in from the west, a ski-plane circled. Heidi couldn’t know if it was the plane for Zach or just someone else.

But he was the one to jump up and down and wave and scream at the top of his lungs. The airplane circled back and flew away, growing smaller.

He cursed and kicked and shoved Isaiah into the snow. Then he drew out his SAT phone and cursed some more. He couldn’t get it to connect.

Isaiah stood and made his way to Heidi, stuck between Jason and Zach on the rope. “We need to find the safest place to make camp. We’re too exposed out here, and the storm won’t be forgiving.”

“I know. But what about the ropes? Should we keep them on?”

He nodded. “For now.”

“Zach!” Isaiah grabbed the man, gaining control over the situation.

Heidi’s insides squeezed. She hoped Zach wouldn’t react in a fit of rage and shoot Isaiah.

“He’ll be back! You’ll get your chance to call him. But right now, we have to set up the tents or we are going to die. You need to get your act together and focus on living through the night.”

Jason nodded his agreement. “He’s right, Zach. Let’s prepare to weather another storm. If I never see the mountains or snow again it’ll be too soon. But we’re almost there. We almost made it. He can come back again for us later.”

As far as Heidi could tell, this spot was as good as any for a camp. Isaiah assembled an avalanche probe he had with him to hopefully detect any hidden crevasse beneath them. Heidi, Isaiah and Jason worked to set up the tents. Jason tugged as much gear as he could into one. The wind began to howl and the snow pricked her face like needles. Now they were down to two tents and four people. Would Zach notice the missing one?

God, please, I don’t want to be stuck in a tent with Zach. He’s crazy.
She could only imagine in her worst nightmares what he might do to her.

Someone nudged her from behind. Heidi panicked and fought back. Then she realized it was Isaiah urging her inside the tent. She glanced over and spotted Jason watching. He gave a slight nod, as though he approved.

Zach was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he’d already climbed inside his own tent. With the storm and his need to make contact with his only ride out of here, he probably wouldn’t think of Heidi until they were all buried in the storm.

When Heidi took too long to move inside the tent, Isaiah practically shoved her in.

“Stay there.” He zipped the tent up.

God, please let Isaiah be the one who climbs into this tent. I don’t want to weather this storm alone, but I don’t want any of the others here.
Isaiah was a good man. She’d always believed that, even after he’d hurt her. And she’d seen nothing but the best from him throughout this ordeal. He’d been strong enough to make the tough decisions, even when Heidi herself wasn’t sure she could have done the same.

The wind whistled and the tent fluttered. Heidi’s heart jumped around inside her, but she had enough experience that she shouldn’t be so frightened. Her nerves were wearing thin, mostly because she didn’t know what would happen next. She did know that she should only live one day at a time. One breath at a time, even. No one knew when their last moment in this world would be. In that way, everyone on the planet was terminal. Was it wrong to have so much left to do in this life? She didn’t want to die. Not yet.

The zipper moved. Heidi held her breath.

Please, don’t let it be Zach.

Isaiah crawled in and Heidi’s head swam, dizzy with relief.

“This is a blizzard all right. A whiteout. I’m going to have to crawl out every so often and dig us out. By the looks of it, maybe every fifteen minutes, half an hour. You know the drill. I reminded Jason about it. He’s the only reasonable one over there.”

“And...Zach?” Heidi couldn’t voice the words, but she hoped Isaiah read her concern in her gaze.

“The storm will be too brutal for him to bother crawling out. That’s why I convinced Jason to help keep the tents from getting buried.” His gaze softened. “It’s going to be a long, tough night. But trust me when I say, I will kill Zach with my bare hands before I let him lay a finger on you.”

Guys had a way of talking bravado like that, but Heidi wanted to believe in Isaiah’s fierce protective stance. She wanted to believe in him. Maybe he was the one guy who could save her, from more than just the likes of Zach. Maybe Isaiah could save her from her heartbroken world, even though he’d been part of it. But there had to be a reason he’d pushed her away. What was it?

He positioned himself on a sleeping bag, but didn’t appear to get too comfortable. He must be exhausted, just like Heidi, but he couldn’t afford to fall asleep. He’d need to dig them out. Heidi wouldn’t let him shoulder that burden alone. She’d trade off with him.

But right now, only one thing burned in her mind and heart. “What happened to us, Isaiah?”

SEVENTEEN

T
he question knocked the breath from Isaiah.

Why did she think of that now, when they would battle for their lives tonight, and then tomorrow when they would come face-to-face with Zach, meeting either their destiny or demise?

His shoulders dropped as he deflated completely. How did he explain to her what had happened? He took off his gloves and raked his hands through his hair.

She stared at him, waiting.

“Now. You want to know all that now.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I’m facing my mortality. I want to know if there could have been something more between us. And why there wasn’t. Why did you pull away from me?”

Okay, so she was serious, and he understood her reasoning. He’d wanted a chance to tell her, to open up about his past so he could move on. But now he was chickening out.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got all night.”

He liked her spirit. But this night would drain him in more ways than one. He’d sort of hoped for an evening spent in her company just going over the trauma they’d been through. Working through it all. Making a plan for the big escape tomorrow. Then again, he had her full attention now. She couldn’t run or walk away from what he had to say. She’d have to face him, and he’d be able to read her reaction.

“I know I’m asking a lot, being that we’re in this tent and you’re exhausted,” she said. “And this is going to be awkward, but I’m a big girl. Right now, with everything that happened before and now this, I’m sinking fast and I need to climb out before it’s too late. If I could just understand what happened, that would bring closure for me. Was it me? Or something completely unrelated?”

Intensity spilled from her big brown eyes. Soft eyes that were the windows to a soul full of love and compassion. No wonder Isaiah had struggled to let her go.

He wouldn’t be holding anything back tonight. And Heidi would hate him when he was done.

“Okay, then. Here goes.” Isaiah stared at his hands, wondering if he’d have to pull on the gloves and his coat and get outside before he could finish his story. “You need to know that all I’ve ever wanted to do was prove myself worthy of your family. I just wanted to move on and leave my past behind. I didn’t want to make another mistake, especially with you.”

He glanced up from his hands to read Heidi’s face. Slightly flushed. She’d understood him, then. She’d been right to suspect that this was all about his feelings for her.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to judge you. Just tell me.” Her voice was gentle, pleading.

Isaiah wished for another time and place in which to tell her. He prayed for the chance to have more with her, maybe even the rest of his life. The thought made his breath hitch. He couldn’t wish for more.

“I have to dig us out first, then I’ll tell you the rest.”

“What? You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not. You hear that?” He pressed his hand against the side of the tent. “It’s heavy with snow. But don’t worry, I’ll be right back.”

He put on his gloves and the rest of his winter gear and scrambled from the tent into the blasting whiteout, darkness quickly falling. He had barely enough battery power in his headlamp to assist him, but at least he still had the night vision goggles. He’d loaned a pair to Jason, too.

But more than needing to scrape away the snow piling over the tent almost faster than he could dig, he needed time to think through his response to Heidi. He knew he’d have to explain one day, but he hadn’t expected her question tonight.

Brutally cold wind blasted him, making it hard to stand against the force. Driving snow quickly buried both tents. Where was Jason? Isaiah risked a hike over and yelled against the tent, “Get out here and dig yourself out if you want to live!”

In all his time living in Montana and in Alaska, he’d never weathered anything like this.

He hiked back to the tent where Heidi was cocooned inside.
God, help me keep her alive, help protect her from the forces of nature, and from the evil in the tent next door.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and tonight has enough troubles of its own, as You say in Your Word. And Lord, please help me give the right answer when I speak the truth. Let it not just be more hurt for Heidi.

The anguish in his heart and his prayer made the time he spent digging pass fast. Too fast, actually. Now he had to head back inside and spill his story, the full of it.

As quietly as he could, he slipped back into the tent, snow blowing past him. Heidi’s eyes blinked open. Had she been asleep? He regretted waking her. She needed the rest and besides that, he didn’t relish telling her what she wanted to know.

Heidi sat up, looking disheveled.

“Why don’t you get some rest?” He settled on the sleeping bag at the far side of the tent. He couldn’t afford to close his eyes or he might never wake up.

“It’s my turn, you know. I’m going out next.”

Isaiah shook his head. He couldn’t be certain that only Jason would dig his tent out. “I don’t want you to run into Zach out there. I don’t want him to have a reason to think about you.”

“You can’t do this on your own all night. I’ll wear your coat, make him think it’s you. How about that?”

He scratched his jaw. “That might work.”

She smiled. “Don’t think you’re getting out of telling me the story. So give.”

He sighed. Might as well dive in. “Before I moved to Mountain Cove, I fell in love with someone, only I found out later that she was engaged.”

Isaiah heard Heidi’s quick intake of breath. He wouldn’t avoid her gaze now. He would watch her with every word he said. The story would sound much too similar to her own betrayal, and he could hardly bear it. But let the blame fall where it may.

“When I found out, I confronted her, of course. She said she wasn’t sure she wanted to get married after all and, well, a guy could hope. I guess I thought maybe she loved me and would break things off with her fiancé. Still, she saw me in secret. He knew nothing about us, and for that...” Isaiah hung his head. Shame filled him. “It was wrong. I know that now. Because then Aaron found out about us.”

Heidi kept perfectly still, but her eyes grew wide.

“I thought it was over between them, and I would have a chance with her. I should have backed out of the situation completely from the beginning. I kept telling myself they weren’t married so it wasn’t cheating. She didn’t leave him, and she didn’t break things off with me, either.”