Untraceable (16 page)

Zach stood and gathered the gear he carried. “You can’t save her,” he said to Cade. “We need to go.”

Cade didn’t stop digging the rubble away from Rhea. Isaiah and Heidi kept digging as well, wanting to save her, yet realizing how futile their efforts were.

Zach tugged his weapon out and aimed it at the injured woman. “Let’s get moving. We don’t have time to dig her out and she’s going to die anyway.”

Rhea moaned and whimpered from her pain, and the sheer terror of watching the man she loved, the man she’d followed, prepare to kill her.

Isaiah, Cade and Heidi stepped in front of Rhea to prevent Zach from shooting. “No!”

“I’m not leaving without her,” Cade said.

“Have it your way.” Zach pointed the weapon at Cade’s head.

Heidi thrust herself in the path the bullet would take, breathless desperation emanating from her. “Please, Zach. Cade isn’t a threat to you. Let him stay to comfort Rhea. Help her if he can. Maybe they can even catch up.”

The determination behind Zach’s eyes relaxed into indecision. He definitely had a soft spot for Heidi. Maybe Zach was even a little glad Rhea wouldn’t stand in his way now. That tore at Isaiah’s insides. He couldn’t stand for that insane murderer to look at Heidi that way. But his protests would only put her in more danger.

“We all know they’re not going to catch up to us. I should put them out of their misery now.”

Time for Isaiah to step up. “Save your bullets and leave them here. They’ll die from the elements anyway. Hypothermia, another storm. But you never know when you’ll need your ammunition. A rogue bear. Something.” Convincing Zach they were as good as dead anyway was the only way to save Cade and Rhea. He hoped Heidi understood this.

He shared a knowing look with Cade. God willing, he would survive and get them help. Cade’s eyes urged Isaiah to take care of his sister. Protect her. Odd, considering he’d warned Isaiah to stay away earlier, but Cade had been reduced to raw survival instincts, just as they all had. Cade would stay behind to help Rhea and entrusted Isaiah to protect Heidi.

Isaiah used that knowledge to steel himself when Heidi suddenly refused to leave Cade’s side. Cade hugged her, then gripped her shoulders, whispering something only she could hear, then he looked to Isaiah for help.

But it was Zach who yanked her away. “We have to go, sweetheart.”

She ripped from his grip and rushed back to Cade. Isaiah thought she’d lost her mind. She’d been the one to suggest he stay with Rhea to begin with, but that was out of necessity. Now the realization that this could be the last time she saw her brother caved in on her. It caved in on Isaiah, too. He tore his gaze away and worked up the courage to do what he had to do.

Drawing in a deep, ragged breath, he wrapped his arm around Heidi and hauled her away from Cade, practically carrying her as she kicked and screamed. She’d hate him for this, and might never forgive him.

Heidi screamed Cade’s name, an ear-shattering, gut-wrenching sound. Isaiah questioned if he was even doing the right thing, and the resulting anguish nearly crushed him.

When she finally calmed down, resigned to Cade’s fate, he released her. She shoved away, unwilling to look at him. Now it was up to Isaiah and Heidi to lead the way, but it appeared she wanted no part of sharing the task with him. As he hiked forward into the widening gorge, he realized something—carrying Heidi, the chaos that ensued after Rhea’s accident, had prevented him from grabbing his backpack and the other gear. Had prevented Zach from noticing.

That meant that a pack with supplies and a tent had been left behind for Cade. Isaiah glanced over his shoulder at Heidi. Still brooding. He doubted she was putting on a show to intentionally keep Zach from noticing the pack.

All the same, Cade had what he would need to survive.

Thank You, Lord.

* * *

Despair hovered over Heidi, a dark cloud blocking the blinding white of the snow—maybe not from her eyes, but certainly from her thoughts. And her heart.

Rhea gone.

Cade gone.

Persuading Zach to let them live seemed the only answer, but then what? How would they survive the night when the temperatures dropped? Clouds hedging the mountains to the west told her another storm chased them. Nothing new. Nothing surprising. The Coast Range of southeast Alaska was one of the most inclement places on earth.

Frankly, she was surprised they had survived this long. Heidi fought the dismal feelings snowing heavily down on her, burying her deep. Smothering her. It was all she could do to simply shove one boot in front of the other and trudge on. At some point, the terrain had changed and Isaiah had made them don their crampons, but she couldn’t remember when.

She still reeled from Cade choosing to stay with Rhea, who would likely die within the next few hours from her injuries. Her big, brave brother—always looking for a way to help and serve. To do what was right when he had the ability to do so. That had been his mantra, ever since Grandma Katy had hung up the cross-stitch that displayed it. What would Grandma think today, if she knew that Cade had given his life to keep that scripture alive and true in him?

And Leah. Poor Leah! A whimpering groan escaped Heidi and she stumbled. Cade didn’t even know yet, but Leah had purchased a pregnancy test the very night they’d started on this rescue mission. Heidi came across Leah at the drugstore, asking the pharmacist about the ones kept behind the counter. So much for privacy in a small town.

But why, oh why, didn’t Cade put Leah, his own wife, above Rhea—a woman who’d given her life to following a criminal and murderer? A woman who had wanted to kill Heidi.

Zach grabbed Heidi’s arm to assist her. “Hey, sweetheart. Too bad about Rhea and your brother.”

As if he cared. She wouldn’t respond to him. Wouldn’t say a word, though a million accusations blasted through her mind. If she opened that gate, she might never get it closed again, and the force of her words might crush Zach. On the other hand, maybe she should lay into him after all. But it was his reaction she feared.

Zach leaned in closer. Jason walked on the other side of her. Isaiah was up ahead. She was furious with him. Couldn’t stand to look at him, even though she understood his actions. She hadn’t tried hard enough to save her brother, either.

“Get away from me.” She freed her arm from Zach and pushed ahead of him.

He caught up. “I hated to lose Rhea. She was a good woman. But now that she’s out of the picture—”

Oh, that was it. “Are you insane?” Heidi stopped now, spitting mad. “I could never ever be interested in a murderous, backstabbing—”

“Hey! Look up ahead!” Isaiah’s shout drew everyone’s attention to him.

Zach and Jason all but forgot about Heidi and scrambled to meet Isaiah. They left her gasping for breath, to suffer in her own misery. She gazed behind her. How far was it again to Cade and Rhea? Could she simply leave now and take tents and supplies to them?

“Heidi.” Isaiah was next to her then. “Come see, we’re near the glacier that will take us to the ice field. It will still take us hours we probably don’t have, but we have to try.”

The pain in his eyes raw, she knew she’d tortured him, helped to drive in the nails of guilt even deeper.

“I don’t care about that. I only care about getting back to Cade.” She realized then that Isaiah had given Zach and Jason a distraction before Heidi lost complete control.

She wanted to thank him for that, but the image of Isaiah hauling her away and holding her against her will, her screaming and clawing, played across her mind. She had no words for him. The whole thing was an awful picture she would never forget.

But something was missing in that picture. What was it?

Her chest squeezed. “Isaiah, your pack with supplies. The tent.”

A half grin slid onto his cheek and he nodded. He didn’t have to say more because that was all Heidi needed to know. Cade would survive, and maybe, if he could get them help, Rhea, too.

But even more important—she had cried out to God, asking where He was.

And now she knew. He was here. Watching over them. Guiding them. And she also knew that while she’d been struggling with her faith, Isaiah had been praying every step of the way.

There wasn’t anything she wanted to do more at that moment than step into Isaiah’s arms. But with Zach’s state of mind now about Rhea being out of the way, Heidi couldn’t let her feelings for Isaiah show, or Zach would quickly dispense with him. They were near enough to the ice field that Zach might believe he could make it there on his own.

“We have to make sure Zach understands about the dangers of crossing the glacier and the ice field. About the danger of falling into a crevasse. We still have miles to go. He still needs us.” She hated the knot in her throat.

Isaiah touched her chin. “Don’t worry. We’re going to make it.”

But he had forgotten how well she knew him. How easily she read him, and his eyes told a much different story.

SIXTEEN

I
saiah saw hope flicker to life in Heidi’s eyes. She would be okay, but for a while there he’d been worried, seriously worried, about her state of mind. They had to see this through to the end, whatever that meant. Isaiah had to keep praying, too. He couldn’t stop. This was a battle in all senses: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

Heidi had to stay focused. Keep it together. And for his part, all Isaiah had to do was keep her alive until they were rescued, or he and Heidi could escape. He was afraid for Cade as well, but that was completely out of his hands. Cade had a better chance of survival than he and Heidi at this point. Cade wasn’t facing a bullet from Zach anymore. He had a chance to get away and flag down the searchers. At least the helicopter had given them confirmation that a search for them was already under way.

God, please let them find us in time. Help me to keep Heidi safe and alive. Help Cade and Rhea, too.

They approached the moat, or the wall that signaled the start of the glacier, which towered above them. Isaiah looked over at Heidi, who watched him, gauging his reaction. With everything that had happened, he’d pushed this moment to the side.

He blew out a breath. By their expressions, even Zach and Jason seemed to understand the enormous task ahead of them. At least Heidi had made sure they had enough crampons for everyone before they even began this ordeal. Without them he wasn’t sure they could have tackled the glacier.

But that was the only positive. How did Isaiah tell Zach that there was simply no way they could cross the glacier and make the ice field in time for his rendezvous after this big push? How long would it take for Zach to realize that on his own? And then when he did, what would happen next?

He wished one of the glacier tour guides was here with them. Those guys spent plenty of summers guiding visitors on such terrain and knew everything there was to know. Isaiah, not so much. He preferred to look at the beauty of the beasts from the air.

He blew out another breath and started to formulate a plan.

“What are you doing?” Zach asked.

“I need to find a safe entry point to get on top of the glacier.” What would it look like?

An hour and a half wasted away before they were on top of the glacier. The sight was awe-inspiring. He could imagine a glacier guide talking to the tourists.
This is one of several glaciers that flows from the Juneau Icefield.

In the summer, Isaiah could have hoped to run across one of the tour groups. He wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand, he might have been able to signal them to get help. On the other, anyone crossing their path would be in danger.

But it wasn’t summer yet, and spring in this part of the world might as well be winter. He’d remained cognizant of the approaching storm clouds that would likely dump more snow on them. They were in a race against time now, and Isaiah wasn’t hopeful they would win this.

He eyed the clouds once again and then gazed out over the river of ice ahead of them. He’d give it to Zach straight now and hopefully his brother, Jason, would make him listen.

“Crossing this glacier isn’t going to be easy.” As though navigating anything so monumental would be easy. “By far, it’s the most treacherous thing we’ve faced. In the summer, maybe we could see all the dangers, but right now, there are plenty of crevasses and snow bridges hidden by layers of snow. That means we’ll need to rope ourselves together, loop and hitch them for self-rescue, if required, and if that doesn’t work, if one of us falls, the others can pull him or her out. But everything has to be tied right. We all have to be positioned a certain way, spaced apart as we cross, and there has to be tension in the ropes. Please listen very carefully as I give the instructions.” It would take them some time just to get the ropes and harnesses and belay knots, for friction, tied just right.

This was going to be complicated. Isaiah squeezed the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t get enough air, and he knew Heidi could relate.

“So what?” Jason asked. “We tie knots and rope ourselves together. Big deal.”

Isaiah thought about what he’d read and learned about glaciers, and gave them the spiel, everything he knew and could remember, so they’d at least picture in their minds exactly what they were up against. Then he instructed them on roped movement across glacial terrain, fearing it was too much information at once.

He glanced at Heidi. “Did I forget anything?”

A nod accompanied her tenuous smile. “Our biggest danger is going to be crossing the snow bridges. It’s when snow piles up over a crevasse so you can’t see it. You could fall through. The glacier is filled with crevasses, so let’s make sure we understand how to do this from the start. We cross crevasses we can see at right angles, unless they’re small cracks, and then we just jump over them. And if we suspect a snow bridge is too weak to support us, then there’s another technique we use.”

Heidi sighed, and Isaiah knew she understood his concerns, as well. This was beyond technical for Jason and Zach.