Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-Up\Force of Nature\Yuletide Jeopardy\Wilderness Peril (72 page)

“I wanted, I needed, to save him.” The thought of what happened next squeezed his chest. He gulped for air. “Just like I wanted to save you.”

The moisture in her eyes surged.

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “I'm sorry our plan didn't work. You need to find another way to get out. I don't trust Kemp to take you when he goes. See if you can get him to tell you where Aiden is. Then you—”

“Rick,” she whispered, tears choking her words. “You're not making any sense. You know that won't work. You're going with me. You have to be the one to get us out. But—” she wiped at her eyes “—I have an idea. I'm going to get that sat phone and use it.”

“That's too risky.” Rick's words came out garbled even to his own ears, making him realize he was weaker than he'd thought. Maybe he'd lost a little too much blood. With rest, he'd be back to new in no time. The thing was, he didn't know if he would get that here—or ever again.

Rick's eyes shut of their own volition even as he struggled to keep them open. To stay awake. Shay's warm breath tickled his cheek, but he couldn't even produce the smile he felt. Yet he couldn't stop the response in his heart.

I love you, Shay.

Had Rick said the words out loud to her? He wasn't sure. Probably for the best if he hadn't. He couldn't deny the way his feelings for her had grown, but he still knew she was safer with just about any other good man than with Rick.

SEVENTEEN

S
hay stared down at Rick.

Was he asleep? Unconscious? She felt his pulse, measured his breathing and was relieved to hear that both were steady. He needed rest and his body claimed it, but all signs indicated that his condition had stabilized.

The words he'd just said... They wrapped around her, warm and inviting, promising everything her heart longed for. The heat of those three little words came close to melting through the barriers she'd erected to protect herself.

But had she heard him right?

He'd started slurring his words at the end of their conversation, so she couldn't be sure. Even if she'd heard his profession of love correctly, there was a chance he was hallucinating. Things said when a person was injured and delirious didn't count.

She let the tears flow now, even as she hated them for reminding her that she was weak. She was a woman trying to survive in a man's world—in this case, in a man's gold-mining camp. Tears weren't supposed to come into play. Still, it was better to get the crying over with now. She needed to be tough over the next few hours. She had to be strong enough for the both of them until Rick was back with her in full force.

She sucked in a breath and stood tall, pushing away from the table.

He would be back. She had no doubt of that.

You're coming back to me, Rick Savage.

“Rick,” she whispered. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his, wishing he could hear her. Hoping he didn't. “I love you, too.”

She hated the emotions that were torturing her now—knowing she loved him, finally admitting it, but being unable, unwilling, to act on her love. Too risky, too dangerous. Not unlike what Shay was about to do for their survival.

Shay looked at the door, garnering the nerve to walk out there and through the chaos of the camp. The men had returned from getting supplies, their bellies full, but they were angry with Kemp. They were in an uproar, too, about Rick.

Kemp, however, had reined in their ire with something more about the gold. That man had a special gift for controlling people.

She marched out the door and into the camp, which was alight with activity. She'd been such a familiar sight since working on the backhoe that the men didn't even take notice of her. She was a worker like the rest of them. In some ways, this felt like the Deep Horizon hangar.

One of the men saluted her when she passed. Yep. She was one of the boys now. The mechanic. Not someone who was a flight risk. Maybe they all knew she wasn't going anywhere without Rick. They were right about that—but while she might not leave without Rick, she could still make a call.

Absently, she noticed that an uncanny excitement was rippling through the camp.

A good number of the men had congregated at the scar in the earth, digging with shovels. How had Kemp made them believe...

A shout rang through the group and one of them climbed from the hole, his hands raised as if he'd just completed a touchdown.

Shay eyed the main house, where Kemp had gone with the sat phone after helping her deliver Rick to their makeshift hospital. Kemp hadn't wanted to help her drag Rick back. He'd wanted to leave him for the animals, like the other man. But Shay could be convincing, too. She had used leverage, making the most of the sliver of power she held over the man for now.

If she could just make it to Kemp's quarters.

A few more yards.

She prayed he'd be gone by now. Walking backward, she watched the men dance around. What in the world? Had they really struck a solid chunk of gold? Must have been a sizable nugget, but the way they acted, it was as if they were surprised to find it.

What did she know? Maybe if gold were her sole purpose and she found it, then she'd be dancing for joy. But right now the only thing she wanted was to leave this camp safely, with Rick and Aiden by her side. She'd do anything to make that happen.

Shay planted a smile in place and focused on her mission.

Get.

That.

Sat.

Phone.

She took one more glance to make sure the men were still celebrating and not paying any attention to where she was going.

Uh-oh. The first man out of the hole was running toward her, a smile spread across his face. He held the gold nugget in his hand. He wanted to show her?

Are you kidding me?

Shay didn't know what to do. She could try to turn and ignore him and hope he'd leave her be. But could she remain invisible? Just another one of the men? Or should she congratulate him and hope he'd quickly move on?

Behind her, she could hear him coming up on her fast, so she turned and smiled as if she were joining in the fun. As if it were perfectly normal for her to walk around the camp like this. If the men acted this relaxed in the next few hours, drunk on the wine of finding gold, she and Rick might just find Aiden and drive out of here. Forget the plane.

Yeah, right.

She continued walking backward, hoping he'd simply join her, say what he had to say and then walk away. Instead, he placed his arm around her shoulders and planted a big fat kiss on her lips. Shay cringed, hating the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Stay calm. Don't panic.

She giggled and slipped out of his grasp, teasing and flirting a little even as her insides convulsed.

“This is all because of you, lady. You fixed things up around here. You should get your share, too.”

Shay faked a polite laugh and then started walking again, hoping he'd get the message that she was a busy woman. He tugged on her, stopping her. Keeping her from her mission. Fortunately, no one had taken notice of either of them.

His smile held a little too much salacious mischief for her comfort level. “What say I get your share and then we take off? We can go anywhere you want.”

Incredulity heaved in her chest, but she blinked and smiled, reining in her emotions. Deep inside, she knew if she even hinted at her feelings for Rick, this man would kill him, believing that would somehow give him a chance.

“Sure. That would be...nice.”

Hope flooded his gaze. Was he for real?

Shay examined the nugget he held out, acting as though she were as dazzled by it as he was. “How...how many ounces do you suppose this is? What's it worth?”

She started out only pretending to be interested, but holding something of this weight and value in her hands gave her a funny feeling.

“This, sweet lady, is a nugget. We usually don't find them this big. With gold going for around $1,500 a troy ounce, we're all going to be rich. Kemp agreed to share any profit, once he's paid his debt, with us. There's more down there. There has to be more.”

Ah. So that was how Kemp had played them. Slowly and meticulously transferring their loyalty to him.

Shay stared at the man, who remained mesmerized by gold and thought he could buy Shay with it. Just the thought of it squeezed her insides, urging her to finish her mission.

“I have something to do first,” she said, bridling her fear. “Get me my fair share of gold and we'll meet up later, okay?”

He nodded and took off running back to the pit.

Shay exhaled. Nausea roiled in her stomach at what she had just done, but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it. She pressed forward to Kemp's house, now mere yards from her. Where did Kemp keep his sat phone when it wasn't with him?

Though she kept an even pace as she walked, confident and silent, hoping to blend in, she had the feeling that men watched her. Eyes followed her. The feeling intensified, driving her nerves tighter and tighter.

The next thing Shay knew, she was practically running to Kemp's house. With a burst of alarm, she remembered that he always kept it locked. What had she been thinking? Panic engulfed her, overwhelming any rational thought. She slammed against the door of the main house and turned the knob.

Locked. Of course. She knew that. How could she have made such a mistake?

She banged on the door. At this moment, with the eyes of the men still burning into her, Kemp would almost be a welcome sight.

He opened it. “What's going on?”

Her legs shaking—she was a much weaker person than she'd thought—Shay fell against him. She wanted to gag but swallowed down the urge. He let her all the way in and shut the door. She used the brief reprieve to think of an excuse for her visit.

“The men, did you know they found gold?” she asked, gulping for air.

Kemp slowly turned his head to look out the window. “We've already found gold.”

Shay exhaled a calming breath. “No, I mean a big-size nugget. They say there's more.”

He frowned. “That's...that's impossible.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stay here,” he said, and left her standing there.

In his house.

Shay could hardly believe it. Had all reason gone to the wolves because of the gold? She glanced out the window. Kemp was hiking toward the hole. He'd probably already forgotten about her. He figured she was weak without Rick.

Thank You, thank You, thank You, God.
Getting this chance was better than finding gold. Where had she seen the sat phone? Her eyes scanned the small living room and kitchen as she hurried through. Then she headed to Kemp's office. Her fingers skimmed over every inch of it before she tugged a file drawer open.

There.

Shay's knees grew weak. It couldn't be this easy. Her hands shook violently as she tugged out the case that held the phone. Setting the case on the table, she glanced out the window. She couldn't see Kemp from where she sat, but he was probably dancing with joy, too, after seeing their wealth. He would go ballistic when that one man tried to collect Shay's fair share. Hopefully that would keep him distracted for a while longer, because he would
definitely
go ballistic if he caught her with his phone.

She opened the case and stared down. How did she use this thing? She tugged a quick reference guide from the pocket of the case and scanned the instructions.

Outside? She'd have to go outside to get a signal. Heart racing, Shay swiped her slick palms down her pants. Risky enough to try this in the house, but if she left the cover of these walls, she'd expose herself. Someone would see her.

Unless...she moved to the window and looked out. She didn't think there was a man or guard who wasn't hovering at the pile of dirt and the hole in the earth now. They'd struck gold after all. A real nugget, according to the one man. Kemp had said nuggets of any real size weren't that common, and then he'd acted surprised they'd found something.

His reaction was a little strange.

But Shay didn't care about that right now. She shut the case and tucked it back in the filing cabinet, then crammed the phone and the instructions under her jacket, still stained with Rick's blood. Then Shay went to the room where she'd slept and climbed out the window, ignoring her shaking legs lest she collapse from fear. This was by far the riskiest thing she'd done yet.

But she should have done it long ago. They just hadn't known how things would turn out.

Shay followed the instructions on the sheet, stepping out into open space, away from the trees and building.

After turning on the phone, she moved the antennae and waited to catch a satellite signal, then dialed the country code and Deep Horizon phone number.

Oh, Lord, please let Connor pick up.
She didn't know his cell phone number by heart. Behind the building, she had maybe a few minutes before someone discovered her. She'd only have time for one call—and a quick one, at that. If Kemp returned to the house, he'd want to know where she was. He'd realize his mistake in leaving her alone in his house too soon.

A familiar and welcome voice answered.

“Connor? Connor!” Shay drew in a breath to calm herself. To speak clearly. “We're here at a mining camp. We're in trou—”

Kemp's face filled her vision. His hand swiped across her head, knocking her to the ground.

* * *

Fire in his shoulder again.

Rick stirred. Reached over and touched the bandage covering the aching wound. He let his arm drop back again and exhaled long and hard. Struggling to his elbow, he got his bearings. He was in the same room where he'd doctored up the other gunshot victim.

He swiped a hand down his face. Where was Shay? Where was anybody, for that matter?

What was the last thing she'd said to him? He scrunched up his eyes, struggling for clarity.

Sat phone. She'd planned to get the sat phone.
Oh, Lord, no.
He'd made the wrong choice by fighting with Kemp. Again. The wrong choice again. Getting injured had left her to take all the risks herself. And that meant that once more, someone would get hurt because he was such an idiot.

Not just anyone.

The woman he loved.

Despite the hurt pounding against his ribs, sending pain through his body, Rick pushed to sit. Dizziness swept over him, but it didn't matter. He was better than this. He'd been trained to survive in one of the worst places in the world. This was nothing.

Get it together, Savage.

Inhaling deeply, he stood and pushed beyond the waves of nausea and dizziness. Shay was out there somewhere alone. He had to find her. Rick grabbed the jacket that had been thrown to the floor and saw the bloodied hole where he'd been shot. He tossed it aside and clutched an oversize shirt off a hook on the wall. He slid that on, then snatched a knit cap and put it on, too. That was all the disguise he could manage.

Rick paused at the door and took a peek outside. Darkness had fallen. A couple of men sat around the campfire by the hole where others continued digging. The jig was cranked and running. Floodlights blasted the place. He was surprised to see them continue digging at night. Could they even afford to run those lights?

He took a step outside and instantly he felt it. The upbeat staccato of digging by hand, the laughter and excitement.