Untraceable
Authors: Elizabeth Goddard
NO WAY OUT
Colleen Brennan has one goal—take down her sister’s killer. But chasing after evidence leaves her in the path of a tornado and stranded in an Amish community. With the killer nearby, Colleen must depend on the kindness of Special Agent Frank Gallagher. Although the army officer is recuperating from a battlefield injury, he wants to help the beautiful woman he rescued from the tornado’s fury. He can tell she’s hiding something important. But getting her to reveal her secrets may be his most dangerous mission ever.
Military Investigations: Serving their country and solving crimes
“Did you try to radio for help?”
He nodded. “Couldn’t get through.”
“Isaiah, what if he’d caught you?” Heidi crawled closer to him in the tent. “He’ll kill you if he finds out.”
He started to speak but she pressed her hand over his mouth. “Don’t say he’s going to kill us anyway. I don’t want to hear it. There has to be another way… Why don’t we overpower them, get the guns back. Something.” She hated the trembling that crept into her voice along with rising panic.
“If we get the chance, we will. But I need to tell you something.” He gripped her shoulders. “I found the missing gang member’s body yesterday.”
Covering her mouth, she sobbed softly. Isaiah pulled her to him and held her. His arms felt strong around her.
“Heidi, he might not be the last person to die as we make it through these mountains. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She nodded. The harsh environment would pick them off, one by one. Then maybe they could worry about fighting whoever was left. But she didn’t get the chance to voice her thoughts on his words.
Outside the tent, gunfire resounded through the icy mountains.
Elizabeth Goddard
is an award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the romantic mystery,
The Camera Never Lies
—winner of a prestigious Carol Award in 2011. After acquiring her computer science degree, she worked at a software firm before eventually retiring to raise her four children and become a professional writer. In addition to writing, she homeschools her children and serves with her husband in ministry.
Books by Elizabeth Goddard
Love Inspired Suspense
Freezing Point
Treacherous Skies
Riptide
Wilderness Peril
Mountain Cove Series
Buried
Untraceable
Visit the Author Profile page at
Harlequin.com
UNTRACEABLE
Elizabeth Goddard
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
—Psalms 30:5
This story is dedicated to search and rescue teams everywhere, to men and women who volunteer their time, money and skills and willingly place themselves in danger to find and rescue complete strangers. And of course, all my stories are dedicated to my family—my three sons, Christopher, Jonathan and Andrew, and my daughter, Rachel (and new son-in-law, Richard), and my husband, Dan—for giving me the time and space I need to create new worlds and characters. You guys rock!
Writers don’t work in a vacuum, especially if they’re novelists. I couldn’t write without the encouragement and support I receive from my writing buddies—Lisa Harris, Shannon McNear and Lynette Sowell, and many more—so glad God brought us together on this writing journey!
I’d also like to thank my friends in Juneau who provided me with invaluable material regarding specific information—Doug Wessen, a community leader and SAR hero extraordinaire. And thanks to Teresa, a writing friend in Juneau who works for the US Forest Service. You’re always available with just the right answer or photograph. Thanks to Bill Glude of the Alaska Avalanche Center for his assistance, and for training search and rescue volunteers. Any mistakes are mine alone either by accident or on purpose in taking artistic license to create a more adventurous and appealing story world.
Contents
ONE
“O
ff rappel!”
Heidi adjusted her night vision goggles at her brother Cade’s call up the rocky cliff face from below. The snow-covered, mountainous landscape looked green and black, but at least she could see instead of stumbling around in the dark and falling to her death. Even though the moon was out in full force, this side of the mountain remained in the shadows.
The helicopter had dropped them off as close as possible to the summit, but they’d still had to hike another two hours to get to the place where they would rappel down to the trapped climbers, at least one of them injured, or so the three rescuers—Heidi and Cade Warren and Isaiah Callahan—had been informed.
As a member of North Face Mountain Search and Rescue—like the other Warren siblings—this was only the second time Heidi had climbed at night, and she shoved aside the unpleasant memory of the first. There was enough tension between her and her brother Cade, and unfortunately their friend and coworker Isaiah—who usually flew the helicopter—that she didn’t need to tack on anything more to an already heavy load. And it wasn’t just the emotional and mental burden. The pack on her back weighed her down, too.
Drawing in a cold breath, she hoisted the hefty pack—loaded down with climbing, medical and camping gear for spending the night—and rappelled the cliff. Cade, ever the protective brother, had insisted on going first, though Heidi was the trained technical climber of the three.
She’d made it halfway to the next rap station and paused for a rest, when gunfire ricocheted off the mountain. Heidi jerked and lost her balance. Her overfilled pack pulled her over, flip-flopping her. Now hanging upside down, her heart pounded.
She
was the technical climber here.
She
was the expert they counted on to assist in getting these people out.
She
hadn’t wanted to come. Not after what had happened last summer. But there’d been no choice. Two other daunting rescue operations were ongoing and they needed the manpower. If only she weren’t out of practice.
All her fault. This was on her, and she knew it.
Heidi was a wreck, but she couldn’t afford to give in to her emotions right now. Those climbers stranded in the saddle between the summits couldn’t afford her messing up.
No way would she call for help, though. The last thing Cade and Isaiah needed was a rescuer who required rescuing. Besides, she’d assured Cade she could do this, but even if she hadn’t, he’d pretty much insisted that she try. Isaiah had been the one to protest. He hadn’t wanted her here. Whether because he personally didn’t want to work with her after distancing himself for some unknown reason or because he didn’t trust her abilities, she wasn’t sure. Either way, his attitude stabbed her like an ice ax.
“What’s going on up there, Heidi?” Cade asked over the radio.
“Nothing.”
“You need help?” Now Isaiah. Great.
And the incident command center would hear their conversation, too. Over the years, they’d developed their own radio-speak, and didn’t use the more technical terms. Cade always wanted them to talk plainly. Worked for her.
“Heidi, I asked if you’re good?” Isaiah again.
At the very least, she would prove to Isaiah she was back. She could do this. “I’m rapping down. You’re distracting me.”
With all the strength she could muster, she grabbed the rope and inched her way up, righting herself. Then she breathed a sigh of relief.
But what about the gunfire she’d heard? Heidi used her night vision goggles to scan the mountain and the saddle below, but saw nothing of concern. Was it someone chasing off a bear somewhere? Cade and Isaiah hadn’t mentioned it. Had she imagined it? Or was it simply echoing from miles away? She wouldn’t bring it up. All she needed was for them to think she was hearing things. As always, Isaiah and Cade were packing weapons in case they came across a bear, so she wouldn’t worry.
Following Cade down, she rappelled, careful that the unusually heavy pack wouldn’t throw her off balance again. She met him at the second rappel. A glance down revealed a beaming flashlight and a small fire burning nearly four hundred feet below.
Voices resounded from the camp. The climbers must have spotted their rescuers. Cade rappelled again. Heidi watched and waited before she followed. She glanced up but couldn’t see Isaiah from here. He was likely growing impatient to hear her call.
Heidi looked down at Cade and saw him swinging over, creating a new path.
“Be careful. There’s a vertical ice wall and a sheer drop,” Cade told them over the radio.
Negotiating the terrain would be difficult enough under the circumstances, but with the expected inclement weather, even in April, things could only get worse.
“Off rappel,” Cade called.
Heidi clipped in and called up, repeating the words to Isaiah, and they were back in rhythm, rappelling and descending a snow-covered slope in the middle of a cold, wintry night.
Reaching the vertical ice wall Cade had warned about, she secured her harness and traversed the cliff face, following Cade’s lead. She found the third rappel station and called up to Isaiah before descending the rest of the way.
The saddle where the two summits met formed a wind tunnel. Maybe that’s why Cade hadn’t mentioned the gunfire. He hadn’t even heard it. The high-pitched wail of the wind harmonized with deeper tones making Heidi think of a lost lover singing a seriously morbid screamo song. Thank goodness she’d grown out of that phase a decade ago.
Dropping a few feet to the ground, the pack pulled Heidi back and she fell on her rear.
Thankfully, in this spot, the curve in the rock formations above and around them protected them from the harsh blasts of arctic gusts. She hoped that would remain the case.
“You okay?” Cade offered his hand.
She didn’t take it, but instead slipped from the pack. “That thing is too heavy.”
“I hear you,” he said.
Isaiah joined them. He tugged Heidi around to face him, his touch surprising her. She tried to ignore the current coursing through his gloved hand and her parka to burn the skin on her arm. It was the first time he’d come close to acting as if he cared in months.
Still wearing his night vision goggles, he looked her up and down. “You okay?”
“Of course, I’m fine. We’re here to help them.” Heidi pointed at the group who remained huddled next to their small fire, a couple of them standing, expectantly looking in the direction of the rescuers. “Stop worrying about me.”
She couldn’t take his attention on her right now. It only confused her and she needed to focus. Besides, she hated to be coddled, and Cade’s and Isaiah’s concern was too much. Cade was right to insist she had to get back into search and rescue now or she never would, but after what happened, after she’d been part of a jaunt in the mountains with friends that ended in tragedy, Heidi second-guessed everything she did. Succeeding tonight in this rescue would serve as a rescue for Heidi, in a way. And she prayed that her participation wasn’t a mistake, that it wouldn’t cost more lives. She reminded herself that North Face needed her today.
