Untraceable (12 page)

“What are you talking about?” Zach shoved Jason. “We can’t let them know where we are, or who we are. Can’t let them see us.”

Jason jabbed Zach’s chest with his finger. “You said that no one would know who we are. No one would know where we’re going. What makes you think the helicopter pilot would? Or was it all a lie?”

Rhea appeared confused by the whole thing, unsure which guy she should side with.

“Watch your mouth or I’ll give you another bloody nose. I didn’t lie to you. We just can’t risk it. Even if the pilot didn’t know, these guys would tell them.”

“You could just hold them hostage, threaten to kill them and hijack the helicopter.”

“Yeah, at least we’d be out of this frozen wilderness.” Rhea added her opinion.

Zach’s own people were ganging up on him. Isaiah shot a glance at Cade. Was this good or bad for them? The conflict would definitely grow worse as they continued their trek, and they would need to be prepared to take advantage of it, but only when the time was right.

Heidi had crawled away from Zach and stood up near a rock. Isaiah didn’t think that Zach would see or care that he went to Heidi at the moment. Cade joined him, and took his sister in his arms. Isaiah had wanted to do that, but Cade had more right than he did.

“You okay?” Cade asked.

Her smile tenuous, she looked at Isaiah around Cade’s shoulder. “Of course. How are you holding up?”

Cade released Heidi, and she stood there awkwardly, staring at Isaiah. Did she want him to hold her? No, he was reading her wrong. She’d made it abundantly clear, at least with her words, that she had no real feelings for him. And that was the way he wanted it. It was best for the both of them.

Then why was his heart pounding against his ribs, fighting for a way out?

He’d let her down, letting Zach manhandle her like that. But the man with the gun ruled them all, at least for now. The two men were still arguing, but Isaiah only cared about Heidi. She hung her head.

She was strong. Didn’t need Isaiah to hold her together. But maybe he needed her. He was the one with trembling knees at the moment. He needed her to keep him strong. A pang zinged through him at the startling reality.

Isaiah ignored all the warnings inside his head and stepped forward, dragged her into his arms and held tight.
God, when will this be over?

He wanted, oh how he wanted, to kiss the top of her head. To tell her how much he cared. But what would that accomplish in the midst of this chaos except to leave them both confused? So Isaiah said nothing at all. Just held on to Heidi, soaking up her goodness, willing her to know that next time he wouldn’t let Zach get away with any of this.

That was another promise he couldn’t keep. No, Isaiah wouldn’t stand in Zach’s way until he knew he could win without Cade or Heidi getting hurt.

Zach finally punched Jason, and they got into a scuffle on the snow-packed earth. Heidi and Isaiah parted to watch. Cade took a step forward. Maybe they could grab the guns.

On the other hand, maybe the weapons would go off and kill an innocent bystander. Before Cade or Isaiah could react, it was all over.

Zach hovered over Jason. “I don’t care if you’re my brother. Challenge me like that again and it will be the last time.”

He crawled off the whimpering man.

His brother?

Now, that was news, though it made sense. Zach hadn’t cared about Robbie, the man he’d shot back at the saddle. He hadn’t mourned Liam’s death, nor did he seem to care a lot about whether Rhea was around, but Jason—he cared about Jason, despite his threat.

And maybe they could use that fact against Zach. Unless Zach cared more about the money, more about his survival than he did his own brother.

“Let’s set up camp here. The rocks will protect us from the weather and it will be dark soon.” Cade barked orders at them, his gaze landing on Isaiah.

Isaiah understood that Cade wanted to diffuse the tension to keep crazy Zach from shooting off his gun and his mouth again. They set up the tents, used the camping stove to melt snow for water and prepared the MREs. They’d run out of energy bars and would now be subjected to the food Isaiah detested. He’d hoped this would all be over before it came to that.

What’s more, they were quickly running out of fuel. Zach stomped around the campsite with a scowl, and Rhea whimpered, afraid of the man she loved. Jason was in a rotten mood, too, leaning against the supplies and eating the last energy bar. He held a weapon now, charged with guarding his rescuers.

Heidi crawled into the tent she would share with Rhea, reminding Isaiah that he needed to figure out how he could protect her from a woman who wanted her dead. He hated to think of Heidi lying awake all night on guard for her life.

But with their captors at a distance and preoccupied, this was his chance to strategize with Cade. “What’s the plan?” He kept his voice low, focused on melting snow for water.

Cade only grunted.

“Look, I know something has been eating you for weeks now. Just put that aside. We need to figure out our escape. Whatever reason you’re mad at me can wait.”

“I don’t think that it can.”

“What?” Surprised at his response, Isaiah poured melted snow into a cup and handed it to Cade.

“I see how you are with Heidi, so it can’t wait.”

Isaiah stiffened.

“I know about your past, Isaiah. I thought I knew you pretty well, considering the amount of time we spent together, but even then I always thought you were hiding something.”

Isaiah sat back in the snow. “What do you know?” And he could guess how he’d found out. Had to be Leah, his legal-investigator wife, sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

“I know that you were a person of interest in a murder that was never solved. You changed your name and moved here to assume a new identity.” Cade’s look of betrayal filleted Isaiah.

Was Cade accusing him of the murder? If he felt that way, how could the guy even climb with Isaiah? How come he’d waited so long to confront him? “Please tell me you don’t think I’m guilty.”

Isaiah needed to hear that Cade trusted him.

“I don’t want to think you’re a murderer. No. I can’t make myself believe that. So no, that’s not it. It’s that you hid all that from us, from me personally. You hid who you are. It’s a trust thing with me. I thought I knew you, Isaiah. Thought I knew who you really are. But then I find out I didn’t know you at all.”

Isaiah absorbed Cade’s words. He had expected to hear them at some point. He drew in a breath then dived in. “Cade, I meant no harm. You have to understand...”

Isaiah didn’t say more. What could he say? The man had serious trust issues after learning of his father’s infidelities. But Isaiah had to try. “Look, I’m innocent, but having people—a whole town of people—suspicious of you is like being guilty. I might as well have been guilty as far as they were concerned. So I wanted to start over. Is that so bad? I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner, but it wouldn’t be much of a new life for me if I brought my past with me, would it? What if every time I looked at you, I saw that same suspicion in your eyes?” And in fact Isaiah had recognized it in Cade—he just hadn’t wanted to believe it.

“Can’t say that I would have done things any differently, but you’re not the guy for Heidi so stay away from her.”

Back when Isaiah and Heidi were growing close, when something was happening between them, Cade hadn’t been happy about it. In fact, he’d been relieved when Isaiah had stepped away from Heidi. Maybe that was because of the secret he thought Isaiah carried, and now he knew the full of it.

As if Isaiah could stop caring about her here and now, especially in this situation. He’d really tried, but who was he kidding? He’d tried and failed miserably to not be seriously into Heidi Warren. Fortunately, that didn’t matter—Heidi was definitely not into him, and he couldn’t bear to break her heart after she heard about his past. Cade was sure to tell her if he hadn’t already.

Isaiah couldn’t look at the man. Resentment burned in his gut. “How did you find out?” He already knew, but wanted to hear it from Cade.

“Leah.”

“I can’t believe you had someone look into my background.” Had Cade done it because he was worried about Heidi?

“It just...happened. A connection to another case she was investigating that took her all the way to Montana.”

“I don’t get it. Why now? Why did you wait until this moment to confront me?”

Cade exhaled long and hard. “I’ve trusted you in every way that counted, since we’re on a SAR team. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt that you had your reasons for keeping this a secret, and frankly, I just didn’t know how to bring it up. I thought it was a moot point because you and Heidi weren’t as close anymore, but this predicament seems to be pushing all those feelings to the surface. And seeing how you are with her, seeing that look in her eyes, has forced my hand.”

Spoken like the overprotective father of a young girl. Did Cade even see that?

“I’m still the same Isaiah that you’ve known for almost four years now. Thanks for digging up the past I wanted to forget. Thanks for not trusting me.” Isaiah stomped off into the darkness that edged their circle of light, feeling the isolation to his bones.

* * *

As soon as her tent was set up, Heidi crawled inside to rest on the sleeping bag. She was too tired to be hungry, and while she lay there, she could barely make out Cade and Isaiah talking. It didn’t sound as if things were good between them. If only she wasn’t so exhausted she might have edged closer to listen in on their conversation.

One thing she had heard clearly was Cade’s warning to Isaiah to stay away from her.

Anger churned inside. She didn’t need or want him to protect her. At least, not like that. Who did he think he was anyway? He wasn’t her father. She could take care of herself. But he was her brother. Her heart softened a little. What kind of brother would he be if he didn’t at least try to protect her?

She was capable of defending her heart from Isaiah. At least she thought she was, but all she could think about was the moment earlier—after the helicopter had come and gone, when Cade had finished hugging her. Isaiah had stood there, watching her. It was as if they’d both wanted to embrace each other, but each had held back for their own reasons. It had been kind of awkward and silly and so obvious. But Heidi had refused to give in to her crazy need for him.

That is, until she’d seen the longing and the desperation pouring from his gaze. All pretext washed away in the harsh reality of this dangerous adventure. Heidi almost had the sense that maybe it wasn’t about Heidi needing him, but that Isaiah was the one in need.

Big strong Isaiah. Hard to grasp that he needed anything.

That image still dancing in her mind, Heidi rolled on her back and stared at the tent ceiling in the growing darkness. She heard footsteps outside and saw the silhouette of a man passing between the tents.

Isaiah.
He’d left the unpleasant conversation he’d had with Cade. She had a feeling it was about more than her. She allowed her thoughts to drift back to that moment when Isaiah had taken the step forward and grabbed her arms, tugged her to him. She’d gone willingly. And yes, she needed him, too. Not as a person who would watch her back on this journey, but as something much more. Something she couldn’t even define, but she sensed its light in her soul growing bigger, kindling, instead of being snuffed out completely. With everything she’d been through, she thought that light had all but died.

She savored the memory of being in his arms for no other reason than just being there, and she’d allowed herself to soak him up. Frankly, she was too exhausted—both emotionally and physically—to keep fighting what she felt for Isaiah, even though he’d hurt her.

But something told her that he’d had his reasons. Good reasons. She’d never known Isaiah to do anything without thinking it through, and that was something she could take to the bank.

Ugh—the thought of the bank brought her back to the robbery and their predicament and, oddly enough, at that moment Rhea crawled into the tent. Heidi didn’t relish the prospect of trying to survive the night with Rhea. She’d likely have to stay awake to keep from being smothered or strangled in her sleep.

“You don’t have to worry.” Rhea tugged out her own weapon. “Zach gave me orders to watch you. Keep you from running away. He said I’d better not hurt you.”

Heidi considered threatening Rhea with their little secret about the money. Then again, that might give Rhea more of a reason to kill her. “I’m too exhausted to go anywhere, aren’t you? Besides, where would I go? Without the protection of the tent, I’d just die of hypothermia.” Like Liam.

“Zach said you might run after the helicopter if it comes back.”

Zach would be right. Heidi rolled over, putting her back to Rhea. She’d had enough of the woman. But maybe she’d give it one more try. “Rhea, remember that first night in the tent?”

“What of it?”

“Remember how you said you thought I was interested in someone?”

Rhea grunted.

“I thought you understood that I have no interest in your boyfriend. None. I thought we connected and had an understanding. You weren’t going to tell my secret and I wouldn’t tell yours.” She thought they’d shared a common bond after their initial heart-to-heart, but Zach had destroyed that.

“I don’t have a secret on you anymore. Everyone can see what’s going on.”

Heidi’s pulse raced. She wanted to know what Rhea meant. Hear all the details about it as if they were silly schoolgirls, but she kept quiet. She’d tried to deny it for far too long and that must be why Cade had warned Isaiah away. He saw it, too. Heidi blew out a breath.

“So I got nothing on you. But don’t worry, I won’t kill you for it tonight.”

“Thanks.” Heidi didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm. She had a few surprises for Rhea if the woman thought she could take Heidi out so easily.

TWELVE

T
he next morning they packed up the tents and prepared to hike on.

Before Cade led the group out, Isaiah held his gaze. “We’re out of fuel.”