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The door that led to the kitchen swung open, and Daniel poked his head out. “I got about twenty minutes left on this stir-fry.”

“Thanks, Daniel.” Nathan rose to his feet and offered his brother a weak smile. He waited until the door closed again. Anguish hardened his features. He turned to face Merci when she stood up. “I know he is trying really hard. I want to think the best of him.” He shook his head as his voice faltered. “But he’s broken promises, he’s been through treatment twice before, he stole from Mom and Dad, and from me, from his friends, all to feed his habit.”

Merci thought her own heart would break over the hurt Nathan was going through. She rushed over and hugged him. “I understand why it would be hard to believe he has truly changed for good. I don’t have any great wisdom on what you should do.” She pulled away, placed her hand on his cheek and looked up into his eyes. “I just hate to see you so torn up like this.”

He took her in his arms and held her for a long moment, nestling his face against her neck. She closed her eyes and prayed that in some small way, she could ease some of his pain. He turned his head and pressed his mouth over hers. She welcomed the kiss. He pulled her closer by resting his hand on the middle of her back.

A clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen caused them to pull away from each other.

Merci giggled. “I don’t know why I did that. We’re not fifteen. It’s okay if your brother sees us kissing.”

He let out a single laugh but his eyes held no joviality. She searched his deep brown eyes.

Was that a goodbye kiss?

He turned away as though he didn’t want her to see the emotion that his expression would give away. “We should probably get cleaned up. There’s a downstairs bathroom with fresh towels if you want to use that.”

She pointed toward the computer she had noticed earlier. “Actually, I think I would like to check bus departure times first.”

“Be my guest.” He still hadn’t looked directly at her. Did he fear he would fall apart if he made eye contact with her?

How was it possible that two people who had been through so much could just walk away from each other like this?

She sat down at the computer and pushed the power button. The phone in the entryway rang. Nathan excused himself and left to answer it.

She waited for the computer to fire up. The gentle tenor of Nathan’s voice landed on her ears when he answered the phone. As she typed in the name of a bus line she knew had routes in the Northwest, she thought her heart would burst into a million pieces.

SEVENTEEN

N
athan picked up the phone and uttered a greeting. His mind was still on Merci and the lingering power of her kiss. He peered around the corner at her. Her long hair fell over her face as she leaned over the keyboard.
You can’t tell someone you have only known less than three days that you love them. That would be crazy.
Yet when he pictured dropping her off at the bus station and never seeing her again, the image was like a knife through his heart.

“Nathan,” said a man on the other end of the line.

Deputy Travis Miller’s voice jerked him out of his musing about Merci. Nathan pressed the phone harder against his ear. “Did you locate the thieves?”

“No, but we got a hit on two of your thugs almost right away. Lots of small-time stuff, petty thievery and assault. Both of them are from a town not far from the college where Merci goes. Local law enforcement there recognized their pictures when we sent out the alert. Now we got names to go with the faces.”

“That’s a good start.” A knot of tension formed in his lower back. Though he knew the authorities were stretched thin and doing everything they could, he had hoped for news of a capture.

Deputy Miller continued. “Your ringleader Hawthorne must have found them there. Both of them had a thousand dollars deposited in their accounts three days ago.”

The thugs were probably feeling a bit underpaid, considering all that they had gone through. “Nothing on Hawthorne, though?”

“No, the guy certainly isn’t known to law enforcement like the other two,” Deputy Miller said. “Lorelei Frank is exactly who she said she was. She’s registered as a senior at Montana State. She’s lived there for four years. No priors on her.”

Nathan pivoted so he could see Merci sitting in the computer chair. “So they are all still at large.”

“Look, we are going to get these guys. I promise you. And I have a bit of good news you can pass onto your friend Merci.”

“What’s that?”

Travis said, “She was worried about that older couple that got stranded in one of your cabins.”

“Elle and Henry are okay?” Nathan couldn’t hide his elation.

“They were pretty delighted when the plows made it that far up. They are resting up at a bed-and-breakfast and have some good stories to tell.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Nathan massaged his chest where it had grown tense. “So those guys are still out running around.”

“Or they are dead. They didn’t go back to the cabins and harm your friends. That means they are without shelter or food.”

“Merci and I got out,” Nathan said.

“There has been no report of stolen vehicles. So that means they are probably still on foot. We’re going to get these guys. I promise you.” The deputy spoke with intensity.

“I know you will, Travis.” His friend had always had a strong sense of justice.

“I wish we could provide some protection for you two. All our resources are being consumed by the aftermath of the storm. Highway patrol pulled in this office for extra manpower in dealing with wrecked and stranded motorists. It’s going to be a week before everything gets back to normal.”

“I understand. Merci and I will be okay.” Nathan said goodbye to his friend and hung up. He returned to the living room.

Merci’s long strawberry-blond hair cascaded down her back. She lifted her fingers off the keyboard and turned to face him. “Who was that?”

“Travis. I mean Deputy Miller. Looks like the thieves are still at large.” He ran his hand along the back of the couch as he watched the disappointment spread across her face.

He didn’t like the idea of putting Merci on a bus by herself. Anything could happen in the six-hour bus ride. “I would feel better if you would let me drive you to your aunt’s house.”

Merci rose to her feet. “You would do that for me?”

“’Course I would.” Her green eyes glowed with affection. He could drown in them. He was grateful for the excuse to be with her a little longer. If he told her how he felt about her, would she think he was out of line? A six-hour drive would give him time to decide.

The kitchen door swung open. A mouthwatering blend of stir-fry spices drifted into the living room when Daniel stuck his head out. “Chow time.”

The tension between the two brothers seemed to lighten a little with the addition of good food. When Daniel shared funny stories of things they had done at camp, Nathan laughed and offered his own details to the stories, but she could still see the sadness behind his eyes.

As the final bites of dinner were being consumed, Nathan turned toward his brother. “I’m going to drive Merci to her aunt’s house. Can you give us a ride across town, so we can get my car?”

Daniel sat his napkin on the table. “Sure, no problem.”

* * *

Snow fell softly from the gray sky of early evening as they drove across town. Merci checked her watch. It would be close to ten o’clock by the time they got to her aunt’s house, but she had already missed part of the vacation, and she didn’t want to wait another day. Nathan’s offer to drive her had lifted her spirits. She’d feel safer with him than on the bus. Maybe the ride together would only delay the inevitable, that they would be parting ways, but she intended to enjoy whatever time they had together.

Daniel brought the car to a stop and got out, along with Merci and Nathan.

“Are you driving back to Clampett tonight?” Daniel spoke to his brother.

Merci stepped forward. “My aunt has a little guesthouse. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind putting you up, then you could get a fresh start in the morning.”

“We’ll just play it by ear,” Nathan said. “I think it is important that we get you out of town. Maybe by the time I get back, they will have these guys in custody.”

“You mean because if they do get off that mountain, they will come looking for us here. That seems like a pretty good argument for you to stay at my aunt’s house, too.”

Nathan’s eyes grew wide as though something had occurred to him that he hadn’t thought about before. “Didn’t Lorelei know where you were going?”

“She knew the town, but not the exact address. I was going to give her directions once we got there.” A knot formed in her stomach. Would there ever come a time when she wasn’t looking over her shoulder for the thieves? “We’ll be okay, don’t you think?”

“We’ll certainly be safer there than if we stay around here,” Nathan said.

Having Nathan close by made her feel safer, but she knew the cloud of fear would not lift until all four of the fugitives were in custody.

“Take care,” said Daniel. He pivoted from side to side, a movement that communicated that he didn’t quite know how to handle a goodbye with his brother.

“I will.” Nathan held out his arms and took his brother into an awkward hug. Both of them were treading so lightly around each other. What would it take for them to find healing, for Nathan to feel he could trust his brother again?

Nathan led Merci up the walkway as Daniel drove away. “I’ll just grab a few things if you want to come in for a moment.”

Once inside, everything about Nathan’s house screamed bachelor, from the sports equipment in the foyer to the lack of artwork on the wall.

“Daniel was right about me not having anything edible in the refrigerator, but could you fill up some water bottles for us? They are in the cupboard under the sink. There might be a box of granola bars in there, too. My car is pretty well outfitted for winter travel otherwise.” He disappeared down a hallway.

Merci searched the cupboards, found the water bottles and filled them up. When she turned to face the living room, Nathan had just emerged from a back room. He opened a drawer in a living room cabinet and pulled out a gun.

Merci drew in a breath.

Her gasp must have been audible because Nathan turned to face her. “It’s just a precaution.” He grabbed his cell phone off the top of the desk. “Just like this is a precaution.”

Merci placed her hand into the empty pockets of her coat. “I still don’t know what happened to my purple sparkly phone.”

He turned his head sideways. “Your phone was purple?”

Merci placed the granola bars and water in a canvas bag she found. “Yeah, why?”

“Lorelei was trying to dial out on a purple phone when I saw them in the camp dorms.”

The realization stirred up a mixture of anger and sadness. She tapped one of the water bottles on the counter and shook her head. “She must have taken it and been able to pick up enough reception to call the men to come and get her when they escaped on the snowmobile. She probably wanted to be with Hawthorne or felt she couldn’t continue the ruse anymore since things had gone so wrong. She probably wasn’t even going to go back to college.”

Nathan walked across the room and stood on the opposite side of the counter from her. “It’s hard to say what she was thinking.”

“She must have met Hawthorne in Bozeman, and recently, or I would have remembered seeing them together.” The knot in her stomach got even tighter. “When I saw that police sketch of him, it made me think I have seen him before somewhere, but only briefly.”

“Maybe it will come back to you,” Nathan commented as he moved toward the door.

They walked out to Nathan’s car, got in and drove out of town as a light snow started to fall. “Most of the highway should be plowed by now. Should be a pretty easy drive, not much traffic.”

The sky darkened as they drove for several hours. Nathan put on the windshield wipers to clear off the falling snow. He glanced in the rearview mirror.

She jerked in her seat. “Something wrong?”

Nathan tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “That car has been behind us for a long time. He could have passed us on that last straightaway.”

Merci craned her neck at the two golden lights. “Maybe he is just being cautious because of the weather.”

They drove a while longer. The snow had stopped and the roads looked much clearer. When they came to another straightaway, Nathan slowed to way below the speed limit. The car remained behind them.

“There are cautious drivers in this world, you know.” She sounded more as if she was trying to convince herself than him. The sight of the glowing lights in the rearview mirror sent a shiver up her spine.

Merci leaned forward and studied the button on Nathan’s CD player. “Maybe we should just listen to some music, huh? Get our minds off everything.”

Nathan pushed a button and the strains of violins from classical music filled the car.

“That surprises me,” she said.

“What’s that?”

“I had you pegged as a country music fan. You just seem like the type,” she said.

“I like Handel and Mozart, very big in the country music scene,” Nathan joked.

“I guess I shouldn’t have assumed. There’s probably a lot I am wrong about with you. Like your favorite color.”

“What do you think my favorite color is?” Though their banter was light, Nathan continued to check the rearview mirror.

She thought for a moment. “Blue.”

“Ding ding ding.” Nathan made a noise that mimicked the bell ringing on a game show when a contestant gets the answer right. “What do you think my favorite kind of food is?”

“Pizza,” Merci said.

She didn’t have to glance through the rear window to know they were still being followed. The stiffness of Nathan’s neck and shoulders told her.

Nathan cleared his throat. “Roasted chicken with red baby potatoes and broccoli.”

“Your mother must have loved you,” Merci said. “Pizza is my favorite, actually.”

Nathan drew his attention to the rearview mirror again. “They turned off at that exit.”