Why was she a target?

Merci Carson doesn’t have a clue—but she knows she owes her life to the quiet man who roared to her rescue in his snowmobile. EMT Nathan McCormick is used to handling challenging situations, but between the unexpected blizzard that stranded the lovely student and the desperate men chasing her, he has his hands full. Yet for Nathan, failure is not an option. Merci’s bravery and kindness challenge his guarded heart, bringing every protective instinct forward and making him start to hope for the future. Together, they could be something special—if they can solve the mystery in time.

“Footprints lead off this way.”

Merci came up beside him. She touched his arm for support. “Do you suppose the other two thieves were already at the camp?”

Nathan studied the two sets of prints partially drifted over from snow. “Maybe.” They trudged forward in the darkness, heads down.

The wind had distorted the footprints, and Nathan took a guess at where they were leading. The temperature had to be hovering below zero. The wind picked up, making it even colder.

He felt a tug on his coat. “It’s getting worse. I think I need to stay closer.”

Nathan draped an arm over Merci’s shoulder as both of them put their heads down and leaned into the wind.

He only hoped they had not made a mistake. They had taken a gamble that the weather would hold. Conditions were hazardous at best. A little more wind, a few degrees drop in temperature and they would be fighting for their lives.

SHARON DUNN

has always loved writing, but didn’t decide to write for publication until she was expecting her first baby. Pregnancy makes you do crazy things. Three kids, many articles and two mystery series later, she still hasn’t found her sanity. Her books have won awards, including a Book of the Year award from American Christian Fiction Writers. She was also a finalist for an RT Book Reviews Inspirational Book of the Year award.

Sharon has performed in theater and church productions, has degrees in film production and history and worked for many years as a college tutor and instructor. Despite the fact that her résumé looks as if she couldn’t decide what she wanted to be when she grew up, all the education and experience have played a part in helping her write good stories.

When she isn’t writing or taking her kids to activities, she reads, plays board games and contemplates organizing her closet. In addition to her three kids, Sharon lives with her husband of twenty-two years, three cats and lots of dust bunnies. You can reach Sharon through her website, www.sharondunnbooks.net.

Zero Visibility

Sharon Dunn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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And this I pray, that your love may abound

yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things

that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and

without offence until the day of Christ.

—Philippians 1:9–10

Faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

—Hebrews 11:1

To my Lord and Savior who is patient with me

as I learn to “see” people for who they really are and respond not to appearances, but what is really

in a person’s heart just as God does for me.

I love you, Jesus.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

Merci Carson sucked in a fear-filled breath as the car she was a passenger in swerved on the icy country road. The jumpy view through the windshield fed her panic. Her stomach clenched. She braced her hand on the dashboard.

The driver, Lorelei Frank, gripped the wheel and pumped the brakes. The car fishtailed. Lorelei overcorrected. Both girls screamed at the same time as the car veered off the road and wedged in the snow. Lorelei killed the engine, let out a heavy breath and pressed her head against the back of the seat. “That was really scary.”

Merci sat stunned. She pried her fingers off the dashboard and waited for her heart rate to return to normal. “I wonder how badly we’re stuck.” She took in a deep breath and rolled down the window. Frozen air hit her face as she leaned out for a view of the front wheel. This high up in the mountains, there was snow almost year round. Still, it felt unusually cold for March. “It doesn’t look that bad. Maybe we can back out.”

Lorelei clicked the key in the ignition, but the engine didn’t turn over. Her hand fluttered to her mouth. “Oh, no.”

“Try one more time. Wasn’t the engine still running when we got stuck?”

Lorelei nodded and reached for the key. She clicked it back and forth several times. Each time Merci felt as if a vise was being tightened around her heart. The bleak winter landscape only made her more anxious. If they couldn’t get the car started, who would come to help them? The last car they had seen was right before they had turned off the highway to take Lorelei’s shortcut.

“This is my fault.” The deep crevice between Lorelei’s eyebrows gave away the level of guilt she must be wrestling with. “I’ve only taken this road in the summer. It’s almost spring, I didn’t think the snow would be such a factor.”

“It’s okay.” Merci hoped she had been able to hide the encroaching fear from her voice. Lorelei had been kind enough to offer her a ride to her aunt’s house in Oregon for spring break after her own car had broken down finals week, two days before she needed to leave. After a stressful quarter, Merci had been desperate to see her Aunt Celeste. She patted Lorelei’s hand. Playing the blame game wouldn’t get the car on the road again. “You were only trying to get us there faster.”

“Let’s try one more time.” Lorelei’s hands were shaking as she reached to turn the key in the ignition.

Merci held her breath.

Please, God, let the car start.

Nothing. No engine noise. The car was dead.

Lorelei pulled the key out of the ignition and sat back in her seat, staring at the ceiling while she bit her lower lip. “We must have damaged something when we went off the road.”

Merci pressed her palms together. They were stranded,

but they were not without hope…not yet. They still had options.

Merci took her cell phone out of her pocket. She stared at the purple sequined cover. Who could they call? They were seven hours away from the college and six away from her aunt’s house in Oregon.

Lorelei combed her fingers through her short blond hair. “I’m not sure where I put my phone.”

If she called her aunt, she could look online for them and find out if there was a tow truck in this area that could come to get them. “I’ve got some charge left on mine.” She flipped it open. The “no service” message flashed in front of her.

Lorelei sat up and looked at her.

Merci tried to ignore that sinking feeling in her gut. She closed the phone and responded in a monotone. “The mountains must be blocking the signal.” Nobody was going to come for them.

Both women sat staring out their windows, not saying anything for a long moment.

Merci said a quick prayer and mustered up some optimism. She wasn’t giving up that easily. “Let’s see if we can dig the car out of the snow and then figure out why it won’t start.” She didn’t know much about cars, other than how to put gas and oil in, but they were running out of options.

Lorelei’s expression, that mixture of fear and despair that caused her forehead to wrinkle, didn’t change, but she shrugged and said, “Okay. What else can we do, right?”

“Exactly.” Merci pushed open her door. Strong wind assaulted her before she could get her hands into the sleeves of the lavender dress coat she grabbed off the seat. She let out a breath. The chill cut right through her even after she put the coat on. Rolling the window down had only given her a taste of how cold it was. They’d been insulated in the heated car.

The dark clouds in the sky indicated that a storm was on the way. Bad weather was not what they needed right now. They would have to work fast.

Moving both their suitcases out of the way, she checked the trunk for a shovel. Empty. Okay, so Lorelei didn’t believe in bringing tools with her. Maybe it had been her responsibility to make sure they were better equipped for emergencies. Lorelei was at least four years younger than her. Because she had paid her own way through college by working a year and going to school a year, Merci was older than most college seniors. Her own car had everything she needed for any kind of emergency, but it wasn’t running. She knew about being prepared in the harsh Northwest winters.

She closed the trunk and walked around to the front of the car where Lorelei kicked snow away from the driver’s-side tire. Merci pulled her gloves from her pocket. The snow didn’t look that deep, and only

the front tires were stuck. The back tires were still on the road.

Lorelei leaned over to examine the car tire. “Sorry, I should have brought a shovel.”

“You must have a bucket or some kind of container in the car. If so, then we’ll need something to create traction like sand or kitty litter.” As cold as it was, they weren’t going to last very long before they had to return to the car to warm up. Without the ability to run the heat, even that survival tactic wasn’t going to do them much good for long.

“I don’t think I have either of those, but I can look for something to shovel with.” Lorelei returned to the car’s backseat to search.

Merci crossed her arms over her chest. She stared at the winding path the car had taken though blowing snow had already drifted over some of their tracks. It was too far to walk back to the main road that way. Besides, didn’t all survival shows say to stay with your vehicle? Anxiety knotted her stomach all over again. Had it come to this already, thinking about how they would stay alive? Just moments before, they had been singing along to one of Lorelei’s CDs.

The graying sky indicated that more snow was on the way. This time of year, it got dark early. They had maybe a two-hour window before darkness and colder temperatures meant they would be huddled together and freezing in the car. They had to get out of here.

She leaned down and pushed away the snow with her gloved hand. Working at a frantic pace, it took only moments before she was out of breath. Fighting the wind drained her strength, and her face felt like it had been dipped in a block of ice.

Oh, God, we need help or a better idea about getting this car moving.

The car door slammed, and Lorelei let out a yelp that sounded almost joyful.

Merci pushed herself to her feet. Up the road in the direction they had come, headlights shone. Merci breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes God took forever to answer prayer, and sometimes He answered on the spot.

The car pulled ahead of them and came to a stop.

A man in a leather jacket and thick sweater got out of the driver’s side. “What seems to be the problem here, ladies?” The man’s dark black hair was cut short and slicked back. The huskiness in his voice gave away a smoking habit.

Lorelei rocked from heel to toe. “Boy, are we glad to see you. We got ourselves stuck and now the car won’t start.”

A second shorter, broader man dressed in a puffy orange down coat got out of the passenger side. He looked to be in his early twenties and had long wavy hair. The stringiness of his hair indicated that a shower was a couple of days behind him. Duct tape covered two holes on his oil-stained coat.

The taller man walked toward them, addressing Lorelei. “Why don’t you ladies warm up in our car? I’ve left it idling. We’ll see what we can do.”

“Oh, thank you,” Lorelei gushed.

Treading through the snow, Merci followed Lorelei. It seemed a little odd that the guy had pulled out in front of them instead of stopping behind, and the men had a greasy unwashed quality that was off-putting. But what did she care? She needed to get beyond her own prejudices. God had sent help; that was what mattered. Besides, these men were their only hope of getting back on the road. She slipped into the backseat while Lorelei occupied the front passenger seat. The car was toasty warm.

Lorelei took her gloves off and laced her fingers together. “This was a stroke of luck.”

To Merci it was an answer to prayer, but she didn’t know Lorelei well enough to know if she would understand. They had only had a few classes together and lived in the same dorm.

From the backseat, Merci turned around to see what was going on. One of the men had popped the hood, which blocked most of her view. She couldn’t see where the tall man in the leather jacket was. From this angle, it was hard to tell, but it looked as if the trunk was open, too. He’d figure out soon enough that there wasn’t a shovel in there. Guilt washed through her. It wasn’t right for her to just sit here. She needed to get out and help.

Lorelei had put her earbuds in and closed her eyes. No need to disturb her.

Merci pushed open the door and stepped outside. As she walked to the back of the car, she heard the car door open. Lorelei must be following her.

Merci saw that the man in the orange coat had unzipped her suitcase and was rifling through it. Lorelei let out a loud gasp behind her.

“Stop stealing our stuff,” Merci screamed at the men.

Did they intend to rob them and leave them here to die? What kind of people would do something like that?

The man reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. “Just back off.”

Merci froze in her tracks, focusing on the barrel of the gun. Intense fear made it impossible for her to scream.

The other man pushed open the door of the backseat, stepped out and absorbed the situation. “No way man, it wasn’t supposed to go down like this,” said the tall man in the leather jacket.

“Yes, put the gun away.” Merci’s voice trembled uncontrollably. She felt as if someone was shaking her spine from the inside.

“We’ll give you whatever you want,” said Lorelei. “Just don’t hurt us.”

The short man placed his finger inside the trigger guard.

In the pensive silence, snow fell softly on Merci’s head in sharp contrast to the tornado of fear raging inside her. Would her next breath be her last?

* * *

With his snowmobile idling and partially hidden from view by trees, Nathan McCormick flipped up the visor on his helmet and watched the two parked cars. A man in a leather jacket had lifted the hood and then got into the car. A man in an orange coat had popped the trunk and was looking for something. It was unusual to see anyone on this road next to the mountain acreage he and his brother Daniel had inherited. There was no reason for traffic anymore. His dad had closed down the small ski hill three seasons ago to take care of his ailing mother, and the kids’ camp only ran in the summer. Then a year ago, his mother had died and his father only six months after that. He’d come back to the family cabin one last time to say goodbye and pack up before putting the place on the market.

He wondered why the cars had stopped. It looked like engine trouble. One of the cars was positioned as if it might be stuck. Maybe he should go down and see if they needed an extra hand. He watched a moment longer. A woman in a purple coat got out of the car in front followed by another woman.

He angled the snowmobile downhill and revved the engine preparing to go down to help. The man standing by the trunk pulled out a gun and pointed it at the woman in the purple coat. Nathan’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. He’d stumbled onto a robbery.

Without hesitation, Nathan flipped down the visor on his helmet and zoomed down the mountain. Those women weren’t going to be harmed, not on his watch. Adrenaline shot through him like quicksilver as he increased his speed.

As he drew closer, Nathan saw the second man in a leather jacket get out of the car and a moment later pull a gun, as well. The two women huddled together, stepping back away from the men. The thieves looked up and saw him coming. One fired a shot. He swerved the snowmobile away from the line of fire. The women collapsed in the snow in an effort to protect themselves from flying bullets.

Nathan headed toward the man in the orange coat as though he was going to plow him over. At the last second, he stood up and angled the snowmobile sideways, spraying snow on the man and hitting him with the runners. The man in the orange coat reeled backward. The gun flew out of his hand and fell into the snow. Nathan was between the two women and the stunned would-be robber, who was digging through the snow for his gun. The other man had retreated behind the second car. He was probably waiting to see if Nathan was armed.

Nathan flipped up his visor and yelled to the women, “Get on, get on right now.”

The first woman, the one wearing mostly purple, scrambled to her feet. She grabbed the wrist of the blonde woman, who glanced side to side but didn’t move. The woman in purple pulled her friend toward the snowmobile. She got on the snowmobile, and her friend got on behind her.

The second gunman came out from behind the car just as they sped up the hill. Nathan could hear the gunfire behind him. Leaning down, he steered toward the protection of some trees, while driving the snowmobile around the edge of the forest. The snow fell in big wet clumps, and the wind picked up.

The first woman had wrapped her arms around him and was holding on for dear life. He only hoped the other woman was secure on the seat, as well. The gunmen couldn’t go very fast pursuing them on foot. The route he took on the snowmobile to the family cabin was over the mountain, not on the road, so they wouldn’t be able to follow along in the car. Chances were the men would take whatever was of value in the women’s car and head straight out to the highway.

They traveled in ever increasing cold, wind and snow for about twenty minutes. He felt a gentle pounding on his shoulder and brought the snowmobile to a stop, but let it idle.

He flipped up his visor. “Yes.”

“Where are you taking us?” Fear saturated the woman’s voice.

She was probably wondering if she had just gotten out of one dangerous situation only to land in another.

“Sorry, I was kind of focused on getting you away from the gunfire. We’ll go to my cabin. It’ll be safe there. We’ll call the police. I have a truck. I can take you into town to the police station to file a report. Maybe they can catch these guys before they get too far.”

Her response came after a long pause. “Okay.”

She didn’t sound totally convinced, but what choice did she have? Going back to the cars was unwise, and they couldn’t stay on the side of the mountain with the wind and snow blowing at them.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said, hoping to lessen her anxiety.

By the time they reached the cabin a few minutes later, the storm had become full blown. Tiny sword-like snowflakes came at him sideways. Air seemed to freeze in his lungs.

He brought the snowmobile to a stop, took off his helmet and leaned very close to the woman in purple to shout into her ear. “You and your friend go on inside. The door is unlocked. I’ve got to put the snowmobile away.” He pointed toward the cabin twenty feet away and almost not visible through the blowing snow. “Get warmed up.”

After watching them safely enter, he put the snowmobile in the three-sided shed then stumbled toward the house, reaching out for the rough pine stairs.

He pushed open the door. The two women huddled by the dying fire, bent over and shivering. Both were wearing dressy winter coats, fine for a church service, but nothing that would keep them warm in this kind of weather. They needed to thaw out from the ride on the snowmobile before they headed down the mountain to the police station.

Nathan stoked the fire and threw on another log. From the guest room, he retrieved blankets for them. He placed the blanket over the shoulders of the woman who wore purple.

She pulled her long strawberry-blond hair free of the blanket and whispered, “Thank you.”

The other woman stared at the floor as though she weren’t seeing it. He had worked ten years as a paramedic straight out of high school. His job had taught him a few things about people’s responses to violent crime or any kind of trauma. The blonde would come out of the shock in time. He just needed to keep talking to them, pulling them away from the memory of the violence and back into this safe part of the world.

“How about I get you guys some hot tea? I’m Nathan, by the way.”

“Tea sounds nice.” The strawberry blonde lifted her head and looked at him. “I’m Merci and this is Lorelei. We’re students at Montana State in Bozeman.” He liked the trust he saw in Merci’s eyes. At least she had come around.

“Well, Merci, it’s going to be okay. Soon as you are warmed up, we’ll call the police, go into town and get this taken care of,” he said.

Nathan went into the kitchen and prepared two cups of tea. They really needed to get moving, but neither of the women was in the state of mind emotionally or physically for a ride down the mountain. It wouldn’t hurt to give them a few minutes to recover.

The blonde didn’t take the cup when he offered it, so he placed it on the table beside her before returning to the kitchen to clean up. A moment later, when he peeked out, he watched Merci gently place the steaming mug in her friend’s hand and encourage her to sip.

He stared at the storm through the window as he made his way back through the living room. With the amount of snow falling and the intense wind, visibility had been reduced.

“I suppose we should make that call to the police,” Nathan suggested. “The sooner we get this done, the faster the police will be looking for the guys that robbed you.”

Merci set her empty cup down. The color had come back into her face, and her eyes looked brighter. She was kind of pretty. Lorelei had at least raised her head and taken a few sips of tea. The almost invisible freckles on Merci’s cheekbones and her white eyelashes gave her a soft, translucent quality, like a water color painting.

Lorelei shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t want to talk about what happened. I don’t want to go to the police.”

“She needs a few more minutes.” Merci rose to her feet and walked over to Nathan. The fear had returned to her eyes. “Could you make the call? You saw what the men looked like and what they were driving. I don’t think either of us is ready to talk about this just yet.”

“Sure, I can do that.” His heart filled with compassion. Because he was an EMT, he was used to handling traumatic situations. But this might have been the first time these women had even seen a gun. He tempered his voice, hoping not to stir up the fear again. “When we get to the station, they will want more details. Can you tell me what you were doing down there? Did you know those guys?”

Merci explained about the shortcut and getting stuck and how the men had shown up.

Nathan kept his thought to himself, but it sounded as if the women had been targeted. The only thing more vulnerable than two college-age women traveling together was one traveling alone. The men had probably been following them and waiting for an opportune time to rob them.

He kicked himself for not having gotten there five minutes earlier. Then this whole thing could have been prevented. He would have helped them with their car and gotten them on their way.

Nathan picked up the phone and dialed into the sheriff’s office. He recognized Deputy Miller’s voice.

“Hey, Travis, I’m up at the cabin and I’ve got two young women here who were robbed up on Jefferson Creek Road.” He briefly described the men and the car they were driving. “They should be able to give more details by the time I bring them in. They’re still a little shell-shocked.”

“I haven’t noticed a car in town matching that description. Doesn’t sound like they’re from around here.” Travis Miller’s slow drawl came across the line. “So you’re up there playing hostess with the mostest to college co-eds. Tough duty, huh?”

Nathan rolled his eyes at the friendly jab. Clampett, Idaho, was not a big town. Driving an ambulance in a town of twenty thousand meant that he was cozy enough with all of the first responders to joke around. “That’s right, I’m the Martha Stewart of the mountain. I’ll bring them in shortly.”

“Better hurry, that snow is coming down fast. Getting the road up to your place plowed isn’t county priority since there is no traffic up there anymore.” Travis said goodbye and hung up.

Nathan returned to the living room. Merci had risen from her chair and was looking at family photographs on the mantel. She picked up one of the framed pictures. “Is this your mom and dad?”

A sharp pain sliced through him. He hadn’t been up to this cabin since his dad’s funeral. He had a place in town. When his mom and dad were alive, the cabin had been used for family gatherings and vacations. He had come up here to clear away all those photos, to pack them in a box where they wouldn’t evoke sorrow every time he looked at them. “Yes, they passed away a little bit ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her voice filled with compassion as she placed the photo back on the mantel with care. “You look really happy in these pictures.”

“I suppose we were.” He laid the photo facedown, not wanting to think about what his life used to be. “I don’t live up here, and all this stuff is just gathering dust. It needs to be packed up so the place can be sold.”

“I think pictures are a beautiful treasure.” She picked up a second photo. “Is this you with a friend?”

Nathan felt himself retreating emotionally as he took the frame from her hand. The image was of him and his older brother, Daniel, when they were maybe twelve and fourteen, practicing archery at the camp. Their hair shimmered in the summer sun, and both were smiling. His relationship with Daniel had been strained for the past ten years and had only gotten worse when their mother and father died.

He really didn’t want to talk about his brother…not to a stranger. Not to anyone. “He’s my brother.” Merci had probably thought she could make up for having reminded him of his parents’ death by talking about his “friend.” Instead, she had opened an even deeper wound. “We need to get going. If we wait too long, even my four-wheel drive isn’t going to get us off this mountain.”

TWO

Merci slipped into the truck next to Nathan, and Lorelei climbed in beside her. It had taken some coaxing to even get Lorelei to agree to go. She wasn’t handling this well at all.

The sound of the engine turning over made Merci breathe a little easier. At least the truck was running. Snow fell in clumps. The wipers worked furiously to keep it off the windshield. At best, they could see maybe five feet in front of them.

Nathan pressed a button, and a blast of heat hit her. “Warm enough for you?”

Nathan had found them both extra clothes to put on underneath their dress coats. “Yes, that’s good.” She stole a glance at the man who had saved their lives. His brown eyes held kindness. “Thank you…for all you’ve done for us.”

“No problem.” He leaned forward to see better through the window, focusing on his driving. His answer was so abrupt. Maybe he was still upset over her asking questions about his family. He probably thought she was nosy. She hadn’t meant to step on toes or reopen old wounds. It was just that in the pictures of his family, everyone looked so happy. She only understood the concept of happy families from television shows.

She’d been an only child. Her father, an international businessman, traveled all the time. Having to raise a child alone had made her mother depressed and resentful. Merci had always felt as if she was in the way of their happiness, not a part of it. Though her mother would never say it, she seemed happier when Merci was old enough to stay with relatives, and she could travel with her husband. Her aunt Celeste, her father’s sister, had been the stabilizing force in her life. When her parents left for Hong Kong or London, she had stayed with Auntie in the little town of Grotto Falls, Oregon, that never changed. Even though she would be twenty-six in a month, she found herself running to the stability and the love that her aunt provided.

“I’m just grateful you came along when you did, that’s all.” Merci folded her hands in her lap.

“Once I saw what was going on, I couldn’t very well have left you there.” Nathan gazed at her for a moment, offering her a lopsided smile that sent a charge of warmth through her. “Besides, I’m an EMT. I can’t help myself. I had to rescue you.”

She was glad he was able to look past whatever pain she had caused by talking about his family. In addition to showing bravery in facing the armed robbers, he seemed like a truly kind and decent person.

The truck slid, and Nathan gripped the wheel tighter. Lorelei let out a tiny scream, and Merci patted her leg.

“This is scary.” Lorelei’s voice was barely above a whisper. “We should have stayed at the cabin.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll make it. I can handle this snow just fine,” Nathan said.

Up ahead, the mountain road intersected with a flatter road. That must be the country two-lane they’d taken when they turned off the highway.

Nathan slowed the truck down. “There’s something on the road down there.”

Merci couldn’t make out anything but windblown snow.

Nathan braked. The truck slid before coming to stop. Now she could discern the dark lump at the intersection of the two roads.

“Sit tight.” He pushed open the door. “Let me go check it out. I’ll leave the engine running so the cab will stay warm.”

He stepped away from the truck. Within a few feet, the blowing snow consumed him. It cleared momentarily, and she saw his bright-colored ski jacket as he made his way toward the dark mass.

* * *

Nathan’s boots sank down into the deep snow. He pulled his leg out and tried to find the center of the road where the snow would be more hard packed. He’d been on the mountain in winter before, but this was the worst he’d ever seen it. At least a foot of snow had fallen in a short amount of time.

He wasn’t worried. He’d get the two women down this mountain. He had confidence in his skill as a driver, and his truck was designed for these kinds of conditions. If the women could file a report, it would make capture that much more likely. Taking action would also help them get past the trauma. Lorelei seemed to be shutting down by degrees. The compassion her friend Merci showed her touched him. Merci seemed like a strong, capable young woman.

The wind cleared and a dark colored car partially covered in snow came into view. It looked as though the car had slid off the road. As he drew closer, he saw that it was the car that belonged to the thieves. He slowed his pace.

The car was facing east, which meant the thieves were headed back to Clampett when they got stuck. The impending storm must have made them decide to go back the way they had come, rather than face the unknown of how long the country road stretched on before it met up with the highway going west. From the way the car was wedged, lack of familiarity with the road and reduced visibility had caused them to veer over into a ditch and get stuck. The car blocked enough of the intersection between mountain road and country road to make it hard for him to get his truck around without ending up stuck, too.

He approached the car with caution. When he peered through the windows, he saw that it was empty. Where had the men gone? The wind had blown quite a bit, but he could make out the soft impression of foot tracks leading back up the mountain road.

Nathan exhaled, creating a cloud. His eyes followed the direction the men had walked. The two thugs might have seen the tall light by the cabin or maybe it had cleared enough for them to see smoke rising out of the chimney. In any case, they probably thought they could find shelter up the road, not realizing the cabin belonged to the man who had just seen them trying to rob the women. Though it looked as if they had veered into the forest, the thieves were headed up the mountain where he had left the women alone in the truck.

Adrenaline kicked in and every muscle in Nathan’s body tensed. He ran back toward the truck.

* * *

Lorelei tapped her feet on the floorboards of the truck. “I don’t see what good going to the police will do. Those guys are probably long gone.”

Merci cleared her throat. Part of her just wanted to get on a bus to her aunt’s house where it was safe and forget all this had happened. “I know it’s hard to think about, but what if those guys try to rob someone else? We need to tell the police what we know. We have to make every effort to make sure they’re caught.”

Lorelei crossed her arms over her chest and bent her head. “I guess I just don’t like police very much.”

Merci sighed and listened to the rhythmic movement of the windshield wipers. She took in her surroundings, what she could see of them. This road looked as if it had been cut out of the side of the mountain. Out of Lorelei’s window was a steep bank where the road dropped off. On the driver’s side was a slight upslope that jutted against an evergreen forest. The mountain road was a single lane at best.

Merci stared out the windshield. Even before Nathan emerged from behind the veil of snow, running and shouting something they couldn’t hear, she knew they were in trouble.

Lorelei raised her head like a deer alerted to a distant noise as she gazed out the driver’s-side window. Merci turned her head, zooming in on the movement in the trees. She saw flashes of color, branches breaking and then the man in the orange coat was on the road pointing the gun through the driver’s-side window. Merci reached over and locked the door.

Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as her heart pounded in her chest. All of her attention focused on the barrel of the gun. The man in the orange coat stepped closer. He had a scar that ran from his lip to his ear. Murder filled his eyes as he lifted the gun.

Lorelei shouted, “No,” and pulled Merci’s head down to the truck seat, a quick reaction that saved both their lives.

Glass shattered, sprinkling everywhere. Cold wind blew into the cab.

“Give me the truck.” The man shouted through the broken window.

Nathan came up behind Orange Coat, grabbing him around the neck and wrestling him to the ground. The second man, the one in the leather jacket, emerged from the trees.

Nathan rattled the handle and then reached through the broken window to unlock the door.

The second thief was free of the trees and close enough to take aim.

Nathan jumped behind the wheel, clicked into reverse and hit the accelerator. His arm covered the women and pushed them lower as another bullet hit the truck, creating a metallic echo.

Nathan continued to back the truck up, swerving and looking behind him. Another shot was fired. This one fell short.

The truck labored to get up the road backward. When she peered above the dashboard, the two men were on the road coming after them, and a third man emerged from the trees. Lorelei gasped. She saw the third man, too.

The blowing snow enveloped the three figures on the road.

Going back to the cabin didn’t seem like such a good idea. The men would know where they were. “Isn’t there some way we can get into town?” Merci found the courage to sit up a little straighter.

“Their car is blocking the intersection. If I try to go around it, I’ll get stuck.” Nathan craned his neck, focusing on the narrow road behind him.

The cab of the truck grew colder as the wind blew through the shattered window. The passenger-side window also had a spider-web break where the first bullet had exited.

The back tire slipped off the edge of the road. The truck leaned at a precarious angle. Nathan gunned the engine and then let up several times trying to rock the car out of the rut.

“I can’t get any traction.” His voice filled with tension.

“We can push it out,” Merci suggested.

Nathan tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. “I don’t know if that is a good idea in this cold weather.”

The truck slid again. Lorelei let out a moan and dug her fingers into Merci’s forearm.

“This thing is sliding off the bank.” Nathan commanded, “Get out now on my side.”

Nathan pushed on the door, crawled through and then reached first for Merci, lifting her easily onto the road. He held his hands out for Lorelei to grab on to. Wind drove the snow into their skin like thousands of icy needles. At least, the trunk of her body stayed warm. She was grateful for the extra clothes Nathan had given them.

“Stay linked together,” Nathan shouted above the wind. “We’re not that far from the cabin.” He hooked his arm through Merci’s and Merci grabbed onto Lorelei. Heads bent and leaning into the wind, they trudged up the hill.

Merci’s heart still hadn’t slowed from their close encounter with the gunmen. Though her muscles grew tired after only a few minutes, Nathan’s strength pulled her forward. She couldn’t see anything in front of her. She had to trust that Nathan knew his way back to the cabin. She leaned against him, sliding her feet one after the other.

She tightened her grip around Lorelei when she felt her weakening, slipping away. It was useless to shout words of encouragement. She bent over at the waist ignoring how cold her face and hands had become.

After a while Nathan slipped free of her. She had a fearful moment of wondering what had happened and then his gloved hand found hers. He placed it on something solid…the railing that led up to the cabin.

They were here.

They had made it.

She collapsed on the stairs. A moment later, strong arms lifted her, and she rested against a warm chest. She clung to the flannel shirt that smelled of wood smoke and musk. He laid her on the couch. She opened her eyes.

She didn’t have to fight the strong wind anymore. No more icy chill embedded under her skin. Warm tears formed.

He placed a blanket over her and pulled it up to her chin. “You’re just exhausted and cold. No frostbite or anything.” His hand covered hers. The heat of his touch seeped through to her core.

Merci shook her head. “This has all been a bit much.” Her arms and legs felt like cooked noodles.

Lorelei had resumed her position, sitting bent over by the fire. How had she had the presence of mind to pull Merci out of the trajectory of that bullet? She owed Lorelei her life for her quick thinking.

“What are we going to do now?” Merci’s question held unspoken fears. If the men couldn’t get out, they’d be seeking shelter, too. The cabin would be the first place they’d look, and now there were three of them. She could only guess at where the third man had been during the robbery. Waiting down the road to be picked up or hiding in the trees? There must not have been a second car or they would have used it to escape. “I don’t know if we should stay here.”

Nathan shook his head. “Even if we didn’t have to deal with this storm, the snow will be too deep by morning to get anywhere on the snowmobile. The truck is probably not viable. We can’t get out, anyway, with the thieves’ car blocking the road.”

Merci sat up. “Is there another road out?”

“Not from the cabin,” Nathan said. “There’s a kids’ camp not far from here and a ski hill farther up the mountain. They both have roads that come out on the other side of the mountain.”

Lorelei looked at him. “All that is on this mountain?”

He nodded. “It doesn’t help us any, though. I don’t think there are any vehicles left at either place.”

Merci absorbed what he was saying. “There’s nobody at the camp or the ski hill or a house that is close by? Nobody who might be able to help us?”

“There are no other cabins on this section of the mountain. We hired a security guy to do periodic patrols, but he doesn’t live there,” he said. “It would be suicide to try and go anywhere in this storm on foot.”

“So we stay here…and wait?” Fear coiled inside Merci.

“You might as well try to get some sleep. You two can have the guest bedroom.” He pointed across the living room. “I’ll call the police station again and let them know what is going on.”

Lorelei shook her head in disbelief and wrung her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening this way.”

Lorelei was even more shaken than she was. Merci lifted her legs off the couch and placed her feet on the carpet so she faced Lorelei. “It’ll be all right. We’ll get this all straightened out in the morning. We can get the car towed and fixed and be on our way. In no time, it’s all going to feel like a bad dream… .” Her voice faltered. Though she had always been an optimist to a fault, even she was having a hard time believing her own words.

“Once the roads are clear, I can even take you back down to the car. We might be able to get it started.” Nathan offered.

All their attempts at trying to put a positive spin on what had happened did very little to change the look of anxiety on Lorelei’s face.

“I’ll grab you guys some extra blankets.” Nathan rose to his feet and disappeared around a corner.

Lorelei got up and trudged toward the door where Nathan had pointed. She stopped for a moment to look out the window. She was probably thinking about the thieves, too. Chances were the thieves would come looking for shelter. They weren’t safe here. Lorelei shut the door quietly.

Nathan returned, holding a pile of blankets. “It can get kind of chilly in the rooms.”

Merci took the blankets, grateful for the care Nathan had shown. Maybe that was the one good thing about all of this. She had met someone who cared about the welfare of strangers. “You are truly a good Samaritan. I’m so sorry that helping us has led to even more trouble.”

“It’s not your doing.” He offered her a faint smile. He walked to the front door and slid the bolt in place. He made his way across the living room, checking window latches. “If you don’t mind, I might sleep out here on the couch just to keep an eye on things.” He clicked the deadbolt on the back door into place.

The sound of the bolts sliding was like a hammer blow to her heart. Nathan hadn’t said anything about owning a gun. Though she was grateful for Nathan’s vigilance and his effort at remaining calm, if the thieves decided to break in, she knew they were no match against three armed men.

THREE

For the fifth time in the night, Nathan woke up in darkness. He lay with his eyes open, absorbing the sounds around him. Wind rattled the windows. The big living room clock ticked. He got to his feet yet again and made his rounds through the house to make sure everything was secure.

He stopped before checking the front door and stared out the big living room window. Snow whirled and danced in the beam created by the porch light. The storm looked as if it had let up a little. At least two feet of snow, maybe more, had fallen.

He glanced back at the door to the guest bedroom. He hadn’t heard any noise from them. He was glad the two women had been able to sleep. When he had tried to call the police station a second time, the phone was dead. The weight of the snow on the phone lines had probably destroyed the connection. The house ran on a generator, so that had not been affected. He hadn’t brought a cell phone or a laptop, intending for the weekend to be a time of prayer and saying goodbye to the cabin that held so many fond memories.

His hand touched the windowsill as he peered out into the darkness. Maybe they had gotten lucky and the thieves had opted to seek shelter in their car instead of hiking up the mountain to the cabin.

In the morning, he would find out if either of the women had a cell phone, but for now he didn’t want them to worry. It would be easier to face tomorrow’s challenges after a full night’s sleep.

He stared out the window. Something moved just beyond the circle of illumination created by the porch light. He watched. There it was again. He saw a flash of yellow, the same color as Lorelei’s coat. Then he noticed that the bolt on the door was slid back. She hadn’t been in a clear mental state since the robbery. Maybe she had really lost it and was wandering in the cold. He needed to get out there ASAP.

He slipped into his boots and put his coat on. He’d yell for her. If she didn’t respond right away, he’d have to go back inside and get more winter gear on. He stepped out on the porch, but couldn’t see anything.

His breath formed clouds when he called her name. He studied the forms and shadows through the falling snow, trying to pick out movement.

The blow to his head came without warning. He tumbled off the side of the porch into the snow as blackness descended.

* * *

Merci stirred beneath the covers of the twin bed. The bedspread was baseball-themed, something a young boy might like. Nathan and the brother he didn’t want to talk about must have shared this room when they were kids. Funny that he called it the guest room instead of referring to it as his old room.

Merci reached over and clicked on the light by her bed. Lorelei’s bed was empty.

Concerned about her friend, Merci sat up and pulled back the covers. She plodded across the room and into the living room. Nathan’s door was shut. He must have found the couch uncomfortable and gone to his room. Lorelei wasn’t in the living room or in the kitchen. When she checked the bathroom, it was empty, as well.

Lorelei had been traumatized by the attack, even more so than Merci. Maybe she wasn’t thinking rationally. Merci took a deep breath to try to minimize the rising panic as she walked toward the living room window.

The wind wasn’t blowing quite so hard, but the snow fell in heavy clumps. She pressed a little closer to the window. Though she was covered in shadow, Lorelei was outside. What was she doing?

Merci flung open the door, and the cold wind hit her. She yelled Lorelei’s name. Lorelei turned slightly, but didn’t look at Merci. Maybe she couldn’t hear through the howling wind.

Merci ran back to the room, slipped into a sweater and jeans, grabbed her coat and put her boots on. She opened the door and stepped out on the porch. Silence greeted her. Where had Lorelei gone?

Her heart drummed in her ears as she scanned the empty landscape. One set of footprints looked newer than the others, where less snow had drifted over.

She stepped off the porch. “Lorelei.” She sank down into the deep snow as she followed footprints away from the cabin.

A mechanical noise, the sound of an engine starting up, broke the silence. Headlights sliced through the darkness and then the snowmobile emerged from a three-sided shed. The tall man in the leather coat who had tried to rob them earlier was driving. Lorelei stepped out behind him. When the thief saw Merci, he grabbed Lorelei and pulled her toward the snowmobile.

Merci raced toward them. The man pulled a gun out of a coat pocket and pointed it at Lorelei. He said something to her, and she got on the snowmobile.

He pointed the gun at Merci and then at Lorelei. “Back off or she dies.”

“You better do what he says.” Lorelei’s voice cracked.

“No, Lorelei, I won’t let them take you.” She grabbed Lorelei’s sleeve.

The man reached up and hit Merci hard against the jaw with the butt of the gun. She fell backward. Pain, intense and hot, spread across her face. Her eyes watered. When she looked toward the house, Nathan was standing up at the far side of the stairs.

The man revved the motor, preparing to take off. Merci turned to face the thug as Nathan’s footsteps pounded behind her.

Nathan, dressed in his boots and an open coat, jumped in front of Merci. “Get off my snowmobile.” He hit the man across the face with a right hook.

Lorelei screamed and scooted back on the seat.

The man leaned sideways, recovering just in time to lift the gun as Nathan grabbed him and yanked him off the snowmobile. The gun flew out of the thief’s hand.

Merci crab-walked backward in the snow. The two men struggled, rolling around on the ground. The thief freed himself of Nathan’s grasp, scrambling for his gun where it had fallen in the snow.

Out of breath, Nathan lunged toward the man.

The man hit him with the butt of the gun just as he rose to his feet. Nathan reeled backward and fell in the snow, not moving.

The man crawled back on the snowmobile. Lorelei sat stunned. Her eyes glazed as though she didn’t really comprehend all that was happening. The man revved the snowmobile and lurched forward. Merci waited for the backward glance from Lorelei, but it never happened. She tried to get to her feet to chase them, but sank down in the snow. The snowmobile disappeared into the trees, and the engine noise faded.

Out of breath and shaking, Merci crawled over to where Nathan lay. Blood dripped from his cheek.

She shook him. “Please, please be okay.”

His eyelids fluttered. Brown eyes looked at her. “Hey,” his voice was weak, but his eyes brightened when he saw her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed he had thrown his coat over his pajama bottoms. “You’re shivering. Take my hand. Let’s get you inside.” The struggle had chilled her, but he was probably nearing hypothermia. She was dressed for the cold and hadn’t had to roll in the snow with the thief.

He sat up swaying and blinking rapidly. “What about the snowmobile and Lorelei?”

“It’s too late. We can’t catch them.” She slipped in under his arm and helped him to his feet. “Let’s get you warmed up.”

“I’m an EMT. I know what to do. I just need to…” His voice trailed off.

She helped him up the stairs and through the door, easing him down into the chair by the fire.

“The coat needs to come off, it’s wet.” She peeled it off his shoulders and put it aside. She drew the same blanket he had offered her earlier over his muscular shoulders. His lips were drained of color, and he was still shivering. She touched his cheeks with her palms, forcing eye contact. “Better?”

He drew the blanket closer as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Getting there. I…he knocked me off the porch…hit my head.” He touched the back of his head and winced.

She hadn’t even seen Nathan as she had raced down the stairs in search of Lorelei. “How long were you there?” She covered his freezing hands.

“I was only out for a few minutes. I came to, and I saw you struggling.”

She pulled his boots off. The inside lining of his boot was wet from where the snow had seeped in. His bare feet weren’t blue, but they looked cold. She cupped her hand over one. “Can you feel that?”

He nodded. “Exposure wasn’t long enough for frostbite, just kind of cold.”

She grabbed a throw from the couch and secured it around his feet. “Now it’s my turn to make you tea.” She rose to her feet and went into the kitchen. She allowed herself only a momentary glance out the window. Lorelei was out there somewhere with those animals. They were going to have to find her before anything bad happened. If it hadn’t already.

* * *

Heat slowly returned to Nathan’s body as he listened to Merci work in the kitchen. A tingling sensation came into his feet and hands. He wasn’t accustomed to being the one needing first aid. She had handled herself like a pro.

In the kitchen, the kettle whistled. Merci hummed while she made the tea. He caught an undercurrent of tension in her singing. Her feet padded softly on the wood floor. She brought the steaming mug on a tray and set it on the table beside him.

She picked up a wet washcloth and pointed to his cheek. “You have blood on your face that needs to be cleaned.” She leaned toward him and touched the warm cloth to his face.

He drew back, surprised by the pain. “It must be pretty bad, huh?” He was going to have a knob on the back of his head where he had been hit, too.

She dabbed at the cut. Her face was close enough to his that her cool breath fluttered across his lips. “It’s a pretty big gash.”

“I have a butterfly bandage I can use to get it to close up,” he said.

“Let me get it. Where is it?”

He really wasn’t used to being the patient. “There is a first-aid kit in my bathroom, but I can get it.” He rose to get up.

She placed a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder. “Sit.”

Something in her tone told him argument would be futile. He listened to her open and close several drawers and then she returned, placed the first-aid kit on the table by his chair and tore the bandage out of the wrapping.

“Hold still.” She leaned close, her touch as delicate as feathers brushing over his skin.

Her proximity sent a surge of heat up his face. Surprised by the sudden smolder of attraction, he turned slightly away.

“Hold still.” She grabbed his chin and readjusted his head.

She was all business. Obviously, the feelings were not mutual. “Really, I could do this myself if I looked in a mirror.” She ignored him and finished the job.

“There, that should do it.” She sat back on the hassock between the two chairs. Her hand brushed over his cheek as she scrutinized her work. “You shouldn’t have any scarring.”

He touched the bandage and then looked at her. He studied her full lips, delicate—almost invisible—eyebrows and her freckles. Her green eyes widened. For a moment, time stood still and he forgot what they had just been through and what they faced. She was a lovely young woman.

She cast her gaze downward at the bloody cloth where she had placed it on the tray. Her expression grew serious and her soft full lips drew into a tight line.

She didn’t have to say anything for him to know what she was thinking about. It had been on his mind, too. Lorelei was out there with armed men who had no qualms about using violence.

“What’s going to happen to her?” Merci couldn’t hide her anguish.

“I don’t know. He must have come back for the snowmobile, thinking that would get him and the others off the mountain. They might get a little ways, but even that won’t be good in the deeper snow.”

“But why would they take Lorelei?”

He shook his head. “Maybe he thought it would be easier to get away if he had a hostage.”

Merci nodded. “He did say if I came close, he would hurt Lorelei.”

“The others must have been waiting for him in the trees. You can’t fit four people on that snowmobile. He might let her go once he thinks he’s gotten far enough away.”

Her eyes widened with fear. “That would mean she would be wandering out there in the cold.” She brought her fingers up to her mouth and shook her head. “Or he might just kill her when she is not useful to him anymore.”

Judging from what he had seen so far, that was a possibility. He kept the thought to himself. Merci was worried enough.

“She went outside in the middle of the night like she was not in her right mind. I remember reading stories in history class about pioneer women who just walked out in the cold and died because the struggle for survival just got to be too much for them.”

Still feeling a little wobbly, Nathan rose to his feet. “She was kind of falling apart.”

Merci shuddered, then lifted her chin. A look of resolve came over her face. “We have to rescue her.”

He didn’t disagree, but they were no match for armed men. If they were to get any distance at all, they needed a break in the storm. “We don’t have any way to defend ourselves.”

“She saved my life when they attacked us in your truck.” Her eyes pleaded. “We have to do something. Maybe they’ll just let her go in the woods.”

That would be the best case scenario. “We might be able to bring her back to the cabin, but not if the thieves are close by.”

Her jerky movement as she ran her fingers through her hair revealed how anxious she was. “Maybe the police will try harder to get up here now that they know what we are dealing with.”

He hated hitting her with more bad news, but he needed to tell her the truth. “The phone line is not working. I wasn’t able to make that second call.” He braced for her reaction.

Merci sucked in a sharp breath before responding. “We have no way to contact anyone?”

“Do you have a cell phone?”

She shoved her hands in the pocket of her purple coat. “I thought I put it back in my pocket when we were at the car, but maybe I didn’t…or it might have fallen out of my pocket outside.” She rose to her feet and looked up at him. “What are we going to do to help her?”

His mind reeled, searching for possible solutions. “If they came back for the snowmobile thinking it would help them escape, they’ll get bogged down in the snow eventually.”

Merci’s eyes brightened. “So they would be on foot. That means we might be able to catch them and get Lorelei back.”

Nathan nodded. “If we get a break in the storm, we can follow the tracks. I have snowshoes and warm weather gear.”

She moved away from him and collapsed on the couch. “It’s not a smart plan, is it?”

“It’s the only viable plan we have.” He paced. “We’ll only go out a short distance. When the snowmobile becomes unviable, they might head back toward the cabin. We’ll have the element of surprise on our side.”

She laced her fingers together and bent her head. She stared at the floor for a long time as though she were mulling over what they were about to do. “We can’t leave her out there. And we can’t just wait here and hope they come back and that she is with them. You saw what those men were capable of.”

“There is a lot of ‘ifs’ to this plan.” He shook his head. “Taking her just doesn’t make a lot of sense even if she was some sort of insurance policy to get away. Maybe this isn’t a simple robbery. Is your friend rich?”

Merci shrugged. “I really don’t know her that well.”

“But you took a ride with her.” He hadn’t intended to sound accusatory.

“I was desperate. I had a terrible finals week. Someone stole textbooks out of my dorm room. I failed chemistry. My dad sent me a letter saying he and mom weren’t going to be in the States for the spring break. He thought it would soften the blow if he sent a care package, too. The final insult was that my car broke down two days before I was supposed to leave. All I could think about was how being with Aunt Celeste would make the world seem right again. I was checking the Share a Ride bulletin board when Lorelei came up to me and said she was driving to western Oregon and could drop me off.”

College students caught rides with fellow students all the time. Still, it seemed a little impulsive on Merci’s part. “So how well did you know her?”

“We weren’t best friends or anything.” Merci gathered her long hair in her hand and twisted it while she talked. “We’re in the same dorm, and we had a marketing class together last year. We worked on a project together. She’s a serious student.”

Nathan walked to the window and stared out at the deep snow. The wind wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier and the snowfall was lighter.

Merci came up behind him. “We have to do this, Nathan. She saved my life. There is no one else to help her. I’m afraid for her.”

He hated putting Merci in harm’s way. But going alone would be foolhardy, too. His resolve solidified. They had to at least try. “I have an extra pair of snowshoes. I don’t have another coat, so you will have to wear the one you have. Let’s see if we can find all the winter gear we can.”

In twenty minutes, Nathan gathered together everything he thought they might need and filled their backpacks with food and water. When he looked out the window, the storm seemed to be breaking up. There was less snow and wind.

Merci followed Nathan out onto the porch. Darkness still covered the sky, but the wind had stopped blowing. He took a moment to show her how to strap the snowshoes on. “Step lightly. Don’t waste energy pulling yourself out of the snow.”

She nodded, her face filled with trust. “Is that it?”

He picked up a silk balaclava that had been his

brother’s. “Wear this under your hat. It’ll keep your face warm.” He slipped it over her head.

“And it makes me look like a ninja.”

He smiled, grateful for the moment of humorous relief.

“Stay close. The wind isn’t bad now, but it’s important that we always be able to see each other. I’ll slow down if I need to. Are you sure about this?”

The trusting green eyes gazed up at him. “I couldn’t live with myself if something bad happened to her, knowing that I didn’t at least try to help her.”

“Me, either,” He said before taking in a prayer-filled breath. “Let’s do this.”

Nathan clicked on his flashlight and took the lead. Merci followed in his tracks. Snow swirled out of the sky. When he looked over his shoulder, she was keeping up, but the distance between them had increased.

The snowmobile tracks were easy enough to follow, making clear grooves as the snow got deeper and deeper. They were only about half a mile from the cabin when they found the abandoned snowmobile stuck in the snow.

Nathan lifted his head and shone the light. “Footprints lead off this way.”

Merci came up beside him, breathing heavily. “Do you suppose the other two thieves were waiting for them somewhere?”

“Maybe.” He studied the two sets of prints partially drifted over from snow. “I can tell you one thing. He’s not taking her back to the cabin.”

Merci came up beside him and shone her flashlight. “There’s not any blood. No sign of struggle. She must still be okay. Where are they going?”

“These footprints point toward the camp.” He took off his gloves and tightened the drawstring around his hood. The temperature had to be below zero, but at least the wind wasn’t blowing too bad.

“How would they even know about the camp?”

Nathan shrugged. “Maybe they saw the signs when they drove in and remembered it.”

“How far is it to the camp?” She clamped her gloved hand on his forearm.

He turned and shone his light on the cluster of trees and the trail behind him. “It’s only a little farther to go to the camp than it is to go back to the cabin.” He remembered something that lifted his spirits. “My father used to keep a rifle in the camp office to use in case of bear attacks. Only the stuff that varmints will damage gets taken out of the camp in the off-season. I think the rifle is left there.”

“If we had a gun, it would be easier to get Lorelei back.” Hope tinged Merci’s voice.

The decision was not a hard one to make. He knew the layout of the camp like the back of his hand, had keys to all the buildings and a rifle meant they could defend themselves if they had to. The odds had shifted a little. “Let’s keep going.”

They trudged forward in the dark. The flashlight beam illuminated a small path in front of them. Merci fell a few paces behind him. After about thirty minutes, the wind picked up again. The break in the storm had been short-lived as the snowfall became heavier again.

He felt a tug on his coat. “It’s getting worse. I think I need to stay closer.”

Nathan draped an arm over Merci’s shoulder as both of them put their heads down and leaned into the wind. He only hoped they had not made a mistake. They had taken a gamble that the weather would hold. Conditions were hazardous at best. A little more wind, a few degrees’ drop in temperature and they would be fighting for their lives.

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