by Suzanne Cass
“What? I’m not going anywhere.” Stella’s hand tightened on his arm. Wyatt looked up. Everyone was staring at her. “You’re not taking me anywhere,” she repeated when nobody answered her.
“I’ll do it.” Cat squared her shoulders and tilted her chin toward Stella. “I’ll take her on my motorcycle, they won’t catch us on that. You should stay here,” she said to Levi. “Wyatt will need someone on the ground who can give him feedback, let him know what’s going on. Someone he trusts. And you’re in the service; they’ll tell you more than any of us.”
“Why is no one listening to me?” Stella thumped the table with her fist. “I’m. Not. Going. Anywhere,” she repeated succinctly. “I’ll be safe enough at Stargazer.”
Tony spoke up for the first time in a while, one hand still covering his nose. “I hate to say it, but gno, you won’t. Dmytro will hunt you down. He gnows about you. He’ll use you to get to him.” His gaze shot in Wyatt’s direction as he dabbed at the blood trickling from his nose.
“How the hell does Dmytro know about Stella?” Wyatt felt the boiling anger in his gut flare again at Tony’s words.
Tony shrunk back, then gave a half-hearted shrug. “It was the only way I could get away from his henchmen. They cornered me in Missoula yesterday. Anton Babich was with them.” Tony shuddered as he said the name. “I had to give them something, or they would’ve tortured me.”
Wyatt had heard the name before. He was Dmytro’s top hitman, if the rumors were to be believed. Wyatt wasn’t scared of a rumor, and it disgusted him that Tony had talked so easily.
Stella gasped beside him, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“And you what? Told them I had the diamonds? Is that how they found out I worked at CJ’s, too?”
The wiry man nodded, sensing it was better not to speak.
“So, you’re the reason Bryce is dead?” Wyatt ground out between gritted teeth. Tony had the courtesy to look sheepish. He took a step backward, away from the dark hatred Wyatt knew must be gleaming in his eyes. “I’m going to kill you.” Wyatt hurled himself at Tony for the second time, driving him back against the countertop. It felt good to be using his fists, pounding the other man’s flesh over and over. This time, his anger was cold and clear and pure. Tony wasn’t fighting back, however, he was merely trying to protect himself from Wyatt’s fury. It was Stella’s scream that broke through the fog of fury motivating Wyatt. He backed away from the smaller man, who was now cowering in the corner of the kitchen.
“Leave him be,” Levi said, standing in front of Wyatt and using his body as a shield to stop him from getting at Tony. “He’s not worth it. And if what he said is true, you needed to be out of here ten minutes ago. And you’re going to have to take Stella with you.” They both looked over at Stella.
“But I don’t want to go,” Stella said in a small voice, her eyes filling with tears.
He went up and took both her hands in his. “I know you don’t. I don’t want to go, either. But we haven’t got a choice. If we stay here, Dmytro’s men will find us.”
“What if we just give the diamonds back?” She was staring up into his face, looking hopeful. She had such long eyelashes; how had he never noticed that before?
“Oh, such a lovely, naïve little girl,” Tony said sarcastically from his corner. “Sure. I’ll just hand over the diamonds, shall I? Then everything will be fine? Is that right?”
“Well, won’t it?” she asked, pulling her hands away from Wyatt so she could face Tony, swiping at a stray tear as she did so.
“Let me tell you some simple facts of life.” Tony sounded defeated. He was still hunched over, leaning on the countertop. But there was determination in his eyes. “Dmytro wants his diamonds back, that’s true. But he’s also a man who values loyalty over just about everything else. It won’t be enough for him to have his precious stash back. I’ve betrayed him, so he’ll never let me live. And from his point of view, Wyatt has betrayed him, too.”
“Oh… I didn’t know.” The hopeful look vanished from Stella’s eyes.
“Of course, you didn’t.” Tony stood up straight, wincing a little and feeling at his ribs. “Which is why I’m coming with you.”
It took a second for his words to sink in. “The hell you are.” Wyatt raised his fists, ready to take another round with the man.
“It’s not a bad idea.” Levi’s words surprised Wyatt. “That way, at least you know he’s not ratting you out. Again.” Levi glared at Tony. “You’ll be able to monitor him, and the diamonds, while we come up with a plan on how to get the jewels back to Dmytro and save your skin at the same time.”
“He’s not coming with us,” Wyatt growled.
Cat stepped in between them. “You guys need to stop talking and get on with it.” She stood with hands-on hips. “This arguing is getting you nowhere. What will you need to survive out there for the next few days? Come on, Wyatt, think.”
“She’s right,” Levi agreed.
Wyatt’s brain shifted gear painfully. He needed to start collecting camping gear and supplies so they could get out of here.
Sella was standing near the stove, glaring at him. “You can’t be serious. We can’t go out there. It’s winter. It’s freezing. We’ll freeze to death.”
“I’ve done this plenty of times,” he reassured her. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Yes, but I haven’t.” She came and got right up in his face. “And I’ve already told you, I don’t want to go.”
“Ooh, she’s got guts, this one,” Tony said.
“Shut up,” they both replied in unison and then turned to look each other. Her tight frown relaxed a little, and the corners of her mouth turned up.
“You start packing,” Cat said, stepping toward Stella. “I’ll convince your lady, here, she has no other choice.”
Wyatt spent the next ten minutes rushing around the house, pulling out his trusty old backpack, and then finding Levi’s spare one. If Tony wanted to come with them, then he’d damn well have to carry a backpack. He wouldn’t make Stella carry it; he was already worried enough about her. There was only one tent small enough for them to carry while hiking, which he shoved at the bottom of his bag. Then he hunted out three sleeping bags, a first aid kit, matches and some freeze-dried food. Cat came into the living room while he was stuffing all these things into his backpack, and dumped a load of warm clothing in a pile next to him.
“Stella and I are pretty much the same size. She’s going to need these, if she wants to stay warm and dry.”
“Thanks, Cat.” Words couldn’t express how much he was in her and Levi’s debt. There was a thick, knitted sweater; which he didn’t think he’d ever seen Cat wearing. A pair of ski pants, a lightweight, thermal sweater, some woolen socks, and a proper pair of ski gloves, for which he was grateful. The thin knitted mittens Stella had on now wouldn’t see her through a bitterly cold, winter’s night.
Stella came in and sat in the winged chair, watching everything with an air of disbelief. He knew he was expecting a lot of her, but they really had no other choice, and he hoped she’d pull herself out of her funk soon. He was going to need her to be focused and aware for the trek into the mountains tonight. His heart wept for her. With her hands between her knees and her face pale, she looked so young and fragile; like a child waiting to be told what to do. Sudden realization hit him. Stella was going to be relying on him, and him alone, to get her through. It was his fault she was here, and now she was being forced to run for her life.
This was the whole reason Wyatt never wanted to get involved with anyone else. He was bad news. He’d tried hard to make things better, to put his life back on the right path. Maybe he was cursed. Whatever it was, there was something dark and sinister inside him. He didn’t deserve to be surrounded by people who cared about him. Once this was over, he’d move away. Go somewhere he couldn’t hurt the people he loved.
Tony sat in another chair, also watching proceedings. The bastard could’ve
offered to help. But then, Wyatt preferred to do it himself; at least he’d know it was done properly.
“What about him?” Wyatt tilted his chin in Tony’s direction. He didn’t want to provide the betrayer with anything, but it’d do no good if Tony couldn’t even make it through the first night because he was freezing to death.
Cat lifted a corner of her mouth in a snarl, but turned on her heel and headed to the bedroom to get some of Levi’s warm clothes for him.
“I’ve got something else you’re going to need,” Levi called, and then disappeared outside. Wyatt continued to shove items into his backpack, and Levi returned a minute later, holding a satellite phone. “Here, take this. It’s my spare, and it’s the best way to communicate.”
“I can’t take this, isn’t that against regulations? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“I’ll get a new one. I’ll say I broke this one; it happens all the time.”
His brother stared at him, and Wyatt stared back. Levi was his kid brother, but here he was looking after him. Levi had been doing great with his new job and getting engaged. And now, Wyatt had come along and fucked it up for him.
Wyatt wanted to put his head back in his hands, make this all go away. Instead, he said, “Thank you.”
“Make sure you keep your own cell phones turned off,” Levi added, as he handed the sat phone to Wyatt. “That way, no one can track you.”
Wyatt nodded. “We’re going to walk to the old abandoned house out on Black Pine Ridge Road. Do you know where it is?”
Wyatt had found the house while out hiking a few months back. It had an aura of sadness about it, a place where humanity had failed. But something about it felt important, as well. A week later, he’d tried to find it by driving there. It’d taken him a few wrong turns and switchbacks, but he’d finally found his way. He’d been back a few times since, when he needed to get away for a night; needed some solitude or a place to think. And when he needed to hide some stolen diamonds. It was the perfect place to meet up with Levi in a few days.
Levi cocked his head. “You mean the one near Apache Gulch?”
“Yep, that’s it. We’ll take the trail over the Butte Cabin Ridge.” It was about a forty mile-hike. He could do it in two days, but in winter, with two inexperienced people to lead, and most of the trails closed, it’d probably take them three. “If the coast is clear, we’ll see you at the old house in three days’ time. I’ll call you on the sat phone.”
“And if it’s not…?”
No one answered that question.
CHAPTER NINE
AN ICY WIND bit into Stella’s cheeks. It was so quiet out here; the only sound was that of their footsteps crunching in the snow. A night bird called somewhere in the distance. She had no idea what type of bird it was. And why would she? She knew nothing about these forests, or this wilderness. And yet here she was, traipsing up a trail behind Wyatt in the pitch dark.
She wrapped the scarf Wyatt gave her tighter around her neck, dipping her chin into the softness of the yarn to keep warm.
This entire night was absolutely crazy. Her mother had been right, she should never have left France. She should never have agreed to have dinner with Wyatt. Should have left well enough alone and stayed at the ranch, like the good girl that she was.
Tony was behind her; she heard his footsteps and his rasping breath. It was all his fault. At first, when Wyatt attacked Tony back in the kitchen, she’d been appalled. She’d never witnessed such violence before. But after Tony revealed the extent of his betrayal, and Wyatt had started punching him a second time, Stella had wanted to join in. This man was nothing but a snake; a wicked, slithering, snake. He shouldn’t be calling himself Wyatt’s friend.
They were walking without flashlights; Wyatt said it’d be better if their eyes adjusted to the dark, then their night-vision would kick in, and they’d see much better. Stella had thought he was crazy, but twenty minutes into the trek, her surroundings were becoming clearer. She could see Wyatt’s footprints, dark holes in the lighter snow. And the surrounding forest, which’d been an impenetrable, pitch black, was now transforming so she could see individual trunks and the branches of the fir trees rising to meet the cold stars above.
“The trail will go up soon as we climb into the foothills.” Wyatt said, breaking the silence that’d descended over the trio. At least he knew where he was going, which was a minor comfort. Although, how he could tell which direction they were heading in the dark was beyond her.
“Oh, goodie,” Tony said sarcastically from the rear.
Wyatt stopped in his tracks and turned around. “You can go back any time you like. We don’t want you here.”
Tony held up his hands, as if in surrender. “Yeah, yeah, sorry.”
After a few seconds, Wyatt continued walking. He had a large backpack slung across his shoulders, and Tony was carrying a smaller one. Stella had watched the snake stow the little bag of diamonds securely at the bottom of his backpack. Such a small thing, to be worth so much money. It still boggled Stella’s mind. It was surreal, like she was in the middle of a bad dream and would wake up at any second, warm and snug in her bed, back at Stargazer.
Cat had given her a pair of hiking boots and some thick socks. Said she’d bought them a year ago, but hardly ever used them. She preferred her steel-toed work boots she wore in the workshop; she even hiked in them, which was so much like Cat, Stella had to laugh. The two of them were the same size, which was a blessing. The boots would make this hike into the wilderness a little more bearable. She just hoped they remained a perfect fit, and she didn’t end up with blisters on her heels.
She perceived, rather than saw, the ground slope upward; her thighs burned and her breath became labored. Silence surrounded them, almost as thick as the black night. It was time she asked some of the questions that were boiling through her brain. If she was doing this, she needed to understand exactly what was happening.
“Where are we going?” she said to Wyatt’s back. “I need to know what your plan is.”
He glanced over his shoulder but didn’t stop walking. “There’s a spot high in the foothills that’ll make a good campsite. We can halt there for the night.”
Stella almost laughed out loud. “You mean, for what’s left of the night.” It was already midnight.
“Yeah,” he replied, an apology in his voice. “But if we can get a few hours away from Stevensville, it’ll make us much safer. No one should find us, up here.”
Stella raised her eyebrows at that, but he was probably right. No sane person would head into the mountains on a cold winter’s night. If these bad men actually existed—and Stella was still dubious about that bit, surely, it was just another tall tale Tony was telling to get Wyatt to do what he wanted; she didn’t trust that man as far as she could throw him—they’d be looking for them out on the roads, back in civilization, not here in the middle of nowhere.
“Why wouldn’t you let me call Penny? Or Joseph? He’ll be so mad when I don’t turn up tomorrow morning.” Her first instinct when Cat had convinced her there was no other option than for her to trek into the wilderness with Wyatt, was to reach for her phone. But Wyatt had covered the screen with his hand and shook his head, his eyes sympathetic but also implacable. Stella also had thoughts of calling her mother, to tell her she was going to be out of touch for a few days. Or at the very least, call Aunt Celeste, spin some story so they wouldn’t worry.
Levi had made sure they’d all turned their cells off before they left the house. Stella considered those stories about the bad guys being able to track people through their phones to only be true in the movies. But Levi shook his head. “If this Dmytro is as big a player in the crime syndicates as Tony is making him out to be, rest assured, he’ll be able to find you. These gangs sometimes have technology that even the police don’t have,” Levi had said. Stella stared at him, still disbelieving, but his dark eyes had been so sure, she’d been convinced, and the conversation had ended with Stella
putting her phone—now switched off—into the bottom of Wyatt’s pack.
“The fewer people who have knowledge of where we are, the better,” Wyatt said now, puffing a little as the trail got steeper.
“But what will they think of me?” Stella continued, her voice wavering slightly. She hated to let anyone down. She had a strict work ethic, was never sick, and hardly ever took a day off. “I always thought it was better to let people know when you were trekking into the wilderness.”
“Cat and Levi know where we are; that’s enough, for now. And they’ll pass the details on to Dean. He should be aware anyway, just in case these guys turn up at the ranch. But he’ll tell Joseph and Penny that you’re spending a couple of days with me.”
“Zut,” she said impatiently, stopping on the trail and kicking at a clump of snow. “But won’t they be under the impression I’m some kind of…loose woman, who goes off with the first man she meets?”
“No, they won’t. They should know you better than that. Hell, even I realize you wouldn’t do that, and I’ve only known you a week,” Wyatt replied.
“Is that all?” Tony interrupted. “The way you look at her, I was sure it was true love.”
“Shut up, Tony, or I’ll leave you behind.”
Tony wisely quietened down.
“Do you trust me?” Wyatt asked. He stopped and turned around, searching her face in the dark for an answer.
That was an interesting question. On the surface, she trusted him. He had saved her from the wreck on Christmas Eve. After their time spent huddled in the truck together, she felt like she was familiar with him. But was she really? How well could you know someone after only one night? Stella delved a little deeper into her mixed thoughts and emotions. Did she trust this man with the piercing, dark eyes, and solemn features?
Not surprisingly, her answer was a resounding yes. She lifted her chin. “I guess I do.” It was hard to determine his exact features in the starlight, but his lips finally curled into a smile.