“You’d better hope like hell we find it,” Chief Hernandez said. “For your sake and your partner’s.”
“Tate had nothing—” he started, but the chief hung up before he could finish.
Silently cursing Tate for jumping into the middle of his lie, even if it had helped sell it, Peter pushed his truck harder. Hopefully he wouldn’t pass Johnny and Darcy right by as he hurried to the base of the mountain. Because once they got onto flat ground, they had more options, more ways to disappear. Darcy and Julian had stayed under the radar for eighteen years. Even once police had suspected she was in Desparre, even with her face so well-known from the media coverage, Darcy had still managed to avoid them. She’d probably still be at large if it weren’t for Alanna. If Darcy and Johnny got off this mountain, he’d probably lose them forever.
Then he heard it. An old engine turning over and over, but not catching.
Peter hit the brakes hard, certain they’d heard him, too. He eased his truck slowly forward, inching toward the break in the forest ahead that suggested a side street.
Before he reached it, he stopped the truck. He left it running as he climbed out. Maybe it would give him a slight element of surprise if they thought he was still creeping forward in his vehicle instead of on foot. He texted a quick location to Chief Hernandez, then messaged Colter, too, telling him not to come any closer until help arrived. Then Peter slid his pistol from his holster, hoping Johnny didn’t already have a bead on him through the dense trees.
He couldn’t see the car yet and suddenly, he couldn’t hear it anymore, either. They knew he was here.
Hurry up, he willed his team as he slid against the closest tree, moving cautiously forward. He couldn’t wait for them, couldn’t risk letting Johnny and Darcy get away again.
Johnny’s voice rang out. “I’m a better shot than you give me credit for.”
Peter froze, pressed harder against the tree as he scanned his surroundings. Could Johnny see him or was he hoping Peter would respond, give away his location?
“I’m afraid I’m going to need your truck,” Johnny said as Peter twisted his head, trying to use his good ear to pinpoint the man’s location. “Toss me the keys and I’ll let you walk away. Otherwise, I’m going to have to take them off you.”
He was straight ahead. Probably Darcy was too, although Peter couldn’t rule out that she actually held the weapon. Johnny could be distracting him so Darcy could flank him and put a bullet in his head.
Except as Peter crept sideways, darting to the tree beside and slightly ahead of him, there was Johnny. He was scanning the forest, too, his attention mainly focused near Peter’s still-running truck. Darcy was beside him, her hand on his arm.
As Peter lined the sight of his pistol on Johnny’s center mass, Darcy’s whisper carried through the woods. “It’s over. You can’t shoot him. Your sister loves him.”
The weapon in his hands gave a violent shake before Peter righted it again, Darcy’s words ringing in his ears. Why would she say that? Had Alanna said something to her when Peter hadn’t been with her, made some calculated comment meant to help protect him that wasn’t actually true? Or was it possible that Alanna was falling for him the way he was falling for her?
“We have to get out of here,” Johnny whispered to her. “I’m not letting you go back to jail.”
Darcy’s hand pushed down on Johnny’s arm, forcing his weapon to lower. “I don’t want to go back, either. But I’m not letting you kill someone.”
Johnny wrenched his arm free, lifting the weapon again, scanning the woods. But the expression on his face was conflicted.
Then sirens sounded, approaching quickly, and Johnny’s pistol whipped in their direction.
If he fired at the police officers, they’d shoot back. Just like Peter, they were trained to shoot to kill.
This was Alanna’s brother. And she still loved him.
Peter stepped out from behind the tree, keeping his weapon centered on Johnny. “Put it down. Please.”
Johnny swiveled toward him, sighting his pistol on Peter’s face, his gun hand shaking.
“Johnny, this is the moment that defines the rest of your life. If you fire that weapon, my team has to shoot you. Please don’t make them tell Alanna you died here today. She loves you. She still wants a relationship with you. You still have a life ahead of you. Please.”
The sirens ended as the police vehicles came to hard stop. Officers jumped out, using the doors as shields.
“Hang on,” Peter yelled. “Just wait! He’s putting it down. Right, Johnny?”
Peter stepped forward and lowered his weapon, knowing the team had Johnny in their sights. “Please. Please.”
“It’s over, Johnny,” Darcy whispered.
Johnny glanced at her, then lowered his arm and tossed his gun in the snow.
Then Peter’s team was swarming the woods, pushing both Johnny and Darcy against the cars, frisking and cuffing them. Tate was with them, but he stayed back at the edge of the woods, his expression pained as he stared at Peter.
The fact that Tate was here right now meant at least his partner’s job was safe. But his expression told Peter everything he needed to know about his own. He looked right and suddenly Chief Hernandez was beside him, hand out.
“Give me your weapon, Robak.”
Even knowing it was coming, the request hurt. With shaking hands, Peter unholstered his gun and handed it to the chief. He didn’t make her ask for his badge and just handed that over silently, too.
She gave a sharp nod over his shoulder and then Charlie Quinn was behind him, yanking his arms behind his back.
The sound of the handcuffs snapping over his wrists echoed in the woods and then Chief Hernandez shook her head. “You’re under arrest, Peter.”
EPILOGUE
Three weeks ago, when those handcuffs had closed over his wrists, Peter had felt the life he’d worked so hard for slipping out of his grasp forever. He’d glanced over at Tate through the trees, grateful that his friend wasn’t facing the same treatment.
He’d spent a week in the Desparre jail. He’d asked his family not to come see him and told Tate not to let Alanna back to the cells, either. The last time she saw him wasn’t going to be through the bars of a jail cell. At least that way, when she climbed aboard the airplane with Kensie and Colter, her last memory of him would be the kiss they’d shared.
He’d been sure his arrest would make the news. There’d be no way to hide it from her. But he hadn’t wanted her to see him, to try to help. Hadn’t wanted to give her one more thing to feel guilty over when it had been his decision. And he’d do it again. Even if it hadn’t turned out okay in the end.
Now Peter handed over his ID at the tiny airport a few hours outside of Desparre. The next flight to Chicago left in two hours. Along with the three legs of the flight and the layovers in between, that meant he’d land in Chicago eighteen hours from now. Maybe in that time, he’d figure out exactly what he was going to say.
Alanna had called the station a few times over the past few weeks, trying to get through to him, presumably not knowing the outcome of his arrest, since the chief had actually kept it out of the press. Alanna had even managed to dig up Tate’s number and had Colter call Chief Hernandez. He’d asked them all to just pass on that he would be fine, without giving any specifics. He didn’t want to give her false hope, didn’t want to open the lines of communication if he was going to spend the next five to ten years behind bars. Didn’t want to say anything at all until he was one hundred percent sure.
Nodding his thanks to the clerk who handed back his card and took his luggage, Peter headed to security, which was light as usual. It was a small airport, mostly jumper flights in and out of Fairbanks.
After passing through the X-ray machine, he went straight for the big window to stare out at the vast snowy expanse that represented Al
aska to him. He’d be back, of course. His whole family lived here. When he had told them about his plans, they’d all looked at him like he was out of his mind and then erupted with arguments. Until his mom had simply held up a hand to silence everyone. Staring straight at him, she’d asked, “Are you sure?” When he’d nodded, she’d smiled sadly and said, “I expect you back here every two months, minimum. Got it?”
With the promise secured, he’d headed home and packed enough for a month. Hopefully in that time, he’d know.
Taking a deep breath, he turned his back on the openness of Alaska that he loved.
Then a loud bark made his head swivel and there was Chance, bounding toward him through the airport.
“What the—” Peter knelt down as Chance reached him and almost got knocked over for his trouble. “Easy, boy.” He hugged the dog, looking over his head. “Where’s Alanna?”
Then he spotted her, rounding the corner at a run, her rolling luggage making a thunk thunk thunk sound, her long dark hair trailing behind her.
He stood, running to meet her with Chance on his heels.
She skidded to a stop and he did, too, a foot away from her. Chance plowed in between them, walking through and back, punctuating each turn with a bark.
“Chance, relax,” Alanna admonished, then stared up at Peter. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you go home weeks ago?”
She settled her luggage next to her, slapped her hands on her hips. “Yes, when Colter and Kensie insisted there was no talking any sense into you, that you were never going to see me.” Her eyes watered over, then she blinked the moisture away. “Why did you do that?”
He reached out, taking her hand. “I didn’t know what my future held. I didn’t want to tie you to it.”
“I was already tied to it. It was my fault—”
“That’s just it,” he cut her off. “It wasn’t your fault. And I don’t want us to be connected by obligation.”
She stared at him a long moment, then asked, “What happened? Last I heard, you’d been arrested.”
“I was. But Tate talked the chief into filing things differently. A police decision without proper documentation, is I think how he framed it. That’s not exactly how it ended up, but he saved me jail time.”
Her shoulders relaxed, a smile lighting up her face. “So, your job is okay?”
“No.” The smile faded and he squeezed her hand a little tighter, feeling awkward reaching across the space between them, but not willing to get any closer. Not yet. “I’ll never be a police officer again.”
This time, the tears did spill over. “Peter, I’m so sorry. I never—”
“Don’t you dare apologize. It hurt, but it’s not the first time I’ve left behind a job I loved. At least this time, it was a conscious decision. I knew what was on the line when I broke Darcy out. I got more than I deserved, because Tate is a damn good friend and Chief Hernandez can be nicer than she seems. And now…”
“Now what?”
He took a deep breath, suddenly nervous and very aware of how much he’d needed those eighteen hours to figure out what he was going to say to her. “I took a new job. It’s a trial period, but I’m going back to reporting.”
“Oh.” Alanna’s fingers twitched in his. “Back into a war zone?”
“No. I’m going to cover crime. With my background as a police officer and a reporter, they thought I’d be the perfect fit. It’s not exactly where I thought I’d be right now, but I’m glad. I’m hoping you’ll be happy about it, too.”
“Well, yes. I’m sorry you can’t be a cop anymore and I wish… Well, I’m glad you’ve found something else that excites you.” She glanced down at their linked hands. “Peter, look, I came back here because I couldn’t take all the silence. No matter what, I had to see you. I know we didn’t have long together, but I…” She took a visible breath and Chance nudged up against her, as if to say, Spit it out, then sat at her side. “In the time we spent together, I’ve developed feelings for you. I want to see where that goes.”
“Alanna—”
“Just hear me out.” She stepped closer, almost close enough to kiss. “I know a cross-country relationship won’t be easy. But I miss Alaska. I want to visit more. And I think you’d like Chicago. I really do. If we each travel to one another a few times a year, I really think—”
“Alanna, stop.”
She looked at her feet, then back up at him. “I know you care for me, Peter. I—”
“I love you,” he said, cutting her off. “I know it’s fast. Too fast, maybe. But it’s there and it’s real and I’m not letting it go.” He took a step closer, until he could kiss her if he just leaned down. “I’m not letting you go. I do want to travel back and forth a bit—my family insists on it, actually—but the job is in Chicago.”
Her mouth dropped open and she just stared at him.
“I know you need to be there,” he said softly. “It’s right that you should get time with the family you were denied for so long. You deserve that. And I want to be where you are.”
She continued to stare until he let out a nervous laugh. “Too much? I know—”
Before he could finish the sentence, she was up on her tiptoes, falling against him, her arms around his neck and her lips on his.
When she finally pulled free, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling, she whispered, “I love you, too, Peter.”
Then Chance pushed his way in between them and Alanna laughed.
Peter took hold of her luggage and her hand, then spun back toward the entrance.
Alanna hurried to keep up. “Where are we going?”
“I’m thinking back to my place. I’m hanging on to it for when we visit here. What do you say we stay here for a few days, then head home to Chicago?”
She stopped abruptly, making him pause, too. “Home to Chicago.” She smiled, grabbing hold of him for one more kiss. “I like the sound of that.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488067143
Alaska Mountain Rescue
Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Heiter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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ISBN-13: 9781488072987
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Homicide at Whiskey Gulch
Copyright © 2021 by Elle James
The Fugitive
Copyright © 2021 by Nichole Severn
Alaska Mountain Rescue
Copyright © 2021 by Elizabeth Heiter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada.
Harlequin Intrigue January 2021 - Box Set 2 of 2 Page 58