Cold Pursuit

by Susan Sleeman

  He bumped fists with Alex and did a kick turn to glide into the scrub for cover.

  Alex signaled for the others to move out, and he dug in his poles to get moving. It took little effort as the slope was steep and gravity took him downhill at a quick clip. Just north of the pass he stopped and turned.

  “Take cover,” he said into their communications device, and his voice came over the earbuds. “Gage go north. Coop and Sam east. Eryn west. I’m south with you, Nate.”

  They all moved into strong positions that would allow them to step out and surround the abductor once the snowmobile was stopped. A force six-strong plus a man on the scope should be able to stop this foe without any injuries, but they didn’t know who they were dealing with and had no intel on him—they hadn’t been able to perform a threat assessment and were going in blind.

  Alex didn’t like that at all. He simply had to trust God. To trust the team. The strong men and women of Blackwell. Nate, too.

  Alex waited for Nate to settle into position, and then Alex took a prime viewing spot where he would be able to see the snowmobile as it approached. He unloaded his pack and got out binoculars to aim them downhill. The snow-encrusted windshield of the snowmobile came into view. He shifted and caught the green of Whitney’s scarf fluttering in the breeze. She still drove, and Isaiah was in the hands of the abductor.

  “Snowmobile is about a klick away,” he said into the mic and offered a silent prayer of thanks that they’d arrived on time. “You in position, Riley?”

  “Affirmative. I’ll let you know the minute I have the sled in my scope.”

  “Roger that,” Alex said. “Others report.”

  “In position,” Eryn said.

  “Ditto,” Gage replied.

  “Same here,” Coop said.

  “I’m in place,” Sam said.

  “Yes,” Nate said.

  “We’ll go in as a group and swarm the machine—on my signal. Stand by.” Alex zoomed in the binoculars to get a look at Whitney’s face. How he loved that face and didn’t want anything to happen to her. He switched to Isaiah who he could only see when he poked his head out around Whitney. Poor kid. He had to be terrified. He’d been through so much, and Alex simply wanted to help him. And love him. Let him heal. Maybe finish healing himself at the same time.

  “Target locked in the scope,” Riley said. “Waiting orders.”

  Alex shifted the binocs up. Caught the abductor’s face. Hoodie tied tight around a wide face. Goggles on. Nothing much to see except a sneer. Maybe a permanent one, warning Alex to take care. Alex wished they would be taking that kill shot, the only sure way to save Whitney and Isaiah. But the trauma would just be too great for the boy. Whitney, too. Alex hoped they didn’t have do that to either of them.

  The sled drew closer, the sound of the engine getting louder. The machine wasn’t running full-out like before. Thankfully, or the team wouldn’t have arrived in time. It was time to disable the motor, but it had to be done at precisely the right moment.

  Alex counted down in his mind. Evaluated the speed. Evaluated the distance to come alongside them.

  “In ten,” Alex said and began the countdown in his head, his hands sweating in his gloves as he shifted his rifle over his shoulder with his free hand. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Engage.”

  Riley’s rifle cracked a loud boom into the air. The snowmobile engine died and the machine came to a halting stop.

  “Move. Move. Move,” Alex ordered and they poured out of their hiding spots.

  The abductor’s head snapped up. He looked around. Sat stunned. For only a second. Still holding Isaiah, he hurled his body off the far side of the machine, tumbling into the snow.

  A gun discharged. The abductor’s gun. Not a team weapon. Alex was sure of that.

  “Isaiah,” Whitney screamed, and plunged off the side near the boy.

  “Cover me,” Alex told Nate and let his rifle hang to pole his way to the snowmobile. He quickly assessed the situation and released his skis to launch himself into the air, clearing the snowmobile seat and landing on the abductor’s back.

  The man reached up and grabbed Alex by the throat. His hands clamped on tight, his thumbs pressing into the middle and squeezing. Alex couldn’t breathe. He struggled. Fought back but couldn’t budge the vise-like hands. He couldn’t let the guy get the better of him. He reached into his jacket pocket for his Taser. Pressed it into the guy’s neck and deployed it.

  The man’s hands fell away, and his body went rigid. He gritted his teeth and moaned.

  “I’ve got him,” Nate said from above where he stood with his rifle pointed down.

  Alex gulped air, scooted free, and released the Taser. He dug out his zip ties and cuffed the jerk when he really wanted to check on Whitney and Isaiah, but he couldn’t turn his back on a potential killer.

  The moment he was secured, Alex spun, flailing in the deep snow.

  Whitney was sitting up and brushing snow from Isaiah’s face. The boy was crying, but alive. An injury or just afraid?

  Alex frantically clawed through the thick powder. “Isaiah. Is he okay?”

  She nodded. “The bullet didn’t hit him.”

  She jerked Isaiah into her arms and held fast, looking at Alex over the top of the boy’s head. “Thank you, Alex. I knew you would come. I knew it. I just didn’t know if it would be in time.”

  Tears started pouring from her eyes, and her chest rose in sobs.

  “Shh, honey, it’s okay.” He scooted closer to them and gently circled his arms around the pair. He held them there. This little family. The family he wanted. Could have. If he would let himself. If she would let him.

  Debrief. That’s what the team called this meeting where they’d been hashing out every movement in their rescue efforts. Whitney have never attended such a meeting. Alex said they held debriefs following every op as it helped them figure out what went wrong so they never made the same mistake twice. From her point of view, there had been no mistakes, and she and Isaiah were alive thanks to them.

  All she could do was sit back in the resort conference room and answer the few questions they directed her way. Oh, and try to quit shaking, but adrenaline was still lingering in her body even though she’d been back at the resort safe and sound for an hour. She kept thinking about the dangerous positions these brave men and women put themselves in for her—and others—all because they felt called to do the job. She wished there was a special way she could thank them. To let them know how very much she appreciated them. She was determined to find a way.

  “That’ll do it.” Alex looked at his watch and stood. “Thanks, everyone, for the fine job. I owe you all, and I know you’ll collect. Just go easy on me.”

  “Easy?” Coop snorted. “No way that’s happening.”

  “I didn’t figure there was, but I had to try.” Alex grimaced, but it was all in good humor.

  “Okay, people.” Gage got up. “We’ll be continuing to ferry in needed supplies and carry out people who have to leave the resort today. If we run long, we’ll be spending the night. The manager has arranged rooms and meals for us just in case.”

  The others started to get up.

  “Can I say something before you all go?” Whitney asked.

  “Go ahead,” Gage said, but she could tell he was in a hurry. She’d make this quick.

  She stood. “I wanted to say thank you, which seems so very inadequate for what I’m feeling. I mean, how can words express my thanks for saving my life, and more importantly, Isaiah’s life? But thank you.”

  There were mumbles of you’re welcome and smiles directed her way.

  “We’re always glad to help.” Gage clapped his hands, dismissing his team who scuttled out of the room minus Alex.

  He faced Gage. “I’m going to see Whitney back to her apartment, and then I’ll come find you.”

  Gage nodded and followed his team out the door.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Whitney said feeling bad about taki
ng him away from valuable work.

  “I know, but I thought we should talk before I leave.”

  “Oh, right. Yes, you’ll be leaving, too,” she said, the realization that he was about to walk out of her life a heavy blow.

  He gave a solemn nod and gestured at the door.

  She headed out, slipping into her jacket as she walked. It felt so weird to see the lobby bustling with people again after the eerie emptiness from the blizzard, but skiers in bright-colored clothes, their faces rosy red from the cold, rushed in to warm up at the roaring fireplace.

  Gage stood near the door. McCray, hands fisted, glared at him. “But I need to leave today. You’re taking others out who have to go. I demand a spot on your chopper, too.”

  “Sorry,” Gage said, an edge of warning in his tone. “We had to prioritize the list and you didn’t make the cut. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day.”

  “They’ll have the pass cleared by then.”

  “Exactly.” A snide smile crossed Gage’s mouth as he started to leave.

  McCray grabbed Gage’s arm to stop him. He spun at a rate Whitney didn’t think humanly possible and had McCray’s arm behind his back so fast it was a blur. He issued some sort of a warning Whitney couldn’t make out from this distance, but the anger in his eyes made it clear. Back off now.

  He shoved the man away and marched out the door.

  “I have to say since we couldn’t get the jerk on gun running that felt good to witness,” Alex said.

  “But he was hassling Gage.”

  “I guarantee Gage enjoyed the encounter.”

  She cast him a questioning look.

  “Putting McCray in his place had to feel good.”

  “Oh. I thought you meant the physical part.”

  Alex grinned. “He probably didn’t hate that either.”

  She shook her head. “I am—on the one hand—in awe of you all, and—on the other hand—wondering how you enjoy what you do.”

  “I feel the same way about your chosen profession. Needles.” He mocked an exaggerated shudder.

  She laughed, and it felt wonderful. They started walking again, and she reveled in feeling safe and having the worry of Percy gone. But she still had two precious kids who needed her help to heal, and she had to take that responsibility very seriously. Especially now that Isaiah had gone through another traumatic experience that would leave emotional scars. Even if he was already trying to pretend it didn’t bother him, and he was acting tough like the guys on the team, he wasn’t hiding it very well.

  They reached the door. McCray stepped in front of Alex.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Alex brushed past him, clearing the way for Whitney to head out into the refreshing sunshine.

  Whitney started down the sidewalk. “When your mom died, did you go to counseling?”

  “No. No one offered, and I was too young to realize I needed it.”

  “Would it have helped, do you think?”

  “Yeah. I do.”

  Exactly what she needed to hear to finalize her plans. “At first, I thought I would work here until Tomio could find a replacement, but now I think I should get back to my real life as soon as possible and find a counselor for Isaiah. Then get him back in his regular school. I know Tomio will understand.”

  “So you’ll be going back to Portland?”

  She nodded.

  His steps slowed, and she looked up at him to find a frown on his face. “I was kinda thinking that maybe we should try to figure out this thing that’s going on between us.”

  Interesting.

  “Yeah?” she asked as she climbed the stairs to her apartment where Yuki was watching the kids.

  “Yeah.” He joined her on the stairs. “I mean, I think it’s more than just physical attraction, don’t you?”

  Oh yeah. “Way more. Which is odd, right? We’ve known each other only a little while, but it feels right.”

  “I think so, too. That doesn’t happen very often so we’d be foolish to let it go and not give it a try.”

  “I suppose.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  She stopped outside her apartment door. “I’m convinced that I’m attracted to you. That I think you’re an amazing, special man. That any woman would be a fool not to jump into a relationship with you.”

  “But…”

  She couldn’t believe she was going to say this when all she wanted to do was let this man hold her and kiss her again. “But, after the trauma Isaiah just suffered, I want to focus on him right now and not divide my attention.”

  Alex’s mouth flattened into a grim line, and she almost blurted out that she wanted to change her mind, but Isaiah had to come first.

  “So it’s a no then,” he mumbled.

  “No. Not no. It’s a later. Can we give it a few weeks? Let me get settled back in my life. Find that counselor for Isaiah. Make sure that he’s headed in the right direction. And use that time to think about what I want. What the kids need.” She raised a hand to touch his cheek that was frosty cold. “To think about you. About us.”

  “You think there will be an us when you get done with this thinking?”

  “I sure hope so.”

  His frown deepened.

  “Hey, hey,” she said. “I don’t want you to leave upset.”

  “See,” he said, cupping the side of her face with the gentlest of touches. “You don’t want me to leave upset, but I don’t want to leave you at all. And that’s such a huge difference that I don’t know if we’ll be able to overcome it.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas Eve Day broke with drizzle, and Alex paced the length of his small cabin. Back and forth. He’d lost count of his steps an hour ago. He stopped to straighten the bowl of fruit Hannah insisted he fill for Isaiah and Zoey while they stayed the night with him.

  A banana fell out, and he settled it back on top. Then picked it up. Set it down. Turned it. Right, then left. Grabbed an apple and put the banana there instead. Perched the apple on top.

  “What’re you doing, man?” He groaned.

  He didn’t do fruit arranging, nothing that even resembled fruit arranging, but he worked hard to make it look good. It all had to look presentable if he was going to convince Whitney to marry him. To live here in the boonies. In his tiny, boring little cabin at first, but then they could get a house.

  He’d already talked to Gage, and he was fine with Alex moving out of the compound. Alex didn’t want to. He’d be the first one to go. The others would eventually leave, too, he suspected, and it was the end of something they’d built together. Not the end of the team. That would never happen.

  Everyone had reinforced that at their big Thanksgiving dinner at Gage’s house. Alex felt uncomfortable sitting next to Sam with all the couples surrounding them, and he missed Whitney and the kids something fierce. Man, he wished they would have agreed to attend, but she’d said Isaiah wasn’t ready to embrace thanks right now, and it was going be a painful day for him.

  Alex couldn’t argue with that, and he was overjoyed when she agreed to come to the Christmas party.

  A knock sounded on the door. He shot a look at the clock. No. It was too early for Whitney. Besides he had to let her in the gate, so she couldn’t be knocking on his door.

  He answered the door and found Sam standing there. She’d abandoned her usual work attire for a simple black dress and heels. Her hair was up in a messy bun thing. She was holding a stack of files.

  “Wow. Who are you, and what have you done with Sam?” He laughed. “You must be Samantha.”

  She rolled her eyes and pushed past him. “I have a few files to close out on Ibson and wanted to review them with you.”

  “Sure.” He pointed at his dining table that he’d polished until it gleamed. He’d polished the whole place. And himself. Sure, he took care of his appearance all the time. His mom had a thing about grooming, and he’d always continued it to honor her, but today every whisker was precision length. His cloth
es pressed to Marine standards.

  She set down the files. “I could say the same thing about you, you know?”

  “What? That I’m Samantha?” He grinned at her.

  “Nah. You clean up nice.” She smiled back at him and dropped into a chair. “For your information, I do like wearing dresses for special occasions. Hannah and Gage’s party is going to be so fun. We’ll get to see everyone’s families. Brothers and sisters. Yours is coming, right?”

  “Yep. She’ll be late, but that’s Faith.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I think she lives everything by her name including having faith that she’ll be on time.”

  “Oh, I get that. My middle sister never arrives anywhere on time. She was born three weeks late, and my mom says she’s been late ever since.” She laughed. “I think today will be a lot like Christmas at my big crazy family’s place in California.”

  “Except for the weather.” He grinned.

  She smiled, then sighed. “I miss them.”

  “Why aren’t you going home then?”

  She shrugged, but her smile vanished.

  “You can tell me. I don’t gossip.”

  “Not much anyway.” She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously, let’s stick to the files, okay?”

  “Okay,” he said, but wanted to dig and find out what she was avoiding back at home.

  Now that he’d decided to work on his issues with losing his mother, he wanted to help others do the same thing. But seriously, he couldn’t. There was a right time for each person. God’s time. Only He knew when they were ready. That’s something Alex was now certain of. No question in his mind that God had placed him smack-dab in the middle of a blizzard to slow him down. To take away his high-octane thrills that he now knew he used to avoid facing his past.

  He’d thought for years he had to be on the go. To keep moving. His brain worked overtime when he wasn’t busy doing something… and those thoughts turned to unhappiness, so why not avoid them?