Her silence was killing him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Tern traipsed behind Gage, automatically placing one foot in front of the other.
Someone had been in her house. When? Why hadn’t she noticed her little arctic tern was missing? In a way it was as if by not noticing she’d forgotten her father. She could still remember him placing the little bird in her hand and telling her all the special qualities that terns carried, qualities that he could see in her. His belief in her and her siblings had been absolute. As her beliefs in him had been. Anger at his wasted death stole over her, and had her seeing red.
He’d been killed for treasure. Money plain and simple. Her father had been a geologist and couldn’t resist the pull of gold fever. The land in and around Chatanika, where she’d grown up was just thirty or so miles north of Fairbanks. Chatanika had been one of the largest gold finds in the early 1900s. Billions had been mined, dredged, or picked up off the ground back then. Around the late 1950s people pulled out thinking the mining town was dried up. But her father thought he knew better.
He’d been digging for years without ever finding much more than nuggets to put on a chain and hang around her mother’s neck. He’d always been good at the ‘just because’ gifts.
The real treasure had been him.
Tern scrubbed at the tears silently wetting her face. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to revisit the memories of that time when everything had been rosy and warm. Then there had been the explosion, the landslide, and the rocks crushing the life from him. All because he’d found the gold and someone had been watching.
Like now. Someone was watching.
But why? She didn’t have anything. Yes, she had her share of the gold and was very wealthy in her own right, but that didn’t matter. Plus, if something happened to her, the share of the gold would go to her family. Her siblings Raven, Lynx, and Chickadee would split her share.
Who had anything to gain from her death other than them? Her brother and sisters wouldn’t be out here hunting her down. They loved her. She was part of a close-knit family. They were all rolling in money, but none of them knew how to live like they were wealthy. So they didn’t. No one outside the small circle of friends and family had a clue how much they were worth.
There was Raven’s new husband Aidan, whose father had actually killed theirs, but that was another story and fully resolved now. No, there wasn’t anyone Tern could think of who would want to harm her or those she loved.
Could this person have targeted her family too? Oh God. She stumbled. What if this demented person had gone after them? What if they were dead?
Damn it, think it through.
Her family had been fine when she’d left on this crazy geocache trip. She’d had dinner with them the night before she left. The trouble had started here. So the killer was here. Most likely one of them.
She glanced at Gage in front of her, cutting a trail through the thick underbrush. Could he have done this?
Six months ago she’d have laughed at the idea of Gage being a killer. Then he’d admitted to killing his brother-in-law. But those were extenuating circumstances. If someone had done to one of her sisters what his brother-in-law had, she wouldn’t be surprised at what she could do either.
They’d only heard his side of the story. Had he told them the full truth? She thought she’d known Gage before he’d left her with no word. Did he have a demented side that wanted her to suffer for some unknown reason?
He’d never displayed any reason to hate her. He admitted that he’d stayed away from her was because he was afraid she’d enslave him. Was that enough of a reason to kill her? If in some bizarre way that made sense, it didn’t make sense to kill Mac and Lucky.
No, Gage as the killer didn’t fit.
But what about Robert? He’d displayed jealousy, and his temper had more control over him than he had over it. He hated Lucky. She hadn’t helped there, when their relationship was ending and Lucky had shown up in town.
Robert had been scary with his anger that night. She’d truly been frightened. He’d apologized the next day, but what did that really mean? Weren’t his actions the night before more telling of his true nature?
Robert hadn’t liked Mac either. He’d complained over Mac taking charge, like he had earlier with Gage. Would that have been enough of a reason to kill Mac? She never would have believed Robert would’ve taken his anger that far, but weren’t most murders done in the heat of anger?
Robert also knew about the arctic tern her dad had carved for her.
He knew about the gold.
Then again, he couldn’t get his hands on it unless they were married.
He hadn’t taken her rejection of his proposal well either, and the whole time she’d been dating Gage, Robert had found excuses to ‘pop’ into her shop. He’d used Chloe the most, which was inexcusable. Especially because it worked, the manipulative bastard. Robert had also returned unharmed from finding the geocache full of Almond Joys. He was talented with a knife, and could have easily stolen Nadia’s sleeping pills and planted them in the coffee. He’d been alone in their cabin that first night when she’d returned from her walk by the lake.
Could Robert have taken the pills?
She shook as the possibilities added up. Had she misjudged him so much?
Nadia brushed her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”
Oh God, Robert was right behind Nadia.
Would he target her next? Tern flicked a glance at Robert, who held hers without any problem. She was the first to turn away. It hurt looking at him. She’d made love with this man. Had contemplated making a life with him, having his children. Where had she gone so wrong in her estimation of people? She used to be a good judge of character. But then she’d also fallen in love with a man who was afraid loving her would ruin him.
She gave Nadia a jerky nod and continued forward as though she was fine.
What did she do?
She had to get Nadia away from Robert, but if she let on that she knew Robert was behind this then what reasons would he have to continue the game? As long as they were ‘playing’ they were still alive. If she were him and he figured out she was onto him, Gage would be the next to go.
Gage was the biggest threat physically. It made sense that he would be the next target, and then Nadia, leaving Tern for last. For some reason Robert wanted her to suffer. But how did he figure to get out of this without the authorities coming after him?
Easy. Alaska.
How many people had lost their lives in the back country of Alaska? Too many to count. Most were never found, thanks to the huge population of predators. All Robert had to do was leave their bodies out for the unfriendlies to dispose of.
What a brilliant plan. He had the skills and the strength to survive out here on his own for a long time. Yeah, he was bitching about being hungry, but he was a hunter. He could pick up dinner in the same amount of time it would take him to have a pizza delivered in town if he wanted.
She needed to get Nadia away from him and warn Gage.
How did she do that when Robert—rifle in hand—hiked behind them all?
“Seriously, Gage,” Nadia whined. “I need a bathroom.”
Gage stopped. “Fine.” He turned to face the little group and was immediately arrested by the fear in Tern’s gaze. She stared at him as though trying to convey a message.
“We’ll break here,” he said, moving closer to Tern and glancing around the area. They were still in the woods though the trees had thinned. It was as good a place to rest for a minute as any, he figured. “Anyone else need to go?”
Tern shook her head.
“Hell, I might as well,” Robert said.
Gage glanced at his watch. “You have five minutes.”
“Might take me longer than five minutes to take a shit.” Robert chuckled at his joke as he traipsed off into the trees.
Nadia went in the opposite direction and Tern’s shoulders slumped.
“You figured something out,” Gage said.
Tern waited until Nadia and Robert were out of earshot, and then stepped closer to him until their chests were almost touching. He couldn’t help from reaching out and putting his hands on the sides of her hips. It was an immediate reaction, and he hated that it seemed so natural.
“I think I know who the killer is,” she whispered. The words had him letting go of her and tightening his hold on his gun.
“Who?” He surveyed the surrounding trees.
“I think it’s Robert.” She bit her lip.
He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“He had opportunity and motive.”
“Explain.” She had his full attention now.
“He’s the jealous sort. He hated Lucky and didn’t warm to Mac. He also knew about the arctic tern my dad carved for me and where I kept it.”
“What does he have against you?”
“Since I wouldn’t marry him, I think he’s out to make me suffer. He’s always had a temper. He was alone in my cabin the first night when I returned. He could have found Nadia’s sleeping pills. He could have easily drugged himself after he killed Mac…” She had to pause and swallow over Mac’s name.
Gage knew every time Tern said his name she saw his dead body and it hurt her all over again.
“The guy was really wigged out about sleeping next to a dead man,” Gage added, playing devil’s advocate. “It was like he had some kind of phobia of dead people.”
“It could have been an act,” she suggested.
He nodded. It sure as hell could have been.
Whistling announced Robert’s return. Gage studied him as he ambled out of the shadows of black spruce.
“What?” Robert stopped and checked his fly.
“Where’s Nadia?” Tern asked, stepping in the direction Nadia had taken. “She should be back by now too.”
“You know girls,” Robert said. “They take forever.”
A gunshot spilt the air, followed by Nadia’s piercing scream.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They rushed in the direction of Nadia’s scream.
“If she can scream, she’s alive,” Gage hollered as they hurried.
Unless she was bleeding out from a gunshot wound and dying this very minute. Tern tried to dispel the image before panic overtook her.
Robert’s heavy footsteps echoed like death drums behind her. A bullet ricocheted off the tree she passed.
“Get down!” Gage yelled.
Robert tackled her from behind. The breath in her body whooshed out as she hit the ground with Robert’s heavy weight on top of her.
“Tern!” Gage swiveled mid-step, dropping to the ground. “Tern?”
“F-fine,” she choked out.
Another gunshot penetrated the earth too close to them, dirt spraying them in the face.
“Son of a fucking bitch.” Robert continued to swear a blue streak on top of her.
Gage scuttled backward on his stomach to her and Robert, his .30-06 at his shoulder pointed in the direction of the bullets. “Nadia!” he hollered.
There was no answer.
“No, no, no,” Tern cried, struggling to buck Robert off her back. “Let me up!”
“Shh!” Robert settled more heavily until she could only drag in air by short, choppy breaths.
Gage scooted until he lay beside them, his finger on the trigger of his rifle, ready to shoot anything that flinched.
Then she heard it, a shuffling of brush, breaking of twigs. Thin birch branches bent, their leaves rustling against each other like sandpaper.
Nadia scurried from the forest, skidding to a stop in surprise at Gage’s rifle aimed at her. Her eyes widened, becoming huge disks.
“Oh, thank God,” Tern breathed out, dropping her head onto the damp earth.
“Someone’s shooting at us,” Nadia said, her chest heaving. “Are you shooting? Why are you shooting? You could have hit me!”
Gage reached up and pulled Nadia to the ground. “I haven’t fired a damn shot.”
“Who then?” Nadia asked, her voice trembling.
Gage didn’t bother to answer. He looked at Tern, Robert still covering her body with his. “You hit?”
“No,” Tern said.
“Yes,” Robert said, rolling off Tern and grunting in pain. “I’ve been hit.”
“What?” Tern crawled over Robert where he lay next to her. His eyes were closed, his face pale, and his shoulder and sleeve were covered in blood. “Oh, no.”
“How bad?” Gage asked.
“Hurts like a son of a bitch.” Robert gasped.
“How bad?” Gage repeated.
“I don’t fucking know,” Robert gritted out.
“Well, if you can bitch, you can’t be hurt that bad. Put pressure on it. We’ve got to get out of here. Come on.” Gage inched back in the brush, staying close to the trees, keeping his head down.
The rest of them followed suit. When they reached a large outcropping of boulders, Gage took cover, propping his rifle on the rock, and peered over.
Tern helped Robert lean against the stone shield, biting back her worry at the blood staining his left sleeve.
Nadia sidled up between her and Gage, taking in Robert. “Is it bad?”
“Of course it’s bad. I took a fucking bullet!”
Tern flicked open her pocketknife and cut into the wet, sticky flannel of Robert’s sleeve, then used her hands to tear the material up to the shoulder seam, revealing torn, bloody flesh. She sagged with relief, falling back on her haunches. “It’s only a flesh wound.”
“Sure as hell doesn’t feel like a flesh wound.” Robert grimaced as Tern probed around the area. “Son of a bitch. Shit.”
“Everyone, quiet,” Gage whispered, peaking over the boulder again. They hushed, and Tern strained until she swore she heard her own pulse thunder. After a nerve-wracking few minutes, Gage relaxed his hold on the trigger of his rifle and stared at Nadia. “We were being shot at from the direction that you relieved yourself.”
“Yeah, so?”
“What do you think?”
“You can’t be serious,” Nadia scoffed.
“Gage, Nadia wouldn’t—”
“Tern, stay out of this.” His eyes didn’t stray from Nadia. Silenced ticked by until Nadia yanked her pistol free of her waistband.
Tern gasped. Robert swore, and Gage pinned Nadia with his rifle. “Drop it.”
“Damn it, I was just going to hand it to you, you freaking idiot. Look at it. Tell me if my gun’s been fired.” Nadia shoved her pistol at Gage with her thumb and forefinger.
He took her gun but didn’t drop his from where it pointed at her chest. He checked her weapon before lowering his rifle. “Her gun hasn’t been fired.” But he didn’t sound convinced. “Got an explanation for the bullets ceasing once you showed up?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Don’t have a clue.”
“That’s enough,” Tern said, expelling the breath she didn’t realize she’d held.
“Right.” Robert swallowed. “I’m bleeding to death here.”
Tern focused on what she could do something about. “Does anyone have any bandages? Disinfectant?”
“Check my backpack, I’ve got a t-shirt that I haven’t worn,” Gage said. “It’s about as good as I think we can do right now.” He handed Nadia her pistol back.
“I’ve got some water left,” Nadia said, taking her gun and sliding it back in the waistband of her jeans and grabbing her water bottle.
“We’ll need to sterilize it,” Tern said.
“Not here.” Gage glanced around the enclosed area. “It’ll have to wait. This is a good place to ambush us.”
“The wound needs to be wrapped, Gage,” Tern said.
“Yeah,” Robert added. “Plus, I don’t feel like hiking another hundred miles,”
“You’d rather be dead?”
“Let’s calm down,” Tern said.
“Tern, wrap his arm with the s
leeve you cut off his shirt.” Gage surveyed the area. “Let’s get moving. We’ll stop as soon as we find a place where we aren’t so trapped.”
“Shit,” Robert grumbled. Tern did as Gage said, slicing his sleeve into smaller strips and using it to tie around the wound. “Fuck, this hurts.”
“Be a man,” Tern said, though she wanted to swear with him. Just minutes before she was thinking he was the threat. Now she didn’t know what to think.
The man had taken a bullet for her.
If Robert hadn’t thrown her to the ground, she’d be the one with a bullet hole right now. She’d be dead.
Tern finished doctoring up Robert with shaky hands and glanced up at Gage, seeing fear, rage, and worry in his eyes. Their situation had been bad before, but now with one of them wounded, the stakes had gotten higher.
It was survival of the fittest, and Robert was no longer fit.
Gage reached down and pulled Tern close to him. She gladly went to him.
“Come on,” Gage said. “Let’s get a move on. Robert, you gotta stop that whimpering or you’ll give our position away.”
“Hey, I don’t whimper,” Robert grumbled, but he squared his shoulders and didn’t make a sound as Gage and Tern help him to his feet. He sagged against Tern for a moment before straightening. She expected him to cop a feel, and was disappointed when he didn’t. It meant he was hurt worse than she’d thought. Her stress level shot through the canopy of the trees closing them in.
They traipsed back to the trail of sorts they’d been hiking and continued on their trek. The goal was to get as far as they could today, putting distance between them and their supposed killer.
Everything she’d been thinking seemed all wrong now. Robert couldn’t be the killer. The action, the need to protect, was so quick, so immediate. If he truly wanted her dead, why had he covered her with his body, ready to take a bullet for her?
Her head hurt with all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what fors’.
They hiked for what seemed like hours before Gage called a stop. Tern’s feet were numb. She hoped they were stopping for the night because she didn’t know how she would put one foot in front of the other if he demanded more from her.
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