Nick handed it to her butt first, watched her open the cylinder with a practiced flip to check the bullets. She pulled out the round he had spent on the cat and closed it on the empty chamber.
“.357,” she said. “Nicely balanced. I trust you didn’t bring any other weapons.”
“I didn’t.” He didn’t think of the buck knife clipped on his pack in an easily accessible place as a weapon. “Are you really going to go?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Wishing he could see her face clearly to gauge her determination, he got up to pull off his pack. “I don’t know about you, but I skipped dinner. I’m hungry.” Nick reached inside and pulled out a package of granola trail mix, opening it to take a handful, then he sat down beside her, holding the bag for her. She reached in, grabbing a handful to munch, her appetite overriding her caution.
After a moment, Nick got up and took the flashlight over to where the big cat lay. He stooped to examine the animal, taking a little pride in the accuracy of his shot. As he studied it, he noted that one foreleg looked crooked, like it had been in a fight, or maybe caught in a bear trap. It was missing several claws and the pads looked torn up.
“Tell me about the mountain lion,” he said, walking back to her. “What happened? I might have passed you in the night if I hadn’t heard you scream.”
Cassie didn’t speak right away. She finished her handful of trail mix and started another. “I woke up when I heard it. At least I thought I could hear it coming, and I was scared, so I grabbed the stick, thinking I could frighten it away if I hit it hard enough.” She paused and continued eating.
Nick picked out some raisins and ate them. “Looks like it had a bum leg. The front left paw shows signs of a wound, or having been caught in a trap. That might have caused it to drag. Otherwise I doubt you’d have heard it. It may have just gone on by.”
“I was scared, okay?”
“I understand fear,” he said. “Go on.”
“Well, I jumped up and hit it on the head. It jumped on me and knocked me off balance. I think I hit it a couple more times, but I ran into a tree. It was jumping again when you shot it. I...thank you. You did save my life.”
Nick sat silently for a moment. “Cassie, always remember when you’re dealing with a wild animal: they are probably just as scared as you. Given a chance they’ll run, unless they’re starving or you back them into a corner or hurt them. Remember that, but always be ready to defend yourself if you need to.”
“You think?” Cassie voice was loaded with sarcasm, and he silently agreed with her. That cat had not had any intention of running away.
Nick gave Cassie the bag of trail mix and stood up again. “I think we ought to move. Something is bound to come at the smell of that mountain lion, and I’d just as soon not be around when the fighting starts.”
“Fighting?” Cassie looked around in the darkness, and he noted she looked sensibly afraid.
“Sure, there are all kinds of nocturnal scavengers out here that will be happy to fight for a piece of fresh meat. Which way?”
“What?” Cassie was still looking around her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re going to MacDougall’s camp and I’m going back to Blue Sky. I can stay with you the rest of the night, or we can split up now. I’ll divvy up supplies now or in the morning. You decide.”
“Uh, in the morning.”
“Okay, which way?”
Cassie stuck out a hand and pointed. Surprised, Nick noted she was pointing the way she had been going—which was the right way to MacDougall’s. “That way,” she said. “No sense in back tracking.”
“Thanks,” said Nick, and it was his turn for sarcasm. “I can always use the exercise.” He pulled on the backpack again and offered Cassie a hand up. She hesitated a moment, then took it, standing up beside him. He noticed she kept the pistol in her right hand and her body between it and Nick, with the barrel pointed down and her finger off the trigger.
By flashlight they walked for about thirty minutes in the moonlit darkness, traveling about a quarter mile along the valley floor before Nick judged they were far enough away from the dead cat to sleep safely.
Nick rolled out his sleeping bag and offered it to Cassie. Then he curled up underneath a space blanket.
“I trust you’re a light enough sleeper to hear anything before you have to shoot it,” he said.
“I sleep light enough.” The sleeping bag rustled as Cassie snuggled into it. “Nick?”
“Hmmm?” Nick could hardly keep his eyes open. Now that he was lying down it was hard to even answer.
“How did you know why I ran away?”
“The photo album,” he answered sleepily. “I remembered how you described that man. Pop looks kinda like that, especially the eyes.”
“Why did you come after me? Wouldn’t it have been easier to let me die out here?”
Nick propped himself up on his elbow at that, peering into the darkness where Cassie’s voice drifted from. “But I don’t want you to die.”
Cassie was silent, and after a few moments he lay back down.
* * *
The morning sun woke Cassie. She sat up, instantly aware that Nick wasn’t anywhere around. Reaching for the pistol, she found it where she had dropped it in the night.
She sighed and wriggled her way out of the sleeping bag, clumsily rolling it up and tying it closed. Nick’s pack lay close by, and she peeked inside, looking for something to eat. The bag of granola trail mix sat on top.
Munching on granola, she sat down to wait for Nick to come back. Her leg muscles twanged with soreness, and after a little while she began doing some stretches to ease them.
When Nick came back, he smiled to find her awake.
“Good morning,” he said, sitting down beside her and reaching for a handful of granola.
“Good morning.” Cassie noticed dark smudges beneath his eyes and realized he hadn’t slept very much. “Where did you go?”
He reached into his shirt pocket and drew out a cloth bundle. “I went back to the cat. It was a good-sized mountain lion, you know. The teeth and claws make good jewelry. I have a Tlingit friend who makes necklaces and such with them, and I thought I’d have her do something with these.” He held open his hand. Four teeth rested in his palm—two of them sizeable fangs—along with twelve claws. “I would have gotten more claws, but the one paw was damaged, one leg was totally gone, and....”
“Please,” said Cassie, setting the granola mix down. “I don’t want to know.” The items in question still had blood and little bits of meat on them. She felt nauseous just looking at them.
Remembering the claws grabbing at her, she felt for the tear in her coat.
Nick looked to see what she was doing. “You mean he got you?” he said, pushing her hand away to look. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He reached for her zipper then helped push her arm out of the sleeve.
Curious herself to see what damage had been done, Cassie didn’t struggle. She lifted her shirt, and Nick peered intently at a place on her torso just out of her sight. He gave a sigh of relief.
“I’m going to live?” she asked.
“It’s just a scratch. Good thing the cat was injured and your coat and sweater were so thick. Let me swab that so it doesn’t get infected.”
Digging in his pack, he came up with a first aid kit. Opening up an antiseptic wipe, he quickly doctored the three shallow gashes and then taped a gauze patch over the wound.
“Nick?”
“Yes?”
“Shall we both go back to Blue Sky?”
He paused a beat. “Why the change of heart?”
Cassie pulled her shirt down and slipped back into the parka before answering. Trying to remember the photo, she closed her eyes to see the image there, sharp and clear. She knew Nick’s father was the one. But she recalled how long it had taken to walk this far, and she realized that if Nick hadn’t come after her, she wouldn’t have made it through the night.
>
She thought she could make it to this MacDougall’s camp. How many ridges over had he said it was? But even if she didn’t get lost, or drown in the river trying to cross it, what kind of shape would she be in when she got to the camp? Nick hadn’t brought a whole lot of supplies. The canteen was already half empty, and Nick needed something to get back.
Then there was the fact that he hadn’t just left her to die out here, alone.
She opened her eyes to see Nick waiting patiently, and she shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
He smiled. “Good enough.”
“Next time I run off, I’ll take something a little bigger than a twig to beat off mountain lions.”
Nick laughed aloud. “Next time you run off, ask me and I’ll let you take my .357.”
“Deal,” said Cassie, handing the weapon back to him. Surprised, Nick hesitated before taking it. She realized as she let go that she hadn’t ever really convinced herself that Nick was one of the bad guys. No, maybe she had. But she had subconsciously come to the conclusion that he was okay. If she was wrong...well, she would have to wait and see.
Nick reached in a pocket, fished out a rag and began wiping the pistol down. It had dew on it, along with bits of dirt and pine needles.
“I’m sorry about that, Nick. I should have taken better care of it.”
“It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not. You don’t see a .357 Speed Six Ruger with the two-inch barrel every day. That thing has got to be at least forty years old.”
“You do know your guns, don’t you? It’s a pity this one’s been used as much as it has. It would be worth a lot more if the kid who had it before me hadn’t been so trigger happy. He didn’t even know what he had.” Nick smiled. “He sold it to me dirt cheap.”
“Trigger happy?” Cassie echoed, thinking of mob shootouts and police chases.
“Yeah. He and I were in the Junior Marksmen of Juneau club together. Jimmy would go to the range and blast out a couple boxes of ammo every day. Funny thing was, he was never any good. He did take care to clean it, though.”
Nick stroked the gun thoughtfully. “I wish I’d been the one to buy it in the first place. It would never have been used so much.”
“How did he get it?”
“An estate sale. Some poor guy’s wife didn’t know what it was and sold it to Jimmy for fifty dollars. Can you imagine?”
“Oh, Lord. Did Jimmy ever find out what he sold to you?”
Nick grinned. “Not from me.”
* * *
Hours later, bone-weary and hungry, they topped the grassy ridge to look down into Blue Sky valley. Checking his watch, Nick saw it was just after two in the afternoon. The climb had taken its toll on Cassie, and even though they had taken an easier, if less direct route, they hadn’t been making very good time. But he thought if he focused on getting them both quickly down the ridge and into the cabin, they could get hot showers, and he could cook a quick meal. They could have full bellies and their feet up in front of the fire within three hours....
Before they started down, Cassie stopped abruptly, grabbing his shoulder and pointing down at the lake.
Glancing at her, Nick saw fear naked on her face. He followed her pointing finger and saw two planes floating alongside the dock. He squinted to see the tail markings on the single engine de Havilland Beaver, then touched her shoulder in reassurance. “It’s okay. That’s Alex’s plane. He’s one of my pilots. See? There’s the Knight logo on the tail.”
“I’ll wait up here until he goes away.”
“I’m sure it’s just business. Cassie, be reasonable.”
“I am being reasonable. Maybe whoever kidnapped me saw you take off with me. Maybe Alex is just here for business, but what if he goes back to town and happens to tell the wrong person that you’ve got a black-haired woman staying out here. I’m in hiding, Nick, aren’t I?”
Nick noticed she didn’t say anything about his father. He felt relieved that she seemed to have stopped believing his father was guilty. But the wariness in her eyes brought home the weight of his responsibility for her welfare. He had brought her out here. If by some chance Alex could ruin her sense of safe haven, he couldn’t expose her to the risk.
“Okay, but come down to the edge of the clearing at least. I won’t let him stay long. Then you won’t have so far to come after he leaves.”
Cassie seemed to be thinking quite hard about it, then she nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Two hours later, Nick approached the cabin from the rear, knowing Alex would have made himself at home inside. Sure enough, a light burned in the front room. He pushed the door open, surprised to hear voices.
“Hello, Alex,” he said as he came in. Then he saw Alex’s companion. “Pop! What are you doing here?”
Chapter Ten
“Hello, Nicolas.” Anton Knight stood as his son shut the door. Alex, lounging in the easy chair, lifted a hand in indifferent greeting.
Nick shrugged off his pack and set it by the door, then walked over to his father to give him an awkward hug. Anton Knight stood three inches shorter than his son, but his commanding air made him seem larger. His eyes were the sort that could pierce a hole through a person’s soul, and his face told more than his age with its wrinkles. It told of a life in which many battles had been fought. And won.
“I worried when your secretary called and cancelled our dinner date. She had no explanation, so I hired Alex to fly me out.” Anton held Nick at arm’s length to look at him. “I trust you are all right?”
“I’m fine, Pop. I’ve cancelled dinner before. Why the fuss?” Nick gestured for Anton to return to his seat, then sat next to him.
“Call it intuition. I had a bad feeling, Nick. Tell me why you cancelled.” Anton flicked a speck of dust from the lapel of his immaculate suit with a thin, manicured finger. Nick’s father always dressed for business.
Nick hesitated, on the verge of telling him about Cassie and asking for his help. As a commercial real estate magnate, Anton had connections with highly placed business executives and city officials alike. People who could pull out the stops to get the police to protect Cassie and find her abductors.
Nick glanced at Alex, slouched in the chair, looking into his beer and pretending not to listen to them talk. The tow-headed twenty-two-year-old looked uncomfortable and bored, his hand repeatedly reaching for a cell phone that would never find a signal out here.
Pop had flown out to Blue Sky only once before, for the small housewarming party he had thrown for his son. He didn’t like to be so far away from his business, or a phone. Nick wondered why he had chosen to fly here now, today. Remembering Cassie’s fear, he knew she would run off again if he spoke to Pop about her.
“I was tired after doing the books, Pop,” Nick lied. “It was a bear this month, and Mary was being difficult about an error I found. I needed to take a break.”
“Do you want another accountant, Nick? You know I can get you the best.” Anton leaned forward to lift his drink from the coffee table.
“No, Mary’s fine, Pop. It was me, mostly. Like I said, I needed a break.” Nick went into the kitchen, bringing back a can of cola. He cracked it open and sat back down, wondering at Pop’s real motivation for travelling all the way out here. “How long have you been waiting?”
“A while,” answered Alex. He gestured with a sheepish grin to the three empty beer bottles on the floor by the table. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“You know I don’t, Alex, so long as you bring some out next time. And as long as you’re fit to fly.” Nick thought a beer sounded good, but he hated to drink when Pop was around. Nick loved his father, but he knew better than to dull his wits around him. Pop had a way of taking advantage of lapses, even with his own son.
“We flew in just after noon,” Anton said. “May I ask what you have been doing? Were you hunting?” Anton’s deep voice had just a trace of his Ukrainian accent. It was more his manner of speaking that caught the attention. Clear
and precise, Anton’s voice gave the impression that he always thought out every word before he spoke it.
“You could call it hunting,” Nick said with a wry smile. “A wild cat came down to the cabin and kept me awake all night, screaming. I went after it this morning. See?” Nick pulled the claws and teeth out of his pocket and showed them to Anton and Alex. Alex looked more impressed than Anton. “I would have taken the hide too, but it had been sick, and the fur was ruined.” He set his trophies on the table.
“So how long are you staying, Pop? I can fix my bed for you if you want.” His thoughts flew to Cassie waiting just inside the tree line as he asked, but he didn’t want to rush Pop away. He always offered to let Pop stay out here, and he didn’t want to draw any awkward questions now. Besides, he knew Pop wouldn’t stay.
“I would like to stay, Nick. But I will leave you to your break and return to Juneau tonight.”
Alex cleared his throat. “And we’d better go soon, sir. It’ll be dark before long.”
Anton gave a dry chuckle. “And you know how I prefer to fly in daylight. Tell me, Nick. How is business this month?”
“Well, we’re starting to feel the late fall slack-off, but it’s not as bad as last year.”
They talked about business, mostly Nick’s. With Anton, business always dominated any discussion. Nick often resented that his conversations with his father almost never delved into personal topics. If they had, Nick would have felt more comfortable talking about Cassie.
After a short while Anton stood. “We should be going. I have been away from my business too long.”
“Relax a little, Pop.” Nick stood up too. “It’s Saturday.”
“Ah, Nick, you should know that there is no such thing as Saturday when you own a business. Alex, it is time to go.”
Alex already waited at the door, holding Anton’s overcoat so he could slip it on smoothly. Anton straightened the collar, though it seemed perfectly straight to Nick.
Nick followed them outside. “Did you get a date to reschedule from my secretary?” he asked.
Anton smiled. “You will attend my next party. I want to show off my successful son. No arguments.” He took away Nick’s next words with an admonishing finger. “You owe me this one. Your secretary has the details.” Anton held out his arms for Nick, who embraced his father.
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