“We’re going to have to jump before we get to the exit platform.” He stared down. The lift had elevated them a good thirty feet above the ground. He could wait until the distance was closer to ten or fifteen feet. The snow down at the base of the hill had been hard packed and icy. Maybe they could hope for some powder and a softer landing toward the top of the mountain.
“Now?” said Isabel.
She pointed at the landing platform up ahead.
Jason glanced over his shoulder. He could make out the outline of Nick’s body four seats behind them. “Let’s do this.”
He flipped around, slipped off the chair and hung on to it before letting go. He sailed through the air. His knees buckled from his collision with the ground, and he rolled a few feet. Isabel still hung from the chair. She let go and fell to the ground below. Hearing her moan as she landed, he prayed nothing had been broken.
The concert hall was just a set of distant glowing lights barely discernible through the trees clustered on the mountain. Nick had dropped from the lift, as well.
Jason sprinted over to Isabel and grabbed her hand to help her to her feet. “You all right?”
“Just a little shaky.”
Nick was setting an intense pace as he ran toward them.
This was a remote black-diamond part of the ski hill.
Jason led Isabel toward the shelter of the trees. The canopy blocked much of the snowfall from gathering on the forest floor, allowing them to move faster and not leave many tracks.
They ran until they were both out of breath. The forest thinned, and they were out in the open again. A light winked on and off as if moving over hills, appearing and disappearing.
“Snowmobile,” said Jason. “Maybe ski patrol.”
“Or Nick called in reinforcements. He was able to arrange for that car to be dropped off.” Isabel came up beside him.
She might be right. The snowmobile rounded another hill. He heard the hum of a motor as it drew closer. Maybe they should hide until they were sure the snowmobiler was one of the good guys.
He couldn’t see Nick anywhere.
As Isabel pointed toward a sign that showed a map of the trails on the mountains, the headlight of the snowmobile pointed directly at them.
They hurried over to the sign and crouched behind it. The snowmobile worked its way up and down the mountain. Jason peered around the sign. It was too dark to see anything but the outline of the snowmobile and its rider.
The snowmobile was set to idle. A shadowy figure emerged from the tree on the other side of the black-diamond run. The figure walked toward the idling snowmobiler, shouted above the hum of the engine and then got on the back behind the driver. The voice had been loud enough so they could tell that it was Nick. He had called in reinforcements.
The snowmobile worked its way back up the mountain.
Now was their chance to run. Without a word, they both took off.
The snowmobiler stopped at the top of the trail run on a ledge. A moment later, a powerful searchlight illuminated sections of the mountain piece by piece.
Jason led Isabel toward an overhang of snow that was used for jumps. They hid underneath it, the shadows covering them as the searchlight swept past.
After the last time they were forced to brave the cold for survival, he’d prayed it wouldn’t happen again. But here they were, Isabel pressed close to him, shivering. Though she was dressed for winter, they had been out in the elements for at least half an hour.
He wrapped an arm around her and whispered in her ear. “It won’t be long now. They’ll give up.”
They’d be warmer if they could stay on the move. The hum of the snowmobile still pressed on his ears. They couldn’t run...not yet.
He drew Isabel even closer.
Ten minutes passed before the snowmobile noise faded.
“Let’s get back over to the chairlift.”
“What if they are waiting there for us?”
They could both get hypothermia by the time they made it down the mountain on foot.
The wind blew, chilling his skin. Isabel wrapped her arms around her body. He’d skied these hills all through high school. “There are warming huts around here. At least there used to be.” That would give them time to come up with a plan.
He ran down the hill back toward the map. Isabel stood beside him as he leaned close to the map to see better. “There used to be a warming hut by the Crystal run. If memory serves.”
“I’ll take your word for it. I never skied.”
He started walking in the general direction he thought the hut might be. “Really? I thought everyone in Silver Strike skied. I lived fifty miles up the road and made it almost every weekend.”
She hurried to keep up with him as they cut across the ski run. “Mom said it was a rich person’s sport.” A note of sadness filled her voice.
There were all sorts of programs for kids who couldn’t afford to ski to get help. His father had signed him up for everything he could. Isabel’s mother just hadn’t wanted to make the effort. “Maybe I’ll have to take you sometime.”
“Once it’s okay for us to go back out in the open, right?”
Both of them had targets on their backs. Now that the smugglers knew they were being watched, the whole investigation was tainted. “Maybe we should just focus on getting down the mountain.”
“I appreciate the offer.” He detected warmth in her voice.
They trudged ahead. He tuned in to his surroundings, listening for the sound of the snowmobile.
The warming hut was right where he remembered it. They slipped inside out of the wind. It had benches on three sides and a fire pit in the center that was usually lit on cold days when the ski hill was operating. They sat down on one of the benches.
“If we could just build a small fire.” Isabel sounded like her teeth were chattering.
“We’d be spotted, Isabel.”
He took his down coat off. She was wearing a wool dress coat. “Here, come closer. We can wrap up in this, use our body heat to get warm.”
She slipped out of her wool coat, wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed close to him while he formed an insulating shell with the two coats.
“Better?”
She nodded. “I’m only doing this because I’m freezing.”
“Oh, come on. You like me a little bit.” He hoped she picked up on his joking tone.
“I like you more than a little bit.”
“Really?” She had given a forthright response to his half-joking comment. He felt like he was glowing all over. Isabel liked him.
“It’s just that after Nick, I decided maybe dating wasn’t my thing. Something inside me died after him. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Yeah, I watched my dad get burned real bad by my mom. He never dated after that.” Watching his father in so much pain had made him conclude that maybe love was not all it was chalked up to be. The little bit he’d dated had only confirmed that. It seemed he attracted women who only knew how to take and to hurt.
He drew her closer until she stopped shivering. Even if there couldn’t be anything between them and despite these trying circumstances, there was something really wonderful about holding Isabel.
“You warmed up?”
She nodded. “Maybe we should try to get to that chairlift. It would be faster.”
Riskier too. Since Nick and his friend weren’t chasing them down, they were probably watching the lift. “I don’t know. Once that lift started to move, it would be like a red flag if they’re anywhere close by.”
“Jason, I know I was against it before, but I don’t know if I can make it hiking down.” She held up her hands covered by the leather gloves. “I can’t feel my fingertips.”
He weighed their options. It would take twice as long to walk down and that was if the
y weren’t chased. They’d have to move from one cluster of trees to another, and even then they’d be out in the open some of the time.
“Let’s get over to the lift. We can figure out if it’s being watched.” They both rose to their feet, facing each other. He reached out and squeezed her hands. “Try to keep your hands in your pockets.”
She nodded. “I really messed up. Nick had his suspicions about me from the start. Otherwise, why would he have asked someone to figure out if he was being tailed?”
He pulled his glove off and touched her cold cheek. “Don’t blame yourself. The Bureau could have been more careful about their tails.”
“The investigation is going to fall apart because of me.” Her voice faltered. “And Nick won’t go to prison.”
He gathered her into his arms, holding her close. “We don’t know what is going to happen.”
The best-case scenario was that the FBI would have to lie low with the investigation and hope the smuggling would resume once the thieves thought the heat was off. They’d been so close too, one person away from identifying the mastermind behind the whole thing.
He drew Isabel even closer. All he could think about right now was comforting Isabel and giving her some hope.
He spoke into her ear. “We’ll get off this mountain and we’ll get it figured out.”
“We. I like the sound of that.” She stepped back, swiped at her eyes and tilted her head. “Thank you, Jason.”
“No problem.” He pressed his hand against her cheek, wishing they could stay in the warmth of this moment forever...but that wasn’t possible.
The wind gusted and swirled around them when they stepped outside. They ran in the general direction of the chairlift, using the trees for cover and shelter whenever possible.
The silhouette of the chairlift came into view. They crouched low by the trees. A moment later, the lights of the snowmobile appeared at the top of the hill and traveled in a circle. The motor hummed as it whizzed past them. They pressed back even deeper into the trees.
Once the snowmobile was some distance from them and headed back up on the other side of the lift, Isabel spoke up. “I guess that’s it, then. We go on foot.” He detected the fear in her voice.
“Let’s do this.”
They sprinted around the trees and wove through the forest until there were no more trees to hide them. Jason glanced up the hill where he could see the headlights of the snowmobile. He and Isabel were some distance from the top of the run, but it would be just a matter of minutes before they’d be spotted. They were dark figures on a field of white—easy targets.
He prayed they had enough distance between them to get to the next cluster of trees before they were caught and killed.
FOURTEEN
Isabel’s heart pounded. She willed her feet to pump faster. The buzz of the snowmobile grew louder as her boots pressed down the crunchy snow. They came to a steep part of the run.
Jason plopped onto his behind. She stared down at the incline below, which dropped off at a steep angle. It would be easier to slide than walk. She sat down beside him and pushed off with her hands.
The snowmobile would have to loop around the steep terrain. Still, the sound of its engine seemed to surround them, persistent in its pursuit.
They slid, gaining speed. She held her hands out to slow down. The searchlight swept over them as the incline leveled off. They burst to their feet and ran until they came to another steep drop-off. She slid, trying to brake with her hands. As she felt herself propelled headfirst, she tucked, falling forward into a half somersault. She stopped, landing on her behind but disoriented.
Jason appeared beside her. He grabbed her arm to help her to her feet and pointed up the hill. “He’s doing this the hard way.”
The snowmobile, with only one rider on it, was about to make the first jump. The rider revved the motor and sailed through the air.
Both of them sprinted, half sliding and half running on the treacherous terrain. The noise of the snowmobile told her he was making the jumps and getting closer. The machine sounded like a groaning angry monster.
Then the noise stopped.
As they ran, Isabel glanced over her shoulder. The snowmobile was on its side. The rider had gotten to his feet and was lifting off his helmet, probably preparing to pursue them on foot.
Isabel dug her heels in to keep from sliding. Jason sprinted six or so feet ahead of her. She watched the back of his head in the moonlight. The reflective material on his jacket made him look like a bouncing set of stripes moving down the mountain.
The rhythm of her own rapid footsteps surrounded her. She filled her lungs with air and pumped her legs even faster, drawing close to the tree line. Her feet slid out from underneath her and she fell.
A set of hands yanked at her from the side. Before she could scream, a hand went over her mouth and she was dragged sideways. She watched the stripes of Jason’s jacket disappear over a hill as Nick swung her around. He dragged her toward a cluster of evergreens. His hand slipped from her mouth.
She called Jason’s name, her voice barely above a whisper and filled with desperation.
“Oh sure, call for your boyfriend.” Nick loomed toward her, pulling off his gloves.
“I lost my gun somewhere.” He flexed his hands. “Guess I have to do this the old-fashioned way.” His words dripped with menace and an intense rage she had never seen from him before.
The blood froze in her veins.
In the distance, the sputter of a coughing engine reached her ears. The snowmobiler must have decided to try to get the machine unstuck.
She crab-walked backward to get away from Nick, knowing that nothing she could say would change his mind. He meant to kill her.
She flipped over and scrambled on all fours. Nick pounced on her, grabbing her by her collar and jerking her to her feet.
He pressed his lips close to her face, his breath like lava on her ear. “Get up. Let’s get deeper into the trees so lover boy can’t find us.”
She tried to twist free of his grasp, which only seemed to feed his rage. Once they were hidden by trees, he swung her around and clamped his hands on her neck. As she twisted her body and struggled for breath, she kicked him in the shin. He groaned but squeezed tighter around her neck.
Her eyes watered and white dots surrounded her field of vision. She drew her hands up to his, clawing his fingers and trying to break free. She pried his fingers off enough to speak each word delivered between gasping breaths. “You. Don’t. Want. To. Go. To. Prison.”
His grip loosened. “What?”
Her throat felt like it had been scraped with a utility knife. “Make it look like an accident. Like I fell off one of those steep jumps.” The move would buy her time and a chance at escape.
His fingers still pressed against her windpipe. “You think I’m that dumb. You’re just trying to find a way to escape.”
He pressed harder. She screamed, but it seemed to fade before it was out of her mouth. By now Jason would have glanced over his shoulder and come looking for her. But he’d have no way of knowing where they’d slipped into the trees.
She managed to pull his fingers away from her throat for just a moment.
“Please, Nick. Don’t do this.”
“Beg all you want.” His hands gripped her neck even tighter, shutting off all the air.
She scratched at his fingers and tried to turn her body to break free. Her vision became a single dot of light as all the breath left her lungs. Her knees buckled. Nick pushed her so she fell on her back. She took in one sharp breath before his hands were on her neck again.
Darkness surrounded her. Her last thought was that the snow felt cold on the back of her head.
* * *
As he sprinted back up the hill, Jason mentally kicked himself. It had only been a matter of a minute that he’d run wit
hout checking over his shoulder for Isabel. Nick must have been stalking them as they moved down the hill. Jason rounded the hill. The snowmobiler had righted his machine and was revving the motor, preparing for takeoff.
Jason darted into trees to avoid being spotted. He ran. Did he dare call Isabel’s name? He zigzagged around trees, pushing past the rising panic. The snowmobiler whizzed by along the tree line, his engine sputtering and humming. The headlights reached some feet into the forest. Jason ran deeper into the trees, seeing nothing. He was out of options. He’d do anything to find her.
“Isabel.” He spoke her name rather than shouted it.
To the side, a rustling of tree branches caught his attention. He darted in the direction the noises had come from. Weight landed on him. He fell on his back. A fist landed a hard blow to his head while something pressed on his chest.
“She’s gone, lover boy. If I can’t have her, nobody can.”
The thought of anything bad happening to Isabel ignited a fire inside Jason. He slammed Nick’s back with his knee. The blow was enough to surprise Nick and knock him off balance. Jason landed another blow to Nick’s stomach. Nick groaned and doubled over. Jason pushed him off, jumped to his feet and kicked Nick in the head just before Nick tried to pull Jason’s feet out from under him. Jason hit Nick with leg jabs, one to his side and one to his head. Nick fell over and remained motionless. When Jason checked for a pulse, Nick was still alive but unconscious. Though Nick would probably only be out for a few minutes, Jason had no time or rope to restrain Nick with. His priority was finding Isabel.
Some strange energy flowed through Jason. He refused to believe Isabel was dead. Nick must have been bluffing to weaken Jason’s resolve. He ran in the direction Nick had come from, pushing tree branches out of the way. His heart beat intensely as he searched the ground made darker by the tree canopy.
He said her name not once but three times.
The snowmobile continued to patrol the perimeter of the cluster of trees. Light flashed through the trees and Jason spotted something of a light color, maybe yellow, lying on the ground. It was the knit scarf Isabel had worn with her wool dress coat.
Mountain Secrets Page 30