Alaskan Mountain Pursuit Elizabeth Goddard (best short novels .TXT) 📖

grabbed the first-aid kit. He didn’t like the look of the cut. It needed stitches. But he would do what he could and keep her talking so she wouldn’t focus on the pain.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” she said. “You don’t deserve that. I’m just tired.”

And injured. “No need to apologize. This has been a hard day for you.”

“For you, too. You helped me, someone you didn’t even know. Not too many would have done the same. Snake included.”

Ah, so she’d been listening in longer than he thought. He was glad Snake had ventured outside for the moment.

“I’m nothing special so don’t make me out to be.”

“I can’t say that I agree. Nor can I thank you enough for what you did today. What you’re still doing.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I heard you talking to Snake. He sounded upset with you for bringing me here. And what was he saying about five miles?”

She’d definitely heard more than he thought. No matter. He hadn’t said anything he was ashamed of saying. “Don’t worry about that for now.” Will was glad he’d finished with her wound. “There, that should do it.”

He made to stand, hoping to escape from her rush of questions. He didn’t blame her, but he wasn’t prepared to answer them fully until he figured things out. He needed to talk Snake out of the five-mile hike. And he needed to use the radio.

Will scooted the bowl of stew toward her. Sylvie grabbed him before he could get away. Heat danced up his arm from where she touched him. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you, but I’ll find a way.”

He already knew her well enough to expect that from her. She couldn’t receive a kindness without needing to repay it. She thought she owed him. He eased his arm from her grip. “Don’t worry about that. It’s more important that you focus on staying alive.”

More important that they find out who wanted to kill her. The same person who had already killed their mothers?

SIX

With warm stew in her stomach and a mesmerizing fire, Sylvie had never been more exhausted. The sofa was comfortable and broken in, and cocooned her, inviting her to sleep. She didn’t want to close her eyes. After all, she was in an out-of-the-way cabin with two strangers. Two men she’d only known a few hours, never mind they had both been an intricate part of her survival so far.

When they figured out she was too exhausted to offer coherent conversation, they left her alone to rest—though she could still hear their hushed tones from the far side of the cabin where they practiced knife-throwing against a chunk of wood. Besides the shelf of old books against the wall, that could be Snake’s only entertainment out here, and a necessary skill. Will’s apparent expertise surprised her. She wouldn’t want to face off with him. She remembered she’d lost his knife when she’d had to cut him out of the harness and swim him to shore.

Her gaze drifted to the diving equipment sitting out. It must belong to Snake. Her equipment was still in Will’s plane. Had the doomed craft already sunk, never to be seen again—a reminder of the plane she’d come to find? At what point could they come back to retrieve her diving equipment? What did it matter? She couldn’t get it in time to do her any good and might use Snake’s gear to recompress herself. That was a seriously risky scenario that could kill her. She was counting on getting out of here at first light. Better to wait for the hyperbaric chamber in Juneau.

Will called her name out, jarring Sylvie awake. Somewhere behind his words, she heard a vibrating noise over the crackle of the fire in the otherwise quiet morning. That noise penetrated her catatonic state—and she forced herself to sit up, listen. Will stood at the open door, looking out, the gray of morning illuminating that portion of the cabin.

Whomp-whomp-whomp.

Realization dawned. A helicopter. Someone to rescue them.

Newfound energy surged through Sylvie. She eased from the sofa and limped over to where Will stood, hanging through the opening and letting the warm air out while the cold Alaska morning whipped inside and swirled around her feet.

Intent on listening, he didn’t acknowledge her. She lifted her hand to touch his arm then dropped it when he tensed, as if he’d expected the touch. As if he hadn’t wanted it.

“Why aren’t you running out there to signal them?” Panic engulfed her. Sylvie pushed by, prepared to limp outside to wave at the helicopter. Will and Snake couldn’t keep her here. “If you won’t, then I will!”

“Sylvie, no.” Will snatched her back.

Pain shot through her ankle. She screamed, hoping someone would hear her.

Will gripped her shoulders, his brown eyes imploring her to listen. “Last night I radioed Chief Winters with the Mountain Cove Police. He’s someone I know and trust. Chief Winters is sending a SAR team to meet us at ten. That’s not for another three hours. I figured it would take us that long to hike the terrain to the meet-up point, especially with your injured ankle. That helicopter isn’t our help.”

“How can you know that?”

“This isn’t where I told them we’d be. And it doesn’t sound like the type of chopper medevac uses. This is a single-engine. Small, maybe a two-seater.”

She froze. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I don’t know who is flying the helicopter. Chief Winters didn’t send this one.”

“It could be someone who could help us. Someone willing to fly us to Juneau.”

He pursed his lips. “Or it could be the men after you.”

Sylvie backed away from him. “No, that can’t be. How could they find us?”

“They could have spotted the plane sitting halfway out of the water if it hasn’t already sunk. Then on foot they could have tracked us. Or the helicopter might be simply looking for smoke from the nearest cabin, knowing that would be our only shelter for miles.”

“But how could they have