“Raven.” Aidan laid his hands on her shoulders.
“I want the bastard dead.” She pushed his comforting hands aside and jumped to her feet. “How dare he kill Lucien? How dare he take my son?” Anger ate through her system like acid. Worry and fear stepped back as a vicious rage moved to the forefront.
They shared an understanding look. Aidan took point again, moving ahead of Lucien’s body. They left him where he was. They’d be back later to give the loyal companion a proper burial. They climbed upward through frozen, brittle branches that tore at their coats, scratched exposed flesh. Aidan grabbed Raven when she stumbled and fell, holding onto her arm as they hiked up the steep mountainside.
They crested the hill, to find a blinding open meadow…full of snowmobile tracks.
“Shit.” Breathing hard, Aidan shaded his eyes from the reflection of the sun recoiling off the brilliant blanket of snow. He stomped off right, studying the tracks. He came back and headed left, circled around and stopped. “They left on a snow machine. The trail meshes with the other tracks of snow machines. Son of a bitch.”
The pit of dread in Raven’s stomach opened deeper. How were they going to find Fox now? There had to be miles of criss-crossing snowmobile tracks throughout the meadow, scarring the snow-packed valley.
“We need a snow machine.” Aidan huffed out a frustrated breath.
“Wait.” Raven rubbed her forehead in thought. “This valley isn’t for day trippers. They wouldn’t come out this far if they had to head back to Fairbanks before dark.” She lowered her hand and met his hard gaze.
“That means whoever took Fox is staying at the lodge or lives in the area.” Aidan pulled out the two-way radio. “I’ll call Garrett and have him take a closer look at the guests.”
Not able to stand around and wait while Aidan radioed the trooper, Raven snow-shoed around the area where they’d lost Fox’s trail. The snow was harder, packed down with the weight of snow machines running over it. Something colorful reflected the light and she moved closer to see what it was.
A Jolly Rancher sat on one of the thin track impressions. “Aidan!” She was never going to complain about Fox’s dentist bill again.
“I can’t get anyone on the radio. The mountains must be getting in the way.” He trudged over to her, coming to a dead stop when he recognized what she was pointing at. Aidan’s face spilt into a grin. “Damn, but Fox is one clever kid. And he has great taste in candy.” Aidan grabbed her hand.
They increased their pace, half running-jogging over the open packed trails. They’d found six more Jolly Ranchers before Aidan came to a sharp stop, his arm reaching out to catch Raven.
“What?” she asked, her breath coming in thick steam. “Why are we stopping?”
“I hear something. Listen.” He cocked his head to the side.
Then she heard it. The revving of a snowmobile.
The ground sloped down and then up again. They were closer to the tree line as islands of birch and spruce rose above the ocean of snow. At the base of one of these islands was a snowmobile stuck with a lone rider gunning the engine, trying to get the big machine out of the snow bank. Disappointment slammed into Raven like a fist of nails when she didn’t see Fox. Her eyes scanned the open areas, searching deeper into the encroaching forests.
No Fox.
They reached the rider as he lifted his fur-covered head—her fur-covered head.
“Great,” Raven mumbled. A lot of help this woman was going to be. They didn’t have time to save her sorry ass.
“Follow my lead,” Aidan said, under his breath. “Having trouble?” he asked the woman in a welcoming voice.
“Oh my goodness, am I glad you came along.” She smiled, though it didn’t reach her jade eyes. “I’m in a pickle as you can see.”
“Yes, I can.” Aidan nodded. “How’d you end up buried in a bank?” He indicated the wide expanse of snow.
“You know how it is. Going too fast, made a sharp turn. That kind of thing.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t hurt yourself.” Aidan handed the rifle to Raven, his eyes meeting hers and sending a message. One that was hard to believe. “Let’s see if I can get this beast free for you. I’m Aidan, by the way and this is Raven.”
Raven nodded her head in greeting, one hand holding the rifle, the other holding the thirty-eight special hidden in her coat pocket.
“My name’s Genie. It is so nice to meet you both. I just don’t know what I’d have done if you two hadn’t happened along.” Genie batted her eyes up at Aidan, playing the damsel in distress to the hilt. The woman had man-eater written all over her.