But now...she’d have to keep running for her life. Her nightmare wasn’t over, not by a long shot, and she doubted Snyder would give her much time before his next attack.
Images of him killing Tim in cold blood flashed through her thoughts. His words resounded in her head. “Give me what I want, Leah.”
He’d called for a rescue team. That he needed her alive was obvious. She’d thought he only wanted to kill her because she’d witnessed Tim’s murder, but his words on the mountain told a much different story.
No. He needed something from her first and then he’d kill her. An image of his knife flashed in her mind. Leah shuddered.
“Are you okay?” Cade asked.
What should she tell him? What explanation could she possibly give? The truth wasn’t an option.
“Leah, is everything all right?” he asked again.
Leah rubbed her arms. “I’m fine.” The events of the past few hours played through her thoughts, images of her icy tomb wrapping around her once again.
She’d come here to hide, to stay alive, to investigate Tim’s murder from a safe distance. But now she had to add one more thing to that list: finding out what Snyder wanted from her.
Thankfully, Cade seemed to sense her need to process everything because he didn’t ask more questions. The helicopter landed and Cade assisted her onto the pavement of the parking area swarming with emergency vehicles with flashing lights.
A rescue worker approached Cade. “A storm’s moving in.”
Cade frowned, eyeing Leah. “They’re giving up the search for the other victim then?”
“The incident commander suspended the search. He’ll reevaluate at first light,” the guy said, then left Cade alone with Leah.
“There’s no point in risking more lives.” Cade’s intense gaze studied Leah. “Unless they found something to indicate they were close to finding him. Skies, gloves or poles. Something like that.”
Her throat constricted. Shouldn’t she tell him that there wasn’t another victim? Except, what if she was wrong? What if Snyder had been buried in the avalanche? The witness had said there were two people who had gone down in the avalanche. If Snyder had survived and made that call, then why would he lie about the number of people needing rescue?
To throw her off? Maybe he believed that if she thought he was dead, she’d let down her guard so he’d have the advantage again. Leah wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she could tell Cade everything. But it wouldn’t help—they would still need to search for another possible victim if there was any chance someone was still trapped out there. Besides, she couldn’t tell anyone about her predicament. Not until she knew who she could trust.
Dropping her hands, she eyed the man who had pulled her out of the snow. He hovered over her as though he was afraid to let her out of his sight.
She didn’t need some overprotective rescuer getting involved in her life, putting himself in danger for her any more than he already had.
She needed to find a way to get her things from the cabin and get out. But as Cade had pointed out, she didn’t have her vehicle. It was parked in the shed at the cabin along with a snowmobile. Besides, the road would be treacherous and maybe unnavigable in the dark with the storm moving in.
At least Tim had paid some guy to keep the drive to the cabin plowed. There was only one way in and one way out and considering she had a killer after her, she liked it that way. But now that her hiding place had been discovered, she couldn’t afford to stay there.
“If you’re still willing to give me a ride back to the cabin, I could use that.”
He nodded, as if he’d only been waiting for her to see the obvious. “I know the road well. I can get you there.”
“I appreciate your help.” She hung her head. “I hope it’s not too much trouble.”
“I like to finish the job. Make sure you’re safe and secure, tucked away at home. The only problem is that with the storm coming in, I don’t know if that cabin is fully secure. You sure it’s a safe place to stay?” He lifted a brow.
No. But not for the reasons he might think. She held her hand to her forehead. “Look, I’m tired. I need to get back.” She wouldn’t call it home. Leah couldn’t return to her real home—a small apartment a few miles from Tim’s office. But one thing at a time. One day at a time. She had to survive this night first.
“Okay, then.” He watched her for a few seconds longer than necessary. What was he thinking? Then he turned his attention to finding a ride. He spoke with a police officer, and Leah stiffened. She turned away, concealing her shudder. Snyder had driven home her reasons to fear people who were sworn to protect. But then, her past had already done that for her. She’d watched helplessly from the sidelines as people sworn to protect had put an innocent woman in prison. Put her mother in prison.
Someone agreed to transport Cade and Leah to Cade’s vehicle. From there, he could take her to the cabin. She climbed into the backseat of the sedan, while Cade sat in the passenger seat. He and his buddy spent the drive talking about the avalanche. They didn’t engage her in their conversation, which was just as well. But she knew that wouldn’t last. Cade was all too clearly the inquisitive type. She couldn’t really hold it against him—she was the same way. It was one small part of why she’d become an investigator. But any digging that Cade did into her situation was only going to cause trouble for them both.
Once Cade got her alone, she had a feeling his interrogation would start. He was perceptive, and she’d read in his eyes that he had questions. She wasn’t sure how to evade them, but she had to try. She hadn’t done a good job of hiding her emotions, but maybe she could convince him that her state of mind was all due to the avalanche. Involving someone else in her dilemma, possibly putting them in danger, wasn’t something she would willingly do.
Leaning her head against the headrest, she closed her eyes. This brief respite, this was the first time in hours she could shut off what was going on around her, if only for a few moments, as Cade and his friend talked about the approaching storm. Another one. She thought that southeast Alaska, with the temperate rainforest, was supposed to be milder than interior Alaska. Maybe it was—but it sure didn’t seem that way to her.
Ignoring the words, she let Cade’s smooth voice wrap around her again, reminding her of when he’d spoken reassuringly to her as he’d dug her out. She couldn’t ignore that the whole rescue-hero thing was more than attractive. Add to that, the guy seemed so selfless. His concern for her, when he had no reason to care about her at all, was disconcerting. So unlike any of the men she’d known. But there had to be some reason she couldn’t trust him. Even if she didn’t know it yet, she’d find it. Men couldn’t be trusted—her boss and trusted hero Detective Nick Snyder were prime examples. This Cade guy had a secret, a side to him he kept well hidden.
Everyone did.
They arrived at the avalanche center, which shared space with other businesses in a five-story building along the main thoroughfare in Mountain Cove. Cade and Leah got out, and Cade thanked the guy for the ride before leading Leah to his vehicle.
It was only four-thirty in the afternoon in February, and the sun was already setting. She’d only had three days at the cabin, but had learned quickly how limited the daylight hours were in the dead of winter. Parking lot lights illuminated Cade’s big blue truck sitting at the side of the building along with other vehicles. But his was the only vehicle with a plow attached to the front.
She glanced at him and he shot her a grin. “I live up a long drive. It’s a little higher elevation than the town, and snows a lot more.”
Leah couldn’t help herself. She smiled back, the first genuine smile to cross her face in days. But she couldn’t let herself get too comfortable with