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“But she’s the Chilkoot, right? You married into the family. You know how the Chilkoots are. They only trust themselves.”
“Just shut up. I gotta fly this thing. I’m an engineer, not a pilot.”
Grumpy. Put-upon. More cracks she could use. But more importantly—engineer? Did he have a role in the Ice Falls plan?
“My brother’s an engineer!” she lied brightly. “What kind of engineer are you?”
“Electrical,” he growled. “Now leave me be.”
She stayed quiet for a few moments, just in case he really did need to focus on flying the plane. “You seem to have it under control. You’re a fast learner.”
“You aren’t. You keep talking.”
“Well, I’m a little nervous because I just got kidnapped, and a lot of people cope with nerves by talking. It’s better than throwing up, which is what might happen if I don’t get a handle on my nerves.” She made a retching sound, which unfortunately made her even more nauseous. The next one sounded even more real.
“Fine, go ahead and talk,” he said with a growl. “We’re almost there anyway.”
She peered down at the forests slipping past below them. They weren’t very close to Firelight Ridge yet, as far as she could tell. “Where are we landing?”
“Near ground zero.” He said it absently, as if it didn’t matter if she understood what he was talking about or not.
Which made her even more nervous. If he didn’t mind talking freely in front of her, that must mean he wasn’t worried about what she knew. Was ground zero where they planned to set off the charges?
“Is it far from Firelight Ridge?”
He smirked. “Far enough.”
Ominous. And cryptic. But by the set of his jaw, she knew she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him.
Glancing again at Elias, she saw that his eyes were drifting shut. Jimmy Marsh must have drugged him, maybe with the same substance the Chilkoots used. That infuriated her; hadn’t the poor kid been through enough? She was going to get him out of this, she promised him silently.
“We know that you’re planning to blow up Ice Falls,” she told him. “Law enforcement is onto you.”
“They’re busy raiding the Chilkoot place. Just like we planned it.” He shot her a contemptuous look. “Fucking Feds don’t know shit.”
“Do you mean you and Soraya planned it? Or you and Luke?”
“Luke.” He spit to the side, a glob of saliva landing on the window of the plane. Sam wouldn’t be happy about that. He’d have to disinfect this whole plane after he got it back.
Which rang a distant bell.
“That man doesn’t know how to get off his ass and make things happen,” Jimmy Marsh went on. “Me and Soraya and some of the younger ones, we got fed up. We’re ready. What else are we waiting for?”
“So you set Luke up? You’re lucky he doesn’t throw you guys to the wolves.”
“He won’t. He’d never say a word against Soraya, she’s a Chilkoot.”
She thought he might be right about that.
“Besides, all we did is hurry up the timetable.”
He pointed the nose of the plane downward. Apparently they were about to land. She had to come up with a plan. Fast.
She did have one advantage, which was that she’d flown in this plane before. But she hadn’t paid much attention to the interior, since she’d either been admiring the scenery or trying not to throw up. She remembered Sam offering her an airsickness bag. He’d reached behind the pilot’s seat and flicked open a cubby where the bags were stashed, along with a spray can of disinfectant…
There was that little bell again.
She retched again, more dramatically this time. “Airsickness bag! Quick! Elias, it’s next to you, right there…oh God, I can’t hold it back…”
