Page 42 of When the Silence Breaks

Ryder swept his gaze across the slope, instinct flicking through every shadow and rise. Blackspire Mountain was a brute of a mountain. It wasn’t just about the height but also the mass, with its sprawling ridgelines, deep gullies, and densesurrounding forests that were enough to swallow a dozen search teams without a trace. If someone was following them, he couldn’t just watch the trails, he had to watch the blind spots and the places someone could tuck into and vanish. Up here, it wasn’t about speed—it was about slipping beneath notice.

Well ... he’d noticed.

A mile away—not nearly far enough—he spotted another tent. Coincidence? Doubtful. Anyone coming this way would have hired a guide, and Good Adventures or even Dean’s group wouldn’t normally ever come this way. It wasn’t on any beaten path or map, and without a specific reason, no one would come up here.

So ... there was no going back.

If he and Sarah went back the same way they’d come, chances were good they would face off with the bad guys. The same person or persons who silenced her brother? He couldn’t be sure but wouldn’t risk it. He understood her need for answers, because now he wanted to know just what had been buried for decades on Blackspire Mountain, an iconic volcano that held such importance for his family’s legacy that it had become the backdrop of the town he loved—Mercy Ridge. What had been buried to cause this level of danger?

Ryder was in this now, for reasons of his own. In fact, if Sarah backed out, he would still finish it. All these years, and his grandfather had told him the plane hadn’t crashed on the mountain. Had he truly believed that? Bought into the lies?

Or had he known the truth?

If so, he hadn’t given a deathbed confession. And if so,Just what truth were you hiding,Grandpa?

Seventeen

Sarah’s early morning energy had faded too fast with Ryder’s insane pace. He hiked with an urgency that he hadn’t had yesterday, and even then he’d claimed to be moving fast. If only the stupid backpack didn’t feel heavier this morning than it had yesterday as they increased the climb into higher elevations. They’d both donned the heavier coats because the wind gusted harder and the temperature had dropped with their rise. Who knew it could be so cold up on the mountain? Well, probably everyone. She’d been so determined to do this—against all odds, maybe. And she was too breathless to start up a conversation and ask Ryder what was up with him. Tension radiated off him as though he knew something that she didn’t know. Had he gotten some new revelation or received a secret text or call in the night with information? And if so, why hadn’t he shared? They were in this together, weren’t they?

She couldn’t really cast any blame, considering her burner phone—pressed against her thigh in her pocket—held Tessa’s email that informed her of possible new information to come. But it wasn’t like she could actually get the message yet anyway, so she’d bide her time for an opportunity to check messages or download an email in this precarious landscape.

Caution and wariness had been trained into her bones, and she might be taking that too far when it came to her transparency about all of the intrigue surrounding this plane. After all, she had to trust the man with her life, and he already knew as much as she did—well, almost. She held back very little.

She stumbled and fell forward, hitting the rocky ground hard enough to jolt her.

Ryder was there at her side before she even dragged in a breath. “Sarah...” The way he said her name, breathless and concerned, she jerked her face up and looked into his eyes. He was gasping, white clouds puffing out.

This guy could undo her. “I’m okay. I was just ... stupid. Why are you pushing us so hard today?”

“The weather. I told you.”

“The weather has always been a threat.” She let him help her up. “Lead the way.” Her head was swimming, actually, but she refused to let him know she might have reached her limit.

She noticed him looking behind them again. Concerned about possible followers? Not just anyone could follow them or track them up a mountain. A person needed a specific set of skills, and she’d secured the person best suited for this endeavor on this specific mountain. He was taking her places only he knew. Only he had been. At least, that’s how she understood it.

She searched the ridge above, and a knot tightened low in her belly. Blackspire Mountain wasn’t just any mountain. She hadn’t realized—not really—until she was here doing what she’d bravely told herself she could. The mountain was a maze of stone and ice, a sprawl of jagged and broken ridges and deep ravines. The whole thing was so massive, and she and Ryder were tiny ants in this ecosystem. The fact was—it terrified her. Even with her training, even with Ryder’s skills and experience, if someone followed them up here, they would never hear themcoming. The terrain swallowed the noise, masked movement, or turned every echo into danger closing in when it was nothing at all—just the landscape deceiving them. Ryder may be one of two people who could find this location, but ... someonecouldfollow them for miles in the shadows, skirting along a parallel ridge, maybe, or weaving through the dense forest below.

And there was nothing either of them could do. Except keep going and maybe ... disappear.

She had a feeling that Ryder sensed the danger tracking them and pressed forward almost as a challenge to whoever might accept. Sarah would let him worry about that, for now, because she had her own pressing matters to think through as she watched every step she took.

Tonight. After they set up base camp, she’d tell him about the email and that she needed to check messages and possibly download information. He was in it this far with her. They were in it together. She had to put aside the notion that she was alone and should hold everything, or even anything, close. She’d invited him into the danger with her, and he’d accepted that invitation. She wasn’t throwing caution to the wind because she liked Ryder and he’d gotten under her skin, was she?

One bigger question kept her preoccupied enough that she didn’t think about the ache in her feet and her legs or the pure exhaustion weighing on her.

What would she do with the information—whatever she found at the crash site—once she found it?Ifshe found it?

Ryder kept glancing over his shoulder to check on her. She didn’t miss the continued concern in his expression. A look that hadn’t been there yesterday or last night, or even at breakfast this morning. Sarah wouldn’t ask him about it. She didn’t have the energy to spare. His concern probably had to do with her fall. He wanted to make sure she was still behind him.

She laughed quietly to herself.

A couple of hours in, they finally topped a rise. At the sight, Sarah couldn’t breathe. The most magnificent view spread before them. To keep moving, she forced her lungs to work and took one quick step onto a boulder, fearing if she stopped now, she might not be able to start again.

But she wouldn’t tell Ryder. He dropped his pack, then assisted her out of hers. Okay, so they were stopping after all.

“What are we doing? This can’t be base camp yet.”

“It’s not. It’s not the original one I had in mind. We would have made that already.” He seemed to struggle with ... what?