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Horrified by his implied intent, Jenna pressed her com. “I’m going. Get yourself out of there now. That’s an order.”
“Didn’t you hear her confess to the murders? Kara’s going to cut up Mrs. Jacobs just like the others. She’s our killer and I’m the only one who can stop her.” Kane cleared his throat. “Run, Jenna, and live for me. I love you.” His com went silent.
Horrified, Jenna gasped as Amber backed up the GMC and then, engine revving, accelerated toward the retaining wall. Heaven help him, Kane was in the direct line of the massive mound of rocks, mud, and trees, and he knew it. Wolfe’s words slammed into her. Don’t be his Achilles heel. She pressed her com. “I’m heading north and I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”
She turned and ran blindly through the forest, heading into the denser areas and closer to the ravine. Behind her, she could hear the GMC’s engine and the squeal of tires as Amber repeatedly crashed into the retaining wall. Rocks pinged off the trees beside her as the mound of dirt trembled and shifted. In her ear she could hear Kane communicating with Carter.
“Turn back. We’ll need a bird in the air. Under fire and the suspects are releasing a rockslide. Jenna is on the ravine side of the mountain. On the right, heading north.”
“Copy that.” Jenna could hear a squeal of brakes as Carter spun the cruiser around. “Where are you, man?”
“I’m not gonna make it out.” Kane sounded so calm as if he’d resigned
himself to dying. “Duke is hightailing it into the forest, left side toward the river. He knows the forest. Get Atohi to go look for him. I’ll disable Kara Judd before she takes me down. Make sure she never gets out of jail.”
“You got it.” When Carter signed off an eerie silence descended, like a deathly loneliness.
Oh, my God, Dave. Jenna ran, jumping over bushes and weaving between trees. If she could make it to the top of the ravine, she’d be past the danger point. In the distance, another single shot rang out. Kane had made the shot, not to kill, but to disable Kara Judd. She wasn’t the threat right now. Seconds later, a tremendous roar shook the ground beneath her feet. Bear Peak shuddered with anger. It was as if Amber Judd had woken the mythical giant bear sleeping within the mountain and it was roaring with rage. Lungs bursting with overexertion, she ran, oblivious to the tree branches whipping her cheeks. She reached the top of the ravine and slumped onto a rock gasping for air. The noise sounded like a thunderstorm in a freight train, great clouds of dust rushed toward her, billowing like a wall of water. She rolled into a ball, burying her face in her jacket as the world erupted around her. Sobbing with fear for Kane’s safety, Jenna pressed her com. “I’m safe, Dave, but you’d better be running. I don’t want to dig your stubborn ass out of the mountain with my bare hands.”
FORTY-NINE
Silence. The sound of the falls below Jenna seemed absurdly normal but the usual sound of the forest had vanished. No birds, not even a rustle in the trees. She blinked, feeling dirt caked on her face, grit filling her mouth. As she reached for her water flask a ton of powder fell from her hair. She washed out her mouth and then drank. It was hard to breathe and she fumbled inside her pocket for a face mask. As she uncurled to sit up, dirt fell from her clothes to join the layer on the ground. Everything around her wore a coating of dust. She touched her com. “Dave, come in. Dave?”
Nothing. She tried again and when her com crackled, she let out a long breath but sadly it wasn’t Kane in her ear.
“Jenna, it’s Shane.” Wolfe sounded his usual calm self. “We’ll be heading your way in the FBI chopper. The search and rescue guy is at the stick. I’m coming in with Carter and Rowley. How much of a threat is Amber Judd?”
Jenna pictured the girl ramming the GMC into the retaining wall and grimaced. “Unknown but treat as hostile, and she’s got Rio’s M18 pistol. I have no idea if she can shoot or if they’re out of ammunition. Kara admitted to being our killer but I think Kane disabled her. I was too far back to do anything to assist him. I figure from what went down today they’re both involved in the murders. I’ll head across Bear Peak and back toward the cabin. Kane is there and he might be in trouble. He’s not answering his com.”
“I have your coordinates, Jenna. Kane’s signal is stationary. Status unknown…” The sound of the chopper blocked out his words. “ETA in ten.”
Glancing around to get her bearings in the suddenly unfamiliar terrain, Jenna kept the ravine to her back and headed right. She had to get to Kane but all around her the green forest had been muted to gray as if it were late in the afternoon. The clouds of dust settling had hidden the sun, and the forest was dark and foreboding. Panic for his safety gripped her and she kept pressing her com, constantly calling Kane and moving as fast as possible through the forest. When no reply came, the world seemed to crash down around her. He couldn’t be dead, could he? The thought of him buried alive and all alone made her sick to her stomach. She pressed her com. “Dave, hang on for God’s sake, we’re on our way. Don’t you dare give up on me.”
Tears streaming down her cheeks, she ran toward his last position. It seemed to take forever before she hit the base of the mountain and, using it for a guide, moved around the perimeter, climbing over anything in her way. Parched and dehydrated, legs aching, she kept going and burst into tears of relief when she found a muddy stream, its clean source coming in a jet of water, ice cold from the top of the snowcapped mountain. After refilling her water bottle, she washed the dust from her eyes and kept running. Above finally came the whoop, whoop of the chopper blades and the rush of wind as it passed overhead. Wolfe had found her and it was no surprise when two ropes dropped down close by. A minute or two later, Carter and Wolfe fell from the sky, repelling down with speed. Moments later, Rowley appeared, a little slower but he landed on his feet, and gave her a nod. She ran to them. “Thank God you’ve arrived. We haven’t got much time. The cabin should be about two hundred yards that way.” She pointed to the right. “Hurry, Kane isn’t answering his com. We need to get to him ASAP.”
“Okay.” Carter adjusted his backpack and attached a face mask. His expression blank, he’d turned into a Seal in a blink of an eye. “Let’s go.” He jogged off into the swirling dust.
As Jenna ran beside Wolfe, she glanced at his concerned expression. “Do you know exactly where Dave is?”
“Yeah, from the fly-by, I’m afraid he’s under the rubble, Jenna. Even if we’d been on scene, we’d have never gotten to him in time.” He glanced at her and shook his head, his eyes filled with sorrow. “We’ll secure the prisoners and make sure the hostages are safe and then go and dig him out. You should wait at the cabin.”
Gaping at him incredulously, Jenna grabbed his arm. “I’ll do no such thing. Have you lost your mind? I refuse to believe he’s dead and we’re going to dig him out right now. Rowley will secure the prisoners.” She glared at him. “That’s Dave out there. You’re the last person to give up on him. He trusts you to keep him safe, Shane.”
“It’s not going to make any difference, Jenna.” Wolfe pounded along beside her. “I’m so sorry but we’re too late. He might be a machine but you know as well as I do no one could survive a landslide of that magnitude.”
Anger welled up inside her. “Then you don’t know Dave like I do. Get out of my way. I’ll go dig him out myself.” She bolted after Carter.
They pushed through the forest and Carter came to a standstill as the cabin came into view. He took cover behind a tree and waved at them to do the same. Jenna could hear crying and peered out from behind a thick trunk. Amber Judd was cradling her sister in her arms. From what Jenna could make out, Kara was bleeding from a shoulder wound and had probably passed out. Neither looked a threat. She turned to Wolfe. “They don’t look too dangerous. Rowley, go with Wolfe and restrain them. Check the hostages.” She turned to Wolfe, pulling out her phone. “Give me Kane’s coordinates. I’m going to find him.”
“I don’t think you’ll need them.” Wolfe pointed to Duke, digging madly at the edge of a mound of dirt and headed for the cabin.
They all ran across the clearing, Rowley swooping in to handcuff Amber Judd. As Jenna ran past she could see Kara was out cold. “Handcuff her too, hands and feet. She’s a psychopath. You really don’t want her waking up right now.”
“The hostages are alive.” Wolfe came out of the front door of the cabin and went to help Rowley. “I’ll follow you.” He waved Jenna away.
“Let’s go.” Carter pulled on Jenna’s arm. “This way.”
Climbing over a mound of dirt, Jenna followed Carter to the other side of the landslide and they ran down through the moonscape toward Duke. Exhaustion gone, she ran leaping over rocks and tree branches. As dirt tumbled down the mountain with each step, Duke looked up at them and barked wildly as he dug, throwing out a wide stream of rocks and dirt behind him. Jenna rounded a boulder and slid to a stop at the sight of a hand holding a sniper rifle high in the air. The fingers moved just slightly but it was enough. “Dave, we’re here. Hang on.” She fell to her knees and pushed her hands into the dirt. “He’s alive. Come on, help me dig him out. Good boy, Duke, dig.”
