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His shoulders tightened at the sight of it. “That’s not good . . .”
“Wait . . . not good?” Mariella’s voice lilted with concern.
Everything she said seemed to start with “wait . . .”
Duke continued to slow but didn’t dare pull off on the side of the road. Every year, crushed gravel was placed on the Dalton Highway to build it up over the permafrost. Over time, that created a steep drop on the sides—which made running off the road even more dangerous.
As a tour guide, details like these were kind of his shtick.
In his old life, the kinds of details he’d paid attention to were more of the motive, means, and opportunity variety. But everything had changed after Celeste disappeared . . .
Beneath his talks about northern lights and gold mines and the Trans-Atlantic Pipeline, his sole purpose for being in this area remained.
He needed to find his fiancée.
He hadn’t given up hope that she was still alive—and he wouldn’t until he found a definitive answer.
He watched as the truck continued to skate and slide.
This wasn’t going to be good.
chapterthree
Andi heldher steering wheel steady, determined not to make any more sudden moves.
She’d known better than to slam on the brakes. But instinct had kicked in.
The trailer fishtailed, shifting her momentum.
Shehadto get control before she careened off the road.
But it was already too late.
Her rig rumbled.
Her steering wheel jerked.
The cab bounced.
She slammed into the door as the truck slid over the shoulder and kept going.
She gripped the wheel and braced herself, hoping the rig didn’t flip as it leaned into the steep incline.
She suddenly jerked forward, pain radiating through her neck as the truck collided with a snowdrift and lurched to a stop.
As silence filled the air, she drew in a deep breath and did a quick assessment.
A mound of icy precipitation now covered half of her windshield.
The truck hadn’t flipped.
She was okay.
She focused on her breathing a moment as her thoughts caught up with her adrenaline.
An image of the man in the road slammed into her mind.
Had she hit him?
