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“Then if you don’t mind,” he said, arching a brow and nodding his head toward the bathroom door. “I think it’s my turn now.”
The heat in her face flamed hotter and her pulse fluttered just beneath the skin. He was driving her crazy. The sooner they finished this job and got away from each other the better. There was a simple explanation for the attraction. It would happen with anyone she’d been cooped up with for so long. She’d been people-starved over the last three years.
“You can trust me, you know,” he said. “You may not believe me, but I’d never do anything to hurt you. Maybe at some point we can figure out a way to help convince you of that.”
She didn’t turn back to face him. Her pulse was already beating wildly in her throat at the possibility of what he was suggesting. She wasn’t so dead that she didn’t recognize male interest when she saw it.
Eden escaped while she still had the chance and headed downstairs.
* * *
Two hours later, the sky cleared just as the weatherman had predicted and the sun glared off the mounds of snow blanketing the area.
It turned out Joe had all of the supplies they needed for their journey. Through the back door of his small house was another building twice the size filled with everything an outdoorsman could possibly want. Apparently, Joe owned the only outdoor supply store along the entire west coast of Alaska. Good business for Joe, and extremely fortuitous for them.
They’d been outfitted in extra winter gear—thermal suits that fit tight against the skin, lined ski pants, a pullover that was too warm unless you were outside in the cold, and down jackets with fur-lined hoods. Water and individually wrapped containers of trail mix and jerky went into their packs along with a first aid kit.
Joe rolled a tent, bedrolls, and a few other provisions into two bundles for each of them to carry on their backs. They weren’t traveling light but with the outdoor conditions the way they were, they needed to take every precaution for their survival. The Alaskan wilderness was nothing to toy with.
Joe also had an entire arsenal at the back of his shop for hunters, and she picked up a couple of Glock 9mms—her favorite—and a shoulder holster that fit fairly well beneath the down jacket. She picked up an extra knife for the inside of her boot and noticed Nate’s weapon choices were similar to her own. More than likely, any contact they had with Salt would be close contact. They needed him alive so they could get the detonation codes from him.
“I’ve got something special, just for the two of you,” Joe said as he went behind the counter to the locked gun case. “It’s a surprise.”
“I hate surprises,” Eden murmured under her breath, making Nate cough to cover his laugh.
Joe pulled open a drawer and Nate let out a long low whistle. “I’m not even going to ask how you’re in possession of these kinds of weapons out here.”
Joe just grinned and waved a hand, unconcerned. “You want?” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
“I definitely want,” Eden said, reaching for the submachine gun. It had three different settings, so she could shoot one bullet at a time or the whole magazine if she so desired. She hooked it across the bulging pack on her back for easier transport while Nate did the same.
“You ready?” he asked, making a final adjustment of his weapons so he could reach them all easily.
“Yeah. Question is, how are we going to get where we’re going?”
“I can help you with that,” Joe said. “You know how to ride the sled dogs, yes?”
“No...” she and Nate both said in unison.
“It’s either the dogs or cross-country skis. Snowmobiles will run out of fuel before you make it to the End of the World.” Joe shrugged. “There is no other way to travel. There are three roads that lead out of Nome, but each of them leads to nowhere. They are literally called the Roads to Nowhere. We are very funny here in Alaska.”
Eden pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. She could practically feel Nate’s frustration.
“The land is treacherous,” he said. “So if you want to get where you’re going in a hurry, you take the dogs.”
Eden shared a look with Nate and she raised her brows, telling him without speaking that the choice was up to him. It didn’t seem like they had any other option, and she saw by the resigned look on his face that he realized it as well.
“I guess we’re taking the dogs.”
ChapterNine
Joe had been right. The dogs were a much faster mode of transportation for covering such a large expanse of land. They were also smart and trained well enough to ignore their inexperienced riders. They’d unloaded all of their supplies, except for the guns, into the cargo basket.
It was an eight-dog team, and the moment Eden stepped onto the sled and held on to the driving bar she saw the problem. But it was too late to voice a protest when Nate stepped up behind her, his large body surrounding hers as his hands gripped the handlebars.
The claustrophobia took her completely by surprise. She’d never suffered from it before, but she’d also never been all but swallowed whole by a man like Nate. Her skin turned hot and clammy beneath the layers of her clothes and black spots wavered in front of her eyes.
“Just take a deep breath,” he said, his voice soft enough that Joe and Ahnah couldn’t hear as they watched to wave them off. “My hands will stay right here.” He flexed them around the bar deliberately. “You’re in control of the team.”
