Wilderness Sabotage Read online

  Both his eyebrows jumped.

  “That’s what the headline will probably say. When we get out of here,” she added. Positive thinking was the first step to survival. “Any food or water in your pack?”

  He shook his head solemnly. “Everything in my survival kit was in the truck.”

  Her heart still pounded at an uncomfortable speed. She knew what needed to be done but wanted time to gather her wits. Out-of-the-box solutions often came with a little reflection. Except she could feel Shawn’s gaze, studying her. “I really didn’t expect to see you here,” she said.

  He barked a laugh. “You and me both. Possibly the understatement of the year.” He offered her a kind smile. “BLM law enforcement rangers usually get stationed in California to start. It’s a competitive field, but I’d been waiting for a spot in Idaho for a few years.”

  “My dad was under the impression you had no intention of ever coming back.” She closed her mouth in a tight line. She shouldn’t have even said that much. Shawn had been their neighbor and probably spent more time at her house than his own. He had been best friends with her brother, and they’d all grown up together. Her parents had practically treated him like an adopted son until graduation night, the last night they’d seen him.

  His neck reddened and the little muscle in his jaw flexed. He avoided looking in her direction. “My mom remarried and moved to Sun Valley. I thought it’d be nice to be in the same state again.”

  “Sun Valley? Wow. A resort town.” The beautiful and expensive vacation area was roughly four hours away in her estimate.

  “She’s living the life she always wanted. I’m happy for her.” This time a small, genuine smile appeared, but it vanished the moment another breeze whistled past. “We can’t afford to wait here until help arrives, Jackie.”

  “I know.” She sagged, not fully recovered from the trauma of believing she was about to fall to her death. And when Shawn said her name, he exposed an internal vulnerability she didn’t realize she still had. He knew her, and while she’d changed a lot over the years, her weaknesses were still there. “I haven’t done this type of thing in ages, and my arms...”

  He looked over her face. “Are you hurt?”

  “No. Forget it.” She didn’t want to whine, and his close attention wasn’t helping her heart rate normalize. She worked out every other day, but she never pushed herself to the extent needed for survival skills. Her muscles hadn’t felt this depleted since she was a teenager.

  A shadow moved over the crevice. The sun began its disappearing act behind the foothills at an alarming rate. Soon, they’d have no choice at all. “Okay, let’s say we figure out a way down. Then what?”

  The creases in his forehead deepened for a moment. “There’s an extra satellite phone kept in the archaeologist trailer. If we can make it to the trailer tonight, I’m sure we can get picked up before the storm hits. If not, at least we’d have some shelter for the night.”

  “Yeah, that sounds wonderful, but how do we go about that? Looks like we have at least a five-hundred-foot drop to go, and the rocks look too slick to climb down by hand.”

  “It’s too bad that man didn’t run your snowmobile off on the other side of the canyon.”

  She couldn’t stop from rolling her eyes this time. “Oh, well, I’ll try to make my imminent death more convenient next time.”

  He laughed and pointed directly across from them. “There’s a closed trail on that side that leads up and out into the forest—dangerous to the novice but still usable.”

  Hope surged. If there was a trail, then maybe they really had a chance of getting out and calling for help. “Okay, so all we have to do is get five hundred feet down as darkness closes in on us. Without dying first.”

  * * *

  Shawn recognized the frustration in her tone. She blew her dark hair out of her face once more. He had a feeling she did it without thinking, but it gave him an excuse to really study her features. She turned and he averted his eyes from her face. Her navy peacoat had scuffs and bits of bark stuck to it, as well as a white stain on the hem edging that looked fresh.

  She sighed. “We have to do something I haven’t done in over a decade.” She put her hands on her hips. “We have to ask the question we were trained to ask during every survival training.”

  He almost groaned aloud. His memories of Jackie brought him regret, but they weren’t unpleasant. Her dad, a man he’d once considered his greatest role model, had erased every good memory when he’d shoved a finger into Shawn’s chest and told him he never wanted to see his face again.

  But now he was a trained law enforcement ranger, although he’d not been without his satellite phone as backup for ages. Still, he didn’t need to go back to basics. “I really don’t think that’s necess—”

  “Here goes.” Jackie straightened with a nod. “What would Wolfe Dutton do?”

  The name alone caused the back of his shoulders to tense. “He’s your dad. I think you can answer that question better than I can.”

  She studied the rock wall as if she’d suddenly gained new perspective. “You have more rope in the bag with you?”

  He twisted and pulled the bag off his back. “A two-hundred footer, but we have no way of using it to rappel down without a way to link the harness to the rope. We’re also without installed anchors for climbing.” He unzipped the bag to show her his measly backup gear.

  She pulled his gloves off and opened her palm. “Didn’t Dad or Eddie ever teach you how to rappel when you only have a rudimentary rope and two carabiners?”

  He gaped. She couldn’t be serious. Off a twenty-foot hill, sure, but jumping down a canyon? “No,” he finally answered. “But your brother always said Wolfe taught you more than he ever taught Eddie.”

  “I don’t believe that for a minute.” She took the rope from him and didn’t waste a minute tying knots in strategic locations. “I suppose he treated us differently, but I can see plenty of benefits that Eddie had that I didn’t. I also watched the television show. I think I was the only one in the family that actually did. It was easy to get my dad talking about everything behind the scenes. Eddie was just too busy with his video games.” She gave Shawn a side-glance. “With you.”

  He shrugged. “We had galaxies to save.”

  “Well, I’m sure Eddie was with me when he taught us this.” Her hands moved fluidly, wrapping and pulling, despite the redness evident on her knuckles. She always talked rapidly when she wanted to avoid something that stressed her out. At least some things never changed.

  She tied the last knot and beamed. “If I could figure out the reasoning behind why he did things a certain way, then I could remember the technique. I suppose that’s why I’m a journalist. I can’t stop asking questions.”

  Any warmth left in his body seemed to drain away. “You’re a reporter? For a TV station?”

  She tilted her head and eyeballed him with suspicion. “No, I mean I used to be. But now I write for the Idaho Gazette, based in Boise.”

  “Oh.” Maybe her coming here was a coincidence, but he had to be sure. “Then why are you here?”

  She moved to tie the rope concoction into her makeshift harness. “My editor sent me to cover a story about sabotage at the geothermal plant being built. Surely you know about that. It’s just a mile or so north of here. Probably part of your four million acres?”

  Of course he knew about it. “But how’d your editor hear about that?” He tried and failed to keep his voice light.

  She squinted at him. “Why? I never knew you had an investigative streak in you.”

  “You like to talk when you’re stressed about something. I’m just making conversation.”

  “It’s been years since we’ve known each other, Shawn,” she said quietly. “You don’t know if I still do that. People change. And this seems too pointed for conversation.”

 
“Fair enough. The sabotage wasn’t public knowledge. Please just tell me, Jackie.”

  She handed him an end of the rope and indicated he should tie it to his harness as she answered. “A former coworker is the news director at Channel 7. He sometimes passes along nibbles they won’t be using. This was an anonymous tip they didn’t have space to pursue.” She pursed her lips for a second. “Why? Was the sabotage confidential?”

  His gut churned and threatened to cause problems. He shook his head. He had to come clean. “You’re here because of me.”

  “What are you talking about?” She stared at him, her eyes wider than he’d ever seen. She dropped the rope and held up a finger. “If you think I followed you here as some ridiculous ploy to get your attention, you are sorely mistaken. And if you think I’ve been keeping tabs on you all these years, you’re also wrong. I was genuinely surprised to find you here. In fact, you can rest assured that I’ve gotten over you, utterly and completely. I haven’t given you a thought since—”

  He held up his hands. If there were more room on the ledge he would’ve taken a giant step back. “Jackie, that’s not what I meant.” His eyebrow rose, replaying her words. “Not a single thought?” He couldn’t say the same about her, but that wasn’t fair. “No, don’t answer that. I meant that it’s my fault that you’re here. Is this off the record?”

  Her shoulders sagged. “I get so tired of that question. If we are talking about personal matters, you don’t even need to worry.”

  “But I think this is about your story. Off the record,” he said again, despite her exasperated sigh. “I called in a tip about the sabotage at the geothermal site.”

  “You did what?” Her eyes softened. “To get me to come out here?”

  “No.” He blew out a breath of frustration. He was handling this poorly. “A few days ago, I called the TV news station. I didn’t know it would end up in your hands, and honestly, I didn’t think they would send someone out all this way to report on it. I thought they might call the BLM Idaho communication director, get some phone interviews, slap a stock image of the area on the screen and give it a ten-second sound bite. Once the issue became public, more resources would be sent.”

  She stared at him, her eyes widening. “First, that’s not how this works. Public lands are a hot topic in Idaho. Many think they should be returned to the state.”

  Shawn shook his head and gestured past the thick patch of evergreen trees to the south of the gorgeous mountain backdrop. “Much of this is considered uninhabitable. The fact of the matter is the state couldn’t afford to take care of it. We lease the resources and the state gets half the proceeds. It’s a nonissue.”

  “That’s not the point. If there’s potential for a hot breaking story, they send a journalist.” She tapped her index finger to her chest, and then tilted her head as if to study his reaction for a second. “Why were you so worried about the sabotage? Surely you took it to your supervisors first?”

  “Still off the record?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

  His face stung, likely more from embarrassment than the cold. “I wondered if the saboteurs knew something that the impact and feasibility report didn’t cover.” He suddenly felt very awake, having said it aloud.

  “Like?”

  He grimaced at the dimming light. They still needed to get all the way down and then climb all the way back on the other side’s trail. “Let’s get moving and I’ll tell you on the way down.”

  She bit her lip with a nod. “I suppose I might be procrastinating.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. We take the center of the rope and wrap around this boulder that juts out. We tie eight gathering knots. One of us goes down first and finds a suitable anchor before we stop. The other person starts working their way down, pulling on the left side of the rope until one half of the knot pops, then the right half of the rope until it pops. You’re essentially untying each knot until you’re out of rope.”

  His gut flipped at the thought.

  “It’s imperative you keep the ropes balanced until you reach me,” she added.

  “No wiggling,” he said, trying to keep his voice light.

  “And remember it’s important that you count correctly.”

  “Or the knots will all come loose and we’ll plummet to our deaths. Got it.”

  Her grave expression left nothing to imagination. “I’m sorry. That’s the only way I can think of to get the rope back down to us so we can retie and start again.” She shook her head. “How about you go first? I’ll do the untying of the knots on the way down.”

  “Absolutely not.” He wouldn’t give her the riskiest part of the job. As he’d just told her, it was his job to rescue, not the other way around.

  “Shawn, I’ve never done this technique on my own, and I’m not even sure I remember it right.”

  He sneaked a peek over the ledge once more. Five hundred feet was a low estimate. Even if her technique worked, they would have to find rocks or branches that weren’t slippery from the snow and could hold their weight at least four more times. He grimaced. “I’d rather die trying than wait for a blizzard and a murderer to finish us off.”

  She removed her cross-body purse and handed it to him. “Could you put that in your pack?”

  He did so as she removed her navy peacoat, revealing a gray ribbed sweater and tan dress pants that appeared way too thin to be out in the elements for long. Even her suede boots looked like they were more for fashion than function. She tossed the coat over the ledge.

  “What’d you do that for?” His voice rose louder than he intended. Hopefully the wind carried his outburst the opposite direction of wherever those men went.

  Her teeth began to chatter, but she threw the end of the rope over her shoulder and around the inside of her left leg. “It would be too easy for the coat to catch on the rope, and it’s too big to fit in your small pack. I’m hoping it’ll be waiting for me at the bottom. Your coat is short enough that it should be fine, but—”

  “Take mine, then.” He went to unzip but she held her hand out.

  “No. Your arms are too long and it would impede my ability to handle the rope. But now that I think about it, you should put your gun and—is that a Taser?—in your pack.”

  “Standard issue,” he simply replied. He did as she asked without argument in hopes they could get her down and warm again as fast as possible. The temperature hovered in the low thirties, but the wind made it feel colder. “At least put my gloves back on.”

  She accepted with a sheepish smile and replaced her holds on the rope. “Guide my descent slowly.” Her head vibrated with shivers. “But not too slowly. I’ll yell out when I find the next place to anchor.” She closed her eyes as if lifting up a prayer, then flashed him a quick smile and leaned back until she fell off the ledge.

  THREE

  The work of going down a cliff without proper equipment made the descent tedious and grueling. They worked together without dialogue, communicating only what they needed to. Shawn counted aloud each time a side of the rope lost its tension, meaning it’d given up half a knot.

  Thus far, their plan had worked. She’d found another foothold to balance on while he descended to join her. The muscles in between her shoulder blades were screaming, though.

  On the fifth time repeating the descent—since the drop turned out to be a lot deeper than she’d estimated—his foot slipped off a rock hold. She could feel the popping of the knots within the rope as it vibrated from above. He was descending too fast. And there was nothing she could do about it.

  He tapped his feet against the wall as he tried to catch onto something, attempting to slow down, but he dropped down past her.

  “No!” She reached for him, letting go of the rope with her right hand, a disastrous decision. She no longer had anything to hold her steady. She dropped like a stone.

  Right onto his s
tomach.

  He groaned and rolled to the side.

  She fell to her knees on the snow-covered ground and spun around. “I’m so sorry.” She studied him for broken bones in the dim light. “Are you okay?”

  His frown shifted into a beaming smile, and he patted his jacket. “Padding.” He laughed. “Good thing we were so close to the ground.” His smile was contagious.

  She leaned back onto her heels. “I can’t believe we did it.” The physical effort had caused a sweat, despite her lack of a coat, but she was ready to find it before hypothermia became a risk. And now that the sun had almost disappeared, the temperatures would plummet well below freezing. Only, she didn’t see her coat anywhere.

  Shawn caught her gaze and rose to his feet. “I was afraid of that. The wind might’ve caught it like a kite in the canyon.” He removed his coat. “I insist this time.”

  Underneath, he wore a long-sleeve button-up shirt the same shade of khaki as his official jacket, with dark brown pants and trail shoes. She’d never imagined he’d gained so much muscle after high school, but all evidence of childhood had left his face. His broad shoulders strained against the seams.

  He draped his coat over her shoulders before she could object. Even more than the gloves he’d loaned her, the coat radiated with his warmth. Except the sudden heat served to inform her internal thermostat what she’d been through. Her teeth chattered. She couldn’t seem to get warm enough.

  Shawn put his holster back on, complete with gun on one side and Taser on the other. He pulled out his cell phone and grimaced. “Still no signal. I’m going to turn it to airplane mode and so should you. The battery drains faster if it’s constantly searching. We’ll try again once we reach the top.”

  She checked. Sure enough, no signal.

  He stuffed the rope into his backpack before he straightened. “Come on. The light is almost completely gone. The trail should be somewhere nearby.” He stopped at a set of boulders on the other side of the canyon. “Found it.”