Tailspin

“You’re okay,” she said. “The bleeding stopped.”

He drew her to her feet while he stared at his plane, completely flipped nose down and sinking. “I’ve never personally seen that happen.”

Nor had he experienced anything like it. That he’d lost a plane today, to add to the loss of his mother’s plane, pressed against nerve centers he hadn’t known he possessed. But that was nothing compared to losing his mother.

Still, none of these thoughts would help Sylvie. Getting her someplace warm and safe was his priority. And knowing he had a mission, someone to help, would keep his head in the game, despite his losses.

“How did I get here?” He looked back at her, grateful the rain had eased up. “You pulled me out and swam me to safety?”

She nodded, rubbed her arms.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t know where to go after that, what to do. Seemed like I was back where I started, only with an injured man this time. But at least no one is trying to find and kill me at the moment.”

As far as you know. But he didn’t voice his thoughts.

Will hoped that would remain the case for a long while. Forever would be nice. He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay, Sylvie. We’re going to be okay.”

Those words reminded him of something else, but he couldn’t quite remember what. Something hovered at the edge of his mind. Something about today that connected him to Sylvie. He hoped he’d remember while it still mattered.

A smile softened her grim features. He hadn’t thought her pretty at first, but now he changed his mind. Her smile brightened her eyes and emphasized appealing dimples against soft, smooth skin. Something else thrived behind her determined gaze that drew him to her.

Her shiver snapped his focus back to where it should be.

“I have a friend who lives not too far. I’m sure he saw us go down—I’m surprised he hasn’t already shown up.” That was only partially true. He’d said the man was a friend, but in fact, he was only a client and a recluse who liked his privacy. Will had no idea what reaction they would get when they showed up. Will had never actually been invited to the cabin, but knew from flying over where it was relative to the beach.

“Are you okay to walk?”

“Yes, lead the way.” She hugged herself.

“Good. Shouldn’t take long.” He trudged ahead of her.

Will wished he could hold her close to share some body heat, but that would be awkward. He didn’t think they were that desperate yet. Yes, Sylvie had taken a beating today. With her ripped suit, circles under her eyes, bluish skin and lips, anyone could look at her and see how badly she’d been hurt. But in her eyes, those hazel eyes, Will saw her unbridled determination and knew she wouldn’t accept his help.

What man could help but admire her?

They neared the tree line and he followed the brook that would eventually lead them to the off-grid cabin where John Snake lived. Snake—he liked the nickname to keep out the riffraff—usually met Will near the beach for his packages, but that was when he knew to expect Will.

He turned to check on Sylvie, but she was farther behind than he’d thought. Frowning, he made his way back. She was strong, but she’d been through a lot both before and after he’d come on the scene in his floatplane.

“Hey, you doing okay?”

Seeing her purse her lips, he got the sense she wanted to smile, but couldn’t. “How much farther?”

Will hated to tell her it was still a couple more miles, and the terrain wasn’t getting any easier. Add to that, the rain was icy cold and coming down harder.

He didn’t like the glazed look in her eyes. “A mile, maybe.”

She dropped to a log and hung her head. “Okay. I can do that. I just... I think I might have sprained my ankle. These diving boots are no good in this type of terrain.”

He frowned. “No kidding.”

“Give me a minute to rest.”

Was she serious? Will wouldn’t expect her to walk if she was injured. In fact, he shouldn’t have let her walk to the cabin even before finding out about her ankle. What with hypothermia setting in and she hinting at having decompression sickness, she was in a world of hurt, but he didn’t want to step on her strong and capable toes, so he hadn’t offered any help.

Until now. There wasn’t time to rest. They had to get out of the weather.

He scraped his arms under her knees and around her back and lifted her.

“What are you doing?” Alarm jumped from her gaze and her voice.

Will settled her against him until she felt right. She was lean and solid, as divers tended to be, but light enough he could manage the distance. “Don’t take offense, Sylvie. I need to get you out of this weather.”

Her gaze softened. “Thank you. I didn’t mean for you to have to do this.”

“I figure I owe you. After all, you pulled me from a sinking plane and swam me to shore. Saved my life. So it’s my turn to carry you.” There. Hopefully, he hadn’t offended her strong and capable woman sensibilities.

Sylvie didn’t argue and instead rested her head against his shoulder. That ignited familiar feelings inside. Protective feelings. He’d forgotten he could feel that way and instantly remembered why he hadn’t wanted to. A year ago he’d given it all to Michelle and she’d made a fool of him, practically leading him around town by the proverbial ring in his nose until she’d dumped him. In the end she couldn’t take the fact Will was a bush pilot. He was gone all the time and he wasn’t there to do her bidding or entertain her. She’d claimed she was afraid he would die out there in the bush and she’d be left alone. It was her or flying. He’d had a choice to make.

So he’d come back early, canceled a job and was almost ready to give it all up for her—against his mother’s strong advice, of course—when he found Michelle with someone else.

Everyone had seen the fool that Will had been except for Will until it was too late.

He wouldn’t allow that to happen again. But this situation had nothing to do with that one.

Two different women.

Two different scenarios.

If Sylvie had any hint of his thoughts she’d be out of his arms in a second, and that would do neither of them any good. Will had to get his mind off Sylvie’s proximity. He tried to focus on the steps he took rather than the warmth of Sylvie’s body against his.

If he could get her talking about what happened today, maybe it would distract him and they could find some answers to boot.

“Tell me about those men, Sylvie. Why did they try to kill you?”

“I already told you I don’t know anything.”

Was she telling the truth? “So this was just random, then? Two men were there, and you were at the wrong place at the wrong time? What could you have stumbled on? I can’t imagine they were out there minding their own business and decided to kill whoever showed up for no reason.”

Had she stumbled on something and was hiding that fact? There had to be much more to this story. That something gnawed at his mind again, just out of his reach. A cup of warm coffee and some rest might ease the ache in his head and set him thinking clearly again.

She released a sigh that tickled his neck. “Obviously I have a lot to figure out, but I can’t think a straight thought.”

“Right. You need food and warmth and sleep.” Just like he did. If only he could find that cabin. He hoped he didn’t run into those men after Sylvie. But they couldn’t have followed him. He’d take comfort in that. Then again, letting down his guard could be a mistake neither of them could afford.

Too many unknowns made him edgier by the second.

As the cold rain came down harder, tumbling through the canopy of spruce and hemlock, Will focused on stepping his way over slick boulders and freezing ground, careful to avoid slipping, especially with his burden. Though Sylvie was small, carrying her the distance began to weigh on him. His arms ached, challenging his confidence. He should have come across Snake’s cabin by now. If he wasn’t going to find the cabin, then they needed to make shelter while there was still enough light.

The rain eased to a fine mist, blunted by the forest canopy.

He stopped, thinking about putting her down so he could build a fire.

“Will.” Her warm breath caressed his cheek. “Through the woods...”

Will’s pulse jumped. The cabin? He peered through the trees, eyes following where she gestured. An elk. Disappointment jabbed through him that it wasn’t the cabin. How could he tell her the disheartening news that he didn’t know where he was going, after all? He set her down, steadying her to sit on a fallen log, and drew in a breath to tell her the bad news. Before he could say the words, the fog in his mind lifted, and he saw clearly what he couldn’t understand before.

Sylvie had been looking for her mother’s missing plane—the same as him.

His next words took a different tack altogether.

“Tell me about the plane you were looking for.” Ever since she mentioned her mother’s plane, Will suspected they were both on the same search. His mother’s plane was the only one that had gone missing in the area in more than a year, and there had been one passenger. A woman. Sylvie’s mother—he was sure of it. And from the look on her face, she was making the connection, too.

“You’re a bush pilot. Mountain Cove Air. That’s your company?”

He nodded. “My mother was flying a surprise package back to Mountain Cove two months ago when her plane went missing. I’ve been searching for her ever since. I think we’ve both been looking for the same plane.” How could it have flown so far off the intended path that search parties—Alaska Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Fire Service, Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Guard, the list went on—hadn’t found them? Then again, they had thousands of square miles of islands, water and mountains to search even on the flight path she should have taken. Not counting where she might have detoured.

That was it, then. She’d taken a detour and Will suddenly knew. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? She’d kept a postcard his father had sent her years before of a beautiful waterfall. What if his mother had been showing Sylvie’s mother the sights, including her favorite?

Will remembered the postcard because of the scripture quote written on it. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

From the moment he’d seen the postcard and read the verse, Will had always pictured himself as an eagle when he flew. Seeing life from above, the big picture of things, must be how God saw things.

Could the plane be there?

Sylvie rubbed her arms. “Oh, Will.”

“Do you know anything about a surprise package?” he asked. “I keep wondering if...” He couldn’t bring himself to say the worst. He didn’t want to believe his mother had delivered a surprise that turned out to be an actual explosive device. The idea was too far-fetched.

“I think the surprise was my mother. She lived in Mountain Cove years ago. She left after she had an affair with a married man. It was a bad breakup. And then she found out she was pregnant. She had to leave.”

Will hated where this was going. Hated it for Sylvie. “Was she pregnant with you?”

“Yes.” She hesitated then added, “My mother’s name was Regina Hemphill. My father was Scott Warren. I have half brothers and one half sister. Maybe you know them.”

“I do.” He released a heavy sigh. “That is one surprise package. But you’re an even bigger surprise.”

“Yeah, a surprise nobody wants to hear about. Or at least, that’s what my mother told me as gently as she could when she explained why I shouldn’t try to contact my father or half siblings. I guess she didn’t want to see me get my expectations up and get hurt. I can’t be sure she even told him about me. When I finally worked up the nerve to face him on my own, I couldn’t because he had died.” She shivered, either from the memory or from the chill in the air.

Will was reminded that he needed to find shelter. They could search for a cave, but what if they didn’t find one in time? He needed to build at least a rudimentary cover. A debris hut would be quick and easy and keep them warm. He’d prefer a bough structure to reflect the warmth of a fire. The problem was a rainforest was much too wet, and the chances he could start a fire were close to zero.

God, please, we need Snake’s cabin.

“It’s not fair,” she whispered. “And I have half siblings who may not even know I’m alive. I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought of them, wanted to meet them.”

Strange to think her mother, given the circumstances of her having to leave Mountain Cove, would have told Sylvie about her half siblings. Or had she done her own research? But she wasn’t finished talking and he wouldn’t interrupt. Instead, he began creating a mound from the forest floor.

“On the other side of that, they could resent me for the reminder that their father betrayed his marriage vows with my mother. They could hate me. So it’s almost better if I never meet them. Then I can stick with believing they’d want to meet me, but don’t know if I exist or how to find me if I did.” Sylvie groaned. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. You didn’t exactly ask for the whole shebang.”

“I know the Warren siblings would love to meet you.” He knew the siblings were aware of their father’s affair, and knew they’d tried to find out if they had a brother or sister out there. These were conversations he couldn’t help but overhear when piloting the Warrens to Juneau or sometimes even delivering them to a SAR—search and rescue—command center. They trusted Will. But in all of this, what he’d really like to know was if his mother had known where Regina had gone all along, but said nothing. “I’ll help you make that happen.”

“No, please, no. I’m not sure I’m ready to face them. I’m torn about it. I need time to think it through. I want it to be on my terms. Please don’t ever tell them. I’ll be the one if it happens.”

“Okay, then.” If Will’s mother had kept Regina’s secret, he thought he could feel some of what she might have felt when someone extracted a promise like that.

Still, it would be a hard promise to keep, depending on how all of this unfolded. From what had happened so far, this seemed to be shaping up into quite an adventure that Will could tell his grandchildren about one day. But he couldn’t think of it as an adventure until it was over and they survived. Grandchildren? He’d never get married so children were out of the question.

Will needed to excavate a hole in the debris, and then he and Sylvie would have to crawl into the pile, supported by loose branches, and hope to keep warm. Tomorrow he could build something better, if it came to that.

She tilted her head. “I thought you were making a fire.”

“A fire? It’s too wet.”

“Oh, I guess you’re right. I should be helping you.” Sylvie stood then fell back to the log.

“You’re injured. No need to help.” Will took a short break and sat next to Sylvie on the log, hoping his body heat would warm her, wishing his headache would subside.

“I know it’s hard to understand how I can ask you to keep my secret. Mom made it sound like the whole town of Mountain Cove gossiped about her. Practically ran her out of town. That’s why I need to work up my nerve before approaching the Warrens.”

“You? You’ve got nerves of steel.” Will inserted some humor into this too-serious conversation to cover his own growing anxiety about their chances of survival.

“Nerves of steel don’t matter. Under the right circumstances even something as benign as salt can turn corrosive and erode steel.” Sylvie shifted next to him. “Despite her feelings about the town, she was on her way back to Mountain Cove. I guess I’ll never understand why, but I wanted to find her plane. I want to know what happened.”

“You and me both, Sylvie. You and me both.” Will waited for Sylvie to go on, one question burning in his mind. When she didn’t continue, he asked, “Did you find what you were looking for? Did you find the plane?”

Sylvie opened her mouth to speak.

A twig snapped from the shadows. Will sprang from the log to face the threat. He stood in front of Sylvie to protect her and reached for his weapon, but came up empty-handed. He’d forgotten that he didn’t have it. It was submerged with his plane.

Wearing a hood, a man emerged from the trees. Friend or foe?

“Snake?” Will squinted, studying the intruder.

The man stepped forward and tugged back his hood. “What are you doing here?”

FIVE

What kind of name is that?

Will glanced over his shoulder at Sylvie. She stood from the log, easing onto her good foot and using Will’s back for support. She wanted to be standing in case they needed to make a run for it.

“Sorry for the unannounced visit, Snake. You know I’d never intrude if it wasn’t an emergency. But I had some plane trouble. A hard landing and Sylvie and I...we’ve had a brush with death or two today.”

The man’s expression darkened as he studied both Sylvie and Will. It seemed that he had issues with trust. Clearly he lived a reclusive life away from civilization. Away from the prying eyes of the law. She wouldn’t second-guess his reasons. This wasn’t her world.

“Come on, then.” He turned and disappeared into the trees.

Will lifted her back in his arms and followed. “Only a little longer, Sylvie. You hanging in there? Doing okay?”

“I’m good, thanks to you.”

“You’ll be thanking Snake before too long. He’s the one with the cabin and a warm fire. I bet he’ll have a big pot of game stewing, too. That’s what I’d do in this weather if I were him.”

Sylvie’s mouth watered at the mention of food. She could already imagine the warm fire and wanted nothing more than to sleep in a soft bed, covers piled high. Safe, sound and secure. She sighed at the thought. Was that asking too much?

But she had to remain vigilant. This wasn’t over yet. She couldn’t rest until it was. And Will deserved an answer to his question. “No. I didn’t find the plane. I thought I saw something, though. The glint of what could have been part of a plane. That’s when I was attacked.”

Lines pressed between his brows.

“There’s something else,” she whispered. “I’m grateful for your help and for Snake’s, but you know I need to get out of here. I need a decompression chamber. And I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”

There, she’d said the words that had been crawling over her ever since Will had made an appearance today and put himself between her and the men trying to kill her.

“One thing at a time,” he said. “Snake has a radio. While I was in the air trying to figure out how to rescue you, I tried to radio for help a few times, but no one connected on the other end.” He glanced at her, his strong, scruffy jaw and warm brows much too close. “I’ll make the call for help first thing. Only Snake isn’t going to like it.”

“Why not?” But she thought she already knew.

“He lives off-grid. Doesn’t want anyone to know he’s here. Doesn’t want to draw attention to his castle in the glen. Once people know about his castle, he might be overrun with marauders.”

“Out here? Nah, I doubt it.” Sylvie couldn’t help but grin at his medieval references. He was definitely chivalrous, a real knight in shining armor, now that she thought about it. With his strong arms holding her, carrying her over and through the terrain—not an easy task in places—and keeping her pressed against his warm, muscular form, she couldn’t think straight.

She had to get her mind on something else. She was strong and independent, and didn’t like that being near him turned her soft and compliant. Made her needy. She couldn’t afford to be like her mother when it came to men, and get hurt in the worst of ways. With all that had happened today, she feared her suspicions that her mother had been murdered were confirmed, and she’d almost blurted it all out to Will. She wasn’t ready to tell him her darkest of secrets yet. Not until she was absolutely certain of it. She didn’t want to think about it now, didn’t want to face the truth of what that would mean. So she turned her thoughts back to Will and Snake.

“But you know where he lives.”

“That, I do. He needs someone he can trust to bring him supplies and keep his existence a secret.”

“Are you telling me the Alaska State Troopers or the Coast Guard or some other entity doesn’t know he’s here?”

“Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. The point is that he is off the grid and off the radar. Or at least, he was.”

“And now you’ve blown his trust.”

“He invited us to follow him, didn’t he?”

“Doesn’t mean he’ll let you use his radio.”

“That remains to be seen.”

Sylvie wasn’t sure she liked Will’s answer. Was he going to use the radio or not? And if not, how did they get out of here? The need to get them out of his sanctuary should be reason enough for Snake to let them call for help.

Sylvie could barely make out the man’s silhouette ahead of them since he made better time, crept stealthily through the forest much faster than Will, who carried Sylvie. Once again, she found the need to distract herself from Will’s sturdy body, and the great care and attention he took to making the ride as smooth as possible despite the slick, sodden boulders and fallen trunks and debris he had to step over and around.

Finally, Will stood at the open door of Snake’s log cabin and then carried Sylvie over the threshold.

“You can set her down over there.” Snake referred to her as if she were a box of supplies and gestured to a long sofa near the woodstove.

Will was right. The man had something going on the stove, and the aroma stirred her hunger. After Will gently settled her on the sofa—worn out but more plush than she would have expected—Snake appeared by Will’s side with a first-aid kit.

“Thanks.” Will took the kit. “She needs dry clothes, too. Got any extras? I’ll make sure to reimburse you.”

“No need for that.” Snake nodded and disappeared through a door off the main room.

“I agree,” she said. “There’s no need for you to reimburse Snake for any dry clothes he offers me. I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself.”

At Will’s surprised glance, she added, “And I’m perfectly capable of being grateful.” She offered a smile of her own. “Thank you, Will, for your thoughtfulness. For carrying me through the woods. I’m sorry you had to do that. Besides, you need them, too.”

“What do I need?” Will crouched near her ankle and examined it.

“Dry clothes.”

“I’ll manage. And you’re welcome, by the way. All in a day’s work.”

Yeah, right. When he touched her ankle, she winced.

“It’s not so bad,” he said, “And probably the least of your worries. Am I right?”

“You know you are.”

He shot her a grin that tugged at her insides. She was losing it. Cold and hungry and injured and...well...that made her vulnerable. Sylvie wouldn’t read anything into his grin. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked.

“I’ll wrap this after you change out of the dry suit.” Will stood when Snake appeared and held out a couple of large flannel shirts and some jeans.

“These do?”

Will cocked a brow at Sylvie, humor flickering in his gaze.

“It’ll have to. Thank you, Snake.” Saying his name felt awkward on her lips.

Will slung the extra clothes over his shoulder. “Thanks, Snake.”

Sylvie hated to ask, hated to need help, but worse than that, she hated to limp across the floor. No, falling on her face would be worse. She had some vertigo. Not good. She hoped she only had a mild case of DCS. She’d never before gotten the bends. The dive hadn’t been that deep, and she’d descended at the appropriate rate. But her ascending straight to the surface without any stops had been all it took to throw her body chemistry into turmoil. The cold water and exertion from fighting off a killer hadn’t done her any favors.