Off the Grid Christmas Page 8

  “There’s such a thing as thermal imaging.”

  “That’s a good point, but with the fresh snow falling, our clothes should be the same temperature as the air, which should make it difficult to spot us.” He pulled her down so they were crouching, huddling together in the shadows of a pine tree. The astringent scent of pine filled his nose, the cold air seeping through his coat and pants. He was cold, but Arden must have been colder. He could feel her trembling, hear her teeth chattering.

  “That just leaves our faces and of course our breath which will condense and turn to water which is warmer than snow,” she said. “We should probably duck our heads down and breathe into our coats.”

  “Great idea. I wish some of the soldiers I’ve served with would have thought like you.” If they had, he thought wryly, some of them might not have died. He put an arm around her shoulder, dragging her in closer as the helicopter swooped low. They ducked their heads as the spotlight zipped across the forest floor, illuminating dead leaves and white snow. It passed and then returned, seeming to hover yards from where they were.

  Arden was still shaking as the searchlight moved across the forest floor, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the temperature...or from fear.

  SEVEN

  Arden wanted to be home. Decorating for Christmas. Calling her mom to ask for cookie recipes. She wanted to be shopping for Christmas presents for her brothers, parents and friends, and for the new nephews that she’d have next month. She wanted to be anywhere but there—shivering with cold, the rotors of the helicopter sending twigs and debris flying.

  Kane pressed close to her side, totally in her space, but he was blocking the chopper wind and some of the snow, and she couldn’t bring herself to move away.

  Finally, the helicopter moved on, zipping above the tree line, its light slashing across the gray-white forest.

  “We need to move,” Kane said, pulling her to her feet.

  “We can’t outrun a helicopter,” she responded. Sebastian wiggled in the carrier, probably as anxious to be freed as she was to put this nightmare behind her.

  “No, but we need a better position. Someplace that will offer more protection. They may have been getting something on thermal and that’s why they were hovering for so long.”

  “Even covered in snow, we’re warm bodies in a very cold landscape,” she pointed out. “Of course there are an estimated five hundred species of vertebrate animals in New Hampshire, so there are certainly other mammals out here with us. It stands to reason that we could conceal our heat signatures enough to pass as deer. Or moose. There are also bobcats. Foxes. Coyotes.” She started listing all the native mammals, the words spilling out like they always did when she was anxious.

  “Good point,” he agreed, pulling back a heavy pine bough and holding it so that she could walk past. “Hunkering down bought us a little time, but eventually, they’ll have troops on the ground as well as the helicopter in the air. It might not be long before they’ll send their ground crew to investigate.”

  He had a point.

  She refrained from explaining how good of one it was. She had a bad habit of talking too much about too many things. Or so her ex had said. Then again, Randy had been quick to point out all of her quirks. He’d also been good at telling her the reasons why she needed to change.

  In hindsight, she should have kicked him to the curb long before they’d ever become a couple. But she’d wanted what Juniper had had, what her parents cherished. She’d wanted to be part of something more than just herself. She’d wanted to be in love, and she’d convinced herself that she was.

  Her fault. Not Randy’s.

  She was too smart to have fallen for him, but she’d let herself fall anyway. Not that he hadn’t helped her along. He’d been so charming when they’d met, so filled with admiration and compliments. He’d bought her flowers and books on string theory.

  They’d met at the University Christmas Gala. She’d been uncomfortable in a black cocktail dress and heels that Juniper had insisted she wear. She would have been more comfortable wearing a casual skirt with one of her infamous ugly Christmas sweaters. But Juniper had put her foot down. As a compromise, Arden accessorized with earrings shaped like Christmas bulbs. They did not improve her comfort or confidence level.

  When Randy had introduced himself, he’d complimented her on those earrings; she thought that he’d noticed her because of them.

  Turned out, he’d noticed her long before that.

  She’d been new to the research program but already nipping at the heels of his accomplishments. He’d wanted her in his corner, part of his achievement. He’d wanted her help, her insight, her brain.

  He’d wanted her encryption algorithm.

  And he’d taken it as his own, using it as a base to create his own encryption application and key. It was the encryption wrapped around the files she’d appropriated from GeoArray. She was confident whatever was on those files had gotten Dale killed.

  And Randy was up to his neck in it. He was dirty and she knew it. She intended to prove it. She just needed a little more time.

  She tripped over a thick tree root, and Kane grabbed her elbow, holding her steady.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  Had Randy ever asked her that?

  All she could remember was him asking her about work, about projects, about her ideas and programs.

  “Fine.”

  Except that she felt like a fool. A fool who was now running for her life because of something her ex-boyfriend had done.

  The sound of the helicopter had faded; the forest was still again. Fat flakes of snow drifted through the canopy, layering Kane’s coat with white. He didn’t seem to be hurrying. If anything, they were moving slower than they had been before the helicopter arrived on the scene.

  “Shouldn’t we speed up?” she asked.

  “You said yourself that we can’t outrun a helicopter. It’s going to swing back around. When it does, I want to be well hidden.”

  “We’re two ninety-eight-point-six-degree pillars moving through a twenty-eight-degree forest. Without a structure to cover us, hiding completely from thermal imaging is a near impossibility.”

  “Nothing is impossible. I’m looking for anything that can give us enough cover and keep them from pinpointing our location.” He pushed through a thicket, holding back thorny branches as she moved through.

  A true gentleman. One that held tree branches even when there was no one around to see him or to praise his impeccable manners. Randy had only ever been a gentleman when other people could witness it.

  “I really was an idiot,” she muttered, stepping over a fallen log, her feet heavy and cold. She was cold all over. Even with Sebastian pressed up against her chest, she could feel the chill of the winter air.

  “You are far from an idiot, Arden,” Kane said, pulling her to a stop. They stood there for several seconds. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but she was listening to the sound of the returning helicopter and to something else. A subtle buzz that seemed familiar. A motor of some sort, maybe.

  “What’s that?” she whispered.

  “A snowmobile, I think.” There was no hint of emotion in Kane’s voice, no change in his expression. He scanned the area around them.

  “It doesn’t sound close.”

  “They’ll be here soon enough. The helicopter probably spotted the plane and sent people to check it out.” He was moving with a renewed sense of urgency, his hand around her wrist, tugging her through the foliage. They were sprinting now, pushing deeper and deeper into the forest as the distant sound of snowmobiles grew louder.

  * * *

  They were moving fast, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Kane knew that, but he wanted to put as much distance between them and the snowmobiles as possible. It was bad enough having t
he helicopter to contend with. The possibility of being shot by a sniper aiming from somewhere above was a real one, but being apprehended by men on snowmobiles seemed more likely.

  If the people tracking them were from GeoArray, they may want to keep Arden alive—at least until they were sure they had their files back. If they were from the FBI, they’d only shoot after they announced themselves.

  Arden had gotten herself into some seriously deep trouble. He had to get her out of it. First, though, he had to get them out of this—the forest, the wilderness, the cold.

  The sound of the snowmobile was still muted and distant, but the helicopter was heading their way again, the rhythmic thud of propeller blades announcing its return.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the searchlight illuminating the trees about two hundred meters behind them. Up ahead, there was nothing but thick tree growth. A large elm had fallen across their path, and he clambered over it, pulling Arden with him.

  The root system had left a deep hollow in the ground. Covered by leaves and snow and dead roots, it was a perfect place to hide until the chopper passed.

  “Quick, Arden, this way.” He jumped into the hole. Reached up to help her down. “Press your back up against the roots of the tree and cover your legs with some snow,” he instructed, as he brushed snow over his own legs.

  “Cover your face and mouth,” she reminded him. She pulled her coat up over her nose and mouth and covered the rest of her face with her gloved hands, leaving just enough space between her fingers to peer out. He did the same.

  Within moments, the searchlight from the helicopter was almost on them. “Be still,” he cautioned.

  He knew from experience that the pilots would be looking for motion, reflective clothing, bright colors—something that was out of place. From their vantage point in the sky, and with the tree cover and snow falling as it was, the pilot’s visibility would be limited.

  Dressed in dark clothing, with snow covering their legs and boots, Kane and Arden pressed into the shadowy web of roots and waited for the searchlight to reach them.

  EIGHT

  A wide beam of light swept in a large arc to the left, then right, passing over their hiding place. Kane and Arden remained concealed in the shadows. The strong scent of damp, decaying wood permeated the air.

  Arden didn’t move, but he could feel her anxiety radiating out. She was scared. She should be. They were mere moments from being discovered.

  Hopefully, the roots, snow and old wood would keep their thermal temperature from registering. Hopefully, the chopper would keep going. Hopefully, the snowmobile driver wouldn’t happen upon the tracks they left and would have no idea where they were. They’d have even more time to put distance between themselves and trouble.

  Hopefully, but Kane wasn’t counting on it.

  One thing he’d learned during his years in the military: never take safety and security for granted. Anything could happen at any time. He’d learned to be prepared for it.

  Somewhere close by, a small herd of deer was startled from hiding. The animals bolted through the darkness just ahead of them, jumping over logs and stumps, weaving through the snow-coated trees and disappearing deeper into the woods. A few passed close enough to jump over the downed tree where Kane and Arden took refuge.

  The movement of the deer was caught in the searchlight. The beam of light passed quickly across Kane and Arden’s hiding place, shining briefly on one or two of the fleeing deer before it continued its probing search.

  The light moved farther away. They were no longer in the direct path of discovery. The rhythmic thump of propeller blades receded.

  Kane stood cautiously, motioning for Arden to remain concealed.

  The searchlight was barely visible through the trees. The forest around them was once again dark. Kane pulled himself out of the hole, then reached down to help Arden climb out.

  “What should we do?” she asked. “They’re going to assume we’re headed downriver—they’ll probably be waiting for us on the outskirts of town.”

  Kane had been thinking the same thing. Once their tracks were discovered, it would become evident that he and Arden were paralleling the river and heading to town. Even if their tracks weren’t found, that course seemed the only logical choice.

  And that’s because it was the only logical choice.

  Upriver was away from the closest town. Crossing the river was out of the question. One thing was certain: they couldn’t stay where they were. Not only because the woods offered no protection from the elements, but because there was no doubt in his mind that the helicopter had left a trooper or two on the ground. It’s what he would do if the situation were reversed. Between the ground troops and the snowmobiles, it would be very difficult to escape detection.

  Kane surveyed the area. Up until this point, their chosen path had been relatively flat, minus a few drainages that ran off the mountain into the river. Deeper in the woods, the terrain sloped gradually up as the mountain rose from the valley.

  It would not be an easy hike.

  It would also not be an obvious choice.

  If they headed into the forest and away from the river, the heavy snowfall might cover their tracks before anyone on the ground reached this area. The assumption would be that he and Arden had continued along the easiest route. Doing the unexpected would buy them time and, possibly, allow them to escape.

  “You’re right. I think we need to change course,” he said.

  “You’re thinking of heading up the mountain, right? Doing what we shouldn’t and hoping that throws them off our trail. Buys us some time.”

  “It’s the best plan I can come up with on short notice,” he said honestly.

  “It’s better than my plan,” she responded.

  “Which is?”

  “Click my heels together three times and repeat, ‘There’s no place like home.’” She smiled, a quick curve of the lips that was echoed by the amusement in her eyes. She might be half frozen and running for her life, but she still had a sense of humor. Not something he was used to seeing in the high-stress environment he’d worked in. Stone-cold seriousness or morbid sarcasm seemed to carry his comrades through. Arden’s kind of humor—the soft and easy and light humor—was a refreshing change of pace.

  She was refreshing.

  She was herself and nothing else.

  That’s how Jace had described her when he’d asked Kane to track Arden down. Obviously, he hadn’t been exaggerating.

  “You’re an interesting person, Arden,” Kane said, heading away from the river and toward the mountain slope.

  “So I’ve been told,” she muttered.

  “That’s a compliment.”

  He glanced her way, met her eyes, saw her smile again.

  “In that case, thanks. Although, I’m surprised you didn’t notice when you were at family functions with Jace.”

  “I was noticing other things.”

  “Like?”

  “How kind your family is to one another. How talkative they are. How deeply connected you all seem to be.” But of course he’d noticed her, too. She’d intrigued him from the start, though he wouldn’t let himself go there. She’d been Jace’s younger sister after all—dressed in crazy Christmas sweaters or bunny-eared hoodies, flitting from one person to another, completely unaware of her allure, her cold-eyed boyfriend hovering nearby.

  “You don’t have a family?” she asked, her breath puffing out into the snowy night.

  “Most people do,” he said, wishing he hadn’t mentioned her family and that she hadn’t asked him about his. His parents were good people. They tried. But he’d never lived up to their academic standards. He’d never been the kind of kid who’d craved knowledge, who’d aced tests, who’d been at the top of his class.

  “Hmm, another n
onanswer I see,” Arden said, panting a little, struggling a little.

  He knew he was moving fast, and he knew she could barely keep up, but the buzzing engines of snowmobiles were growing louder. Keeping ahead of the enemy was paramount to survival.

  “Tell you what,” he responded. “We can discuss my family once we’re safe. For now, let’s conserve our energy for the hike.”

  She didn’t argue.

  He was worried about what that might mean. He had no idea when she’d eaten last, how much she’d slept the previous night. He knew she’d had self-defense training with her brothers, but he had no clue as to how fit she was.

  He could push her as much as he wanted, but her body would only go for as long as it could. Then she’d be down, and he’d have to carry her and her cat out of the wilderness. Not impossible, but it would complicate things a lot.

  Getting out of this mess alive was already complicated enough.

  * * *

  Arden followed closely behind Kane, matching his quick pace step for step. She didn’t want to slow them down any more than necessary. It was bad enough that Kane was in this predicament because of her. If she got him caught and killed, she’d never forgive herself.

  Of course, if she were dead, she wouldn’t have to worry about that.

  And, she knew if they were caught, she would die. Eventually. Once GeoArray had the files, eliminating her would drastically reduce the company’s chances of being exposed.

  Cold wind whipped at her cheeks and sliced through the fabric of her pants. She gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering and kept walking. She had no choice.

  This wasn’t just about Kane’s life. It wasn’t about hers. If she was right, and the research Dale and his boss referred to in the email was related to the self-improving weapons control system, it was about national security. And that could mean it was about the lives of millions of people.

  Even thinking it seemed melodramatic. She couldn’t imagine speaking the suspicion out loud. She needed proof, and she needed time to get it.