Ian laughed, then groaned and swore. “Savannah…”
“Sorry,” she muttered. “I couldn’t help myself. I’m freezing, exhausted, hurt, and terrified. And I’m over it. All of it. Seriously. I’m done. I’m not looking forward to sloshing through snow up to my ass. Hypothermia is not my friend.”
He pulled her close again. “We don’t have to stay in the deep snow for long. Just until we get clear of any searchers and the cops Hank will assign to protect the scene overnight. And if we take the road, he’ll only be able to follow our footprints to that point. Plows will clear them overnight.”
“What about cars? People might see us on the road, report back to Hank.”
“Road’s blocked. The avalanches will be in the local news. The only people on this road will be cops and my team. If we’re not sure, we’ll hightail it into the brush or behind a berm.”
She thought about it, frowning as she searched his expression. “I guess it’s our best option.”
“We really need to catch a signal,” he told her.
“Where will we go?”
“I’m trying to remember what we might be close to, but my brain’s not working on all cylinders.” He closed his eyes and fought the pain and the fatigue to pull up landmarks. “We passed onto forest service land. There were a few campsites… That’s all I remember.”
“We passed Robinson Camp, McGuire Camp, Calx Camp…” Her voice trailed off, then she turned her head to look at Ian. “Did we pass Koocanusa?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. The others sound familiar. That one doesn’t. I could have missed the sign in the chase, but how would a campground help us?”
“Because they have cabins. You can rent a campsite and pitch a tent, or you can pay more and get a little cabin. But I could never get Hank to go with me, so I have no idea where the cabins are on the property.”
“A secluded cabin in the mountains with you? And he didn’t go?” Ian said with sincere dismay. “Damn, that man is a loser in too many ways to count.”
“Maybe once I’m outside, I’ll be able to figure out if we’re close. There’s a unique mountain just before you turn into the campground.”
“Unique mountain,” he echoed. “That’s a little hard to believe around here.”
She grinned. “It’s a phallic symbol. The guys at the mine have a couple dozen jokes about it.”
He matched her smile. “Well, if you’re ready to go hunting for a giant penis and a remote cabin, let’s do this.”
17
The trek through thigh-high powder had not been fun. Even with her knee-high, waterproof North Face boots that were rated to withstand temperatures down to minus twenty degrees, Savannah had lost feeling in her feet.
They’d been walking for about an hour. Twenty minutes through powder and forty minutes on this road with only two vehicle sightings—both cops. The rescue search had continued past sunset, hampering Ian and Savannah’s escape.
The trek raised her body temperature and her feet had regained some feeling, but Ian’s limp had worsened and his pace had slowed. He claimed to be fine and remained determined to keep going, but Savannah was worried.
“How far have we walked?” she asked. “And don’t say ‘ten minutes farther than the last time you asked,’ smart-ass.”
“I love how you retain your sense of humor under the worst conditions.”
“I’m trying to figure out if we passed the campground,” she told him. “I thought there was a caretaker that lived there year-round to keep up the property, but if they shut the place down, the road leading to the property would be snowed over. Did you have a plan B in mind?”
He stopped walking, and Savannah came up beside him. “We don’t need one, baby.” He angled his flashlight across the road. “Look.”
A wooden sign had been carved with: Welcome to Koocanusa Camp.
Her knees went weak with relief, and she grabbed a handful of his jacket to stay upright. “And the road’s plowed.”
“Things are looking up.”
She pulled her phone from her jacket. “Still no service.”
“Maybe up by the cabins.”