A bird sang a cheerful melody. Vienna nearly missed the notes drifting to her on the shifting breeze because her heart thundered so loud in her ears she could barely hear anything. Listening so intently for Larsen didn’t reduce the noise but rather made it louder. The bird sang again, uncaring that life or death was being played out right there on the trail.
“You still with me, Mortenson?”
Not close, she decided. If he was creeping up the trail behind her, she would have known. His voice was too far away.
“Yes.”
“I took his money for a lot of years. I take the job, I finish it, you understand? It’s a job.” If there was regret in his voice, she didn’t hear it. He was matter-of-fact.
“I’m sure Raine’s people are going to understand.”
“I know I’m a dead man. I accepted that fact when I couldn’t save Axel. At least I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing I completed my job when you’re dead. It’s always mattered to me that when I give my word, I follow through.”
Her heart squeezed down hard in her chest. The pain felt like a heart attack. Her mouth went dry and her palms damp. She waited several heartbeats until she knew she could control the tremor in her voice.
“Good to hear you care so much about your work, Larsen. I know whether I live or die, if Raine dies or if you manage to kill me, I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’ll never have a single moment’s peace until you’re dead.”
The moment she issued the statement, she realized how true it was. Zale would come for her. He would come and he would never stop hunting if he found her dead. Never. She had wondered if she could count on him—now she fully comprehended just how much. It mattered little if he returned the feelings she had for him. He would still come. He had his own code. In his way, for whatever reason, she belonged to him. He would come and he would never stop. The satisfaction was overpowering.
She heard small rocks rolling down the trail as Larsen was up and hobbling away from her. She continued to face forward, her feet shoulder width apart, front foot under her elbows, her back foot with the ball of the foot pressing into the ground. She kept her knees slightly bent for even more stability. Never once did her pistol waver.
The bird continued to sing, a happy melody. It took a moment to hit her, to make her understand—that songbird wasn’t an avian at all. Shabina was an avid birdwatcher, and she knew how to call to nearly every species in the vicinity, male or female. Vienna had no idea how to sing like Shabina had, but she could make a chicken sound. The idea had her grinning. She answered the beautiful songbird with her very poor imitation of a chicken. Let Larsen think she was taunting him.
Shabina and Zahra came into view, hurrying toward her. Both had their backpacks on, and as Shabina came up to her, she stretched out her arm toward her. The satellite phone was on her palm.
“They want to talk to you,” Shabina explained, sounding apologetic.
Zahra looked anxious, but she held out the small plastic container that held the last clip of bullets. It didn’t look like nearly enough, but it would have to do. Frowning, she glanced down at the last text sent.
Get the phone to Vienna.A clear order. The text looked angry even though it wasn’t in caps.
Vienna here. I don’t have a lot of time. Neither do you. Bring in the helicopter before Larsen gets to a place where he can pick off anyone helping. I’ll try to keep the pressure on him. He’s very experienced.
There was a slight delay and then the text came back looking bold and decisive. Helicopter on way. ETA five minutes. Will medevac patient. Second helicopter to follow first. All of you are to get aboard. Everyone.
Vienna studied the text. Sam? Zale? Rainier? Or were all three behind that order? She couldn’t obey it. They didn’t understand the situation there on the ground, or how dangerous Larsen really was.
“Zahra, didn’t Stella tell me she preprogrammed her mini Garmin to send the Garmin’s location to your phone every fifteen or twenty minutes? That way, if you got lost, you could track us on your phone?”
Zahra nodded and set her pack down, immediately pulling her cell out of the side zipper pocket. “You should just come with us, Vienna. Get on the helicopter.”
“I can’t. He’s going to kill everyone. He told me. It was a vow. He knew he was dead the minute Axel Wallin fell.”
She bit her lip and then texted again. Can’t delay. One shooter dead, need to go after last shooter. First name Larsen. He’s in Wallin’s employ. Knows what he’s doing. I have to keep pressure on him or he’ll stop the helicopter from taking Raine.
Snowflake. For me. Get on the helicopter. We’ll go after Larsen. We have a file on him and he’ll be like tracking a wounded cougar. He’s got military training. Get out of there.
You’ll be too late to keep him from stopping the helicopter evac Raine. She doesn’t have time to wait. Can’t argue.She contemplated sending a heart to him, hoping he’d understand what she was trying to convey. It might be the last time she ever spoke to him. Instead, she just wrote it out for everyone to see. Know you were loved.
Wait then. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.
There was no use in arguing. She handed the satphone to Zahra. “Go, hon, fast. Get moving so you can get on that helicopter.”
She knew Zahra’s code and enabled it so she could find the app on the phone for the mini Garmin. If Larsen had ignored the mini Garmin in Stella’s pack and he left it there, she could follow him using the app on Zahra’s phone. She shoved the pistol into her vest and hooked the ammo clip to the bag at her waist. She had two full clips and the rest of the bullets in her pistol. She would need to make every shot count. No more trying to warn him off or scare him off.
“Shabina, what are you doing? Go with Zahra.”