Page 118 of Love Me Dangerous

Between the day of fieldwork and the night Zach sent me that text message, something happened.

You work for me.

I close my eyes because I don’t want to believe what’s staring me in the face.

What if Zach knew what Dustin was really doing out there?

If I don’t get what I want, you won’t either.

What does Dustin want? Why did he take me?

It makes no sense. Unless…

No. Zach is a good person. Kind and strong and thoughtful. He wouldn’t be taking orders from someone who is obviously involved in something illegal.

Unless it’s all been a lie?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

ZACH

My eyes burn,and my side erupts in pain with every footfall.

To distract myself, I sing “Thunder Road,” the lyrics tumbling from my lips like a prayer.

My dad played that song sometimes when we were driving, the four of us headed out to some adventure. Camping or fishing, the summer sunshine so sweet, the crisp, fresh air cooling my hot cheeks as I leaned out the window. Dad’s fingers tapping on the steering wheel and his powerful voice in synch with The Boss.

I searched for the phone in the snowdrifts until my bare fingers turned to ice and my teeth chattered. I willed it to ring, but would I have heard it over the raging wind and blowing snow?

Before I lost the tracks to the storm, I had to keep moving.

The binoculars must have crashed into my face during my fall because my lip is puffy and I’m missing a chunk of tooth. I left the bulky thing behind—it’s not like they’re of any use in a blizzard. If I get out of this alive, I’ll replace them.

Thoughts of Sofie fill my mind, spurring me on. She must be so scared. I don’t know how I will rescue her, but I won’t stop until I do.

I should have waited to make that phone call until I had a plan.

I’m back to being on my own. All decisions, mine. All the mistakes and failures, mine too.

I shake my head.Don’t think like that.

My right hand is against my bare chest inside my shirt, but the feeling has gone numb. It makes for awkward running, and snow and icy wind are sneaking inside my coat, but I don’t have a choice. I press my fingers to my skin, hoping the warmth of my body can revive them but it’s like having a frozen fish on my chest. In Alaska, kids are taught basic survival in school because people live far apart, and the elements can turn harsh in a flash. Basic first aid and CPR, how to operate a radio, start a fire. So I know the early stages of frostbite and how detrimental life can be with fewer fingers.

The tire treads vanished long ago, but there’s still road, so I keep running. I have to believe that I’m still on Dustin’s trail. There’s no reason he’d go cross-country in this weather, especially if he’s on a mission. I don’t know where I’m headed or where I am. There’s only white, blinding snow and the screech of the wind, the road under my feet, and pain.

The ground levels. I keep singing into the unrelenting wind. Maybe I’m going crazy. Or maybe it’s keeping me sane.

A sharp edge meets the dirt road. It’s pavement. Gasping, I pause, squinting into the wind. Dustin would have merged here, but which way did he go?

What road is this? Could I flag someone down?

But the road is an unbroken sea of white. No one has been through here.

Fuck! Have I lost them?

I crouch down and squint through the snow. My hand inside my coat judders up to my collarbones, making me shiver. With my gloved left hand, I skim off the top layer of snow. Is there a depression? Some indication that Dustin was here? I move to the lip of the road, brushing down, down, while the snow falls into place, filling it in. My eyes burn from focusing in this biting cold, but I keep going.

A section of zigzag tread, likely knocked loose when the vehicle bumped over the lip of pavement, falls free. My heart taps faster against my ribs. I keep looking—I need more!

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