Page 14 of A Rebel's Shot

Merritt nodded and returned to scrolling through her phone, but she wasn’t as forceful about it. Not a minute later, the bears meandered off the runway. Tiikâan called the information in to the airport as he throttled up the engine.

Once in the air, he marveled again at how different the terrain was from Tok. The ocean stretched unending to one side, the flat tundra to the other. At least the mine was located close to the mountains. He might go crazy seeing nothing but flat every day.

Merritt tucked her phone into her purse and stared out the side window. Her fingers toyed with her necklace like they had the day before.

She muttered something that sounded like a list or procedures, almost like he used to do when he first started flying. If he hadn’t repeated them out loud, he would have forgotten a step.

The difference in her attitudes still confused the heck out of him. Did she turn into the cold woman who offhandedly talked about dying cubs becauseshe was stressed from suddenly being the person in charge of such a huge operation? Or was that who she really was?

He didn’t know how she was in her philanthropy work. She could’ve been just as cold and efficient then, too. Running a nonprofit division as big as the one Harland must have didn’t need heart to operate. In fact, not having one would make it easier to decide who got help and who didn’t.

He shook his head as he checked his instruments and then scanned the mountains they approached. It didn’t really matter what she was like. Heart or heartless didn’t matter as long as he got paid and she didn’t spew too much attitude his way.

As he entered the Brooks Range, he sighed in relief. It felt right to be among the peaks that jutted from the earth. He lowered his altitude so he could fly through the mountains instead of over.

A small glacier sat between two peaks. At the bottom of the valley, an ice cave beckoned from the glacier’s folds to be explored. He veered closer to get a better look.

“See that?” He tipped the wing of the plane so Merritt could see the glacier from her seat. “Now, that cave would be fun to check out.”

“Under the glacier?” Finally, there was a bit of awe in the boss lady’s voice.

“Yeah. They’re the coolest.” He winked at her as he flattened out the plane and circled the glacier.

She shook her head and chuckled. “That joke was horrible.”

“Maybe one evening after work we’ll have to plan a mini adventure. We could land in the creek bank rightthere.” Tiikâan pointed to the flat area along the creek the glacier had left as it retreated. “Then we can hike up and check it out.”

“Really?” She leaned closer to the window like it would give her a better look.

“Sure. It won’t be as epic as what Sunny does, but it’d be fun.” He straightened the plane out and pointed the nose back toward the mine. “Sometimes those caves aren’t much past the mouth, but sometimes they can weave way up under the glacier. And since we’re in the Land of the Midnight Sun, going after work wouldn’t be an issue.”

“I’d really like to do that.” She watched out the window until the glacier disappeared, then turned to him. “But you might have to force me to do it. I’ll probably get a little tunnel-visioned in the next few weeks. I’ll give you a bonus or something.”

“No bonus necessary. I’ll be itching to get into the mountains soon anyway.”

She smiled her tight-lipped smile, then looked out the window, her fingers searching out her necklace. Her response made his worry a bit lighter. Maybe it was just the stress of her dad dying and taking over the business that was making her remind him of Cruella at times.

If she could be civil to him, he could help keep her grounded.

And the Alaskan wilderness could keep a person humble better than anything else.

SEVEN

Merritt stared out the side window as the plane banked around the mining camp before lining up for landing. If not for the bright-orange hard hats, she could almost imagine the scene below her as a refugee camp in the African mountains.

The makeshift office buildings and barracks made from shipping containers were so similar to what she’d seen in other parts of the world that she expected to see children darting out to watch the plane approach at any minute.

Too bad the only person stepping from the office was her stepbrother, Silas.

Even from her position flying above, his tension as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the plane screamed contentious. How had the two of them gotten to this?

They used to be friends. Best friends, really. Aside from her dad and her uncle Nolan, Silas had been her only supporter in their family.

The only one who truly saw her.

Leaving had been the best thing she could’ve done for herself, but she hadn’t realized how much it would change everything.

She slid her fingers along her necklace and closed her eyes. As silently as she could, she took a deep breath to calm herself before she had to engage yet another family member who’d rather she be anywhere but there.

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