Page 47 of Shielded Hearts

She turned her head, and a wave of dizziness slammed her. The face of Vivian’s nephew swam in her vision for several heartbeats before she forced her mind to clear.

Gideon was really here. And they were really onboard her plane.

This was no coincidence.

The pieces of the puzzle slipped away. Her mind was too foggy to fit them together. She knew Vivian’s nephew had pulled her out of her tomb of snow, but why?

Where was Colt?

Panic jittered through her, and she curled her fingers into the armrests.

This could not be good. Gideon didn’t even like her. She’d never forget the expression on his face when Vivian’s will was read…and he learned he didn’t gain more than a pittance from his aunt’s death.

“I see my plane is fixed.” Her mouth was as dry as cotton.

Gideon’s light blue eyes blazed through her. “I’m the one who broke it. Makes it much easier to fix.”

Another wave of panic slammed her with as much force as that avalanche. She floundered the same way, fighting to figure out up from down.

Was Colt alive? She had to stall and pray that he was—and that he would find her.

She slowly turned her head to meet Gideon’s gaze. “What are we doing on my plane?”

“You mean the plane that you bought with my aunt’s money?”

If she answered him, he’d only grow more agitated by what he had lost, even though Vivian hadneverintended to make him the beneficiary of her legacy.

Aspen’s damp clothes clung to her chilled skin. She was still shivering from cold and fear, but the last thing she wanted to do was show weakness to Gideon.

“Where are we going?” she asked him.

His hair was messy and oily, plastered to his head like he hadn’t washed it in a long time. His beard grew in patches on his cheeks and jaw, leaving bare spots in between.

“We’re going to the cabin in Montana. Remember the cabin you were going to look at for your clients?”

She racked her brain for which cabin that would be. She and Colt visited two out of the three before taking off for Lake Tahoe.

“A cabinway offthe beaten path is the best place to take you.” He nodded as if solidifying his plan in his deranged mind. “I’d say it’s an excellent choice. No one will hear you scream there.”

He had to mean the third cabin that she’d never visited. If he knew she had been headed to Montana, he was tracking her moves.

Her gut dipped in fear. She had screamed Colt’s name right before the snow swallowed her up. When she heard digging, she expected to find her lover standing over her, prepared to pull her out of the snow and into his warm, strong arms.

No, this was no coincidence,she thought for the second time, knowing it in her gut now. Gideon had set this all up.

A wild light burned in his pale eyes as he watched her closely. “Thanks to you, Aspen, I have nothing. You took it all. Now I’m going to do the same to you.”

Her mind cast around the plane cabin for something to defend herself with. Some heavy object to bash him over the head the same way he’d bashed her back on that mountain. But there was nothing except the sleek overhead compartments, empty of anything she could use.

She needed to get out of here. She opened her mouth, thinking to scream for her small flight crew. But Gideon reached inside his coat and withdrew a small pistol.

“You’re not going anywhere, Aspen. Fasten your seatbelt. It’s going to be a short flight.”

“No!” Her voice projected as a hot rasp.

What if Colt was dead?

The thought hit Aspen like a punch to the chest.

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