“Now that’s interesting. With tangible proof of the senator’s involvement, I can push the FBI to reopen the investigation. We’ll get this guy.”
Grizz stood behind Dani, his protective presence hard to miss. Even Rio shot him a side-eye of interest.
Rio turned to his screen and played the video. Dani turned into Grizz so she didn’t have to watch, and he wrapped his arms around her. Rio muted his laptop so she didn’t have to hear the fatal gunshot that had ended Josh’s life.
“Dani, I’m so sorry you had to go through all of this.” Rio closed his laptop and placed the device and SIM card in a briefcase that locked. “But we’re going to take this group down, thanks to your bravery in getting this evidence. And if the senator is involved, we have the proof to lock him away. We’ll run facial recognition to confirm that it was him, but to me, this evidence is airtight.”
This might finally be over. Dani could return home and pick up the pieces of her life, with this ordeal becoming a distant memory. Except it also meant putting Grizz in her rearview mirror.
She shifted out of Grizz’s embrace and turned to Rio. “I need to contact my boss. He’ll need to be filled in on what happened. And he’ll want me to report on this.” She hesitated, her gaze bouncing between Grizz and Rio. “You can trust me not to impede the investigation. If I need to stay quiet about certain details, I will. I just want justice for Josh. But the station will want its story.”
The reporter in Dani never quit trying to race to the top. Of course her station would want her to report the story—she was an eyewitness and an active participant in the events that had transpired on Copper Mountain.
Rio nodded. “I’ll take care of notifying INN and your supervisor. But we’ve got to keep this under wraps. If the senator knows he’s been compromised, he’s going to pull out all the stops to keep you from talking.”
“One interesting thing Jeremiah said was that someone wanted me alive,” Dani said. “Could that be Deville?”
Rio grabbed his briefcase and walked toward the living room, where Skye and Sanchez were fawning over Kane. “That’s a distinct possibility. But it could also be someone else we don’t know about yet. For now, I think we need to get out of here. I don’t trust that these men won’t regroup and send reinforcements now that they know we’re here. It’s only a matter of time before they realize we killed one of their own.”
Skye stood. “We have three cars. We’ll leave one here for the agents and take the other two down the mountain. The roads are still pretty washed out, but we made it up here. We should be safe making our way to base camp. I’ve already radioed for a medic to meet us there. We’ve got to get Dani and Kane checked out.”
Grizz helped Dani to the back of one of the SUVs and climbed in next to her. Rio jumped in the driver’s seat and Skye in the passenger seat. The rest of the team rode in the second vehicle.
“At least now we’re on paved roads,” Grizz said, grabbing Dani’s hand and giving it a squeeze. He didn’t miss the look Rio shot him in the rearview mirror.
“Thanks. I’m just glad to have the evidence in safe hands.” Dani turned her head to watch out the window.
Grizz watched the trees whip by as they descended Copper Mountain. Once Dani gave her testimony and the danger subsided, she’d head to DC. And he’d be here, setting up his cabin for winter.
Missing her.
His mind lingered on their kiss. It shouldn’t have happened. He’d crossed lines, that solid double line, knowing the danger. It just made the inevitable that much harder.
He couldn’t keep her, and he didn’t belong in her world. Better to sever their emotional connection now rather than have some messy breakup down the road.
But for now, he’d relish the nearness.
Rio slammed on the brakes, and the car skidded to a stop on the isolated road. Dani and Grizz lurched forward, but the seatbelts kept them locked in place.
“What happened, Rio?” Grizz scanned the area, looking for whatever had spooked Rio.
“I saw something on top of that boulder.” Rio pointed out the window to the granite wall hedging them in. “It looked like a glint of metal. We know these guys have a crazy amount of firepower. I—I just have a bad feeling we’re being targeted.”
Grizz opened his door. “I trust your gut. I think we need to run for it.” Grizz radioed the other car, and Saxon pulled in behind them and stopped.
A hiss sounded—an all too familiar sound. Grizz grabbed Dani’s hand and pulled her into the trees beside the road. Rio, Skye, and the others from the second car all dashed into the woods.
Rio’s car exploded in a fireball, just like the helicopter.
Another RPG.
TEN
This had to end.Once again, Dani found herself running for her life through the forested mountain in Alaska, with gunmen tracking her every movement.
So much for peace. This was a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. At least she had Grizz by her side.
Branches scraped her legs and arms. The heat from the blast still sizzled the air.
