“Oh, God.”
The Belcourts, Gabe Rossiter and Kat—they were friends, people she’d known for years.
“Kat and Naomi know. I told them.”
Kenzie took her husband in her arms. “God, you’re brave.”
“If I had known there were still people at the camp… The fire had burned down to the road and got ahead of us. For a minute or two, I thought we were dead.”
She held him closer, sickened by the thought. “Thank God you’re safe.”
“Yeah.”
Kenzie knew some part of him would blame himself for this. He’d lost his best friend on Mt. Everest and had gone through hell in the aftermath, traumatized by the accident, wracked with survivor’s guilt. The grief had almost destroyed him.
And now this…
A helicopter passed overhead, flying toward the reservoir to refill its water tank, hose dangling from its belly.
He drew back. “I need to tell Winona.”
The knot in Kenzie’s stomach tightened, her heart breaking for Win.
Kenzie turned toward the trailer, pointed. “She’s in there. She’s been so worried about them. God, I can’t believe this. It doesn’t seem real.”
Winona walked down the ramp, saw Harrison—and stopped.
Kenzie’s chest ached. She tucked her hand in Harrison’s and followed him to where Winona stood, trepidation in every feature on her face.
“Did you get everyone out?” Win’s voice was even, steady, calm.
Harrison shook his head, held Kenzie’s hand tighter. “All but one of the kids and most of the counselors escaped. Chaska, your grandfather, Gabe Rossiter, and three counselors stayed behind because there wasn’t room in the vehicles. We tried to get to them, but fire had already burned through the camp. We barely made it back ourselves.”
The breath left Winona’s lungs on a little cry, and her shoulders sagged, her eyes going wide. “So … they’re all …dead?”
That last word was a whisper.
“We don’t know that for sure. Maybe they found a way—”
“Did you say Gabe Rossiter?” Julian was there now, stunned surprise on his face. “He and Kat are good friends of ours.”
Harrison repeated some of what he’d told Winona. “He, Chaska Belcourt, Grandpa Belcourt, and some camp counselors chose to stay so that others could escape. One of the kids is missing. The boy apparently hid when they evacuated the others. Hawke has asked a chopper to check for survivors.”
A muscle clenched in Julian’s jaw, his eyes hidden by sunglasses. “Fuck.”
But at the word “survivors,” Winona sank to the sidewalk.
Kenzie hurried to her side, knelt next to her, wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders. “Chaska and Gabe are smart. If anyone can find a way out of this alive, they can.”
Winona held tightly to her hand, her eyes squeezed shut.
“What about Kat? Does she know?” Julian asked.
Harrison nodded. “I told her. She’s in a bus heading down the canyon with Chaska’s wife, Naomi, and the counselors and kids from the camp.”
Jack stepped out of the trailer, the lines on his face telling Kenzie he’d overheard. “What a damned awful thing.”
A bawling sound brought everyone’s heads around