He looked at her, and his jaw tightened. “Winter’s.”
She froze.No.Please—“I’m going with you.”
“Over my dead body. You took a shot to the chest yesterday.”
“And I’m fine today.” She met his glare. “Guess what, she’s my best friend.”
“And that’s why—”
“I’m going, Jericho.” She slid off the chair.
Something flashed in his eyes, but she didn’t stick around to unpack it. “I’ll be down in five.”
She brushed past him, but he caught her arm. She stopped, looked up at him, ready to—
“Then at least eat breakfast,” he said.
Oh.She sighed. “Fine.” She returned to her chair, slid onto it. “I guess I’ll need more coffee too.”
Kennedy filled her mug.
She turned as she heard Jericho leave, saw him head down the hall. “Apparently he doesn’t like pancakes,” she said.
“Yeah, that’s clearly it.” Kennedy turned away and poured out a fresh batch of batter onto the griddle.
THIS WAS A BAD IDEA,Jericho knew it in his gut. What power did Harley possess that just kept making him say yes?
Or at least kept him from throwing her over his shoulder and locking her in the guest room?
Yeah, he was an idiot, especially when she winced getting out of his truck at the sheriff’s office. She wore a borrowed SAR jacket, but now, if she was hurting—and she had to be—it didn’t show in her posture. She’d pulled her blond hair back in a neat French braid, ready for action.
He hated himself a little for the way he’d folded.
Harley veered off to grab coffee, but as he walked into the conference room, Orlando on his heels, Jericho kept his gaze firmly away from the wall-mounted map of yesterday’s manhunt.Away from the red circle where everything had gone wrong. Where he’d nearly lost—
“Winter’s last location.” Deke stabbed a finger at one of the topographical maps spread across the conference table. Ghost Glacier loomed in shades of white and gray, its frozen lake leading to an equally frozen river carving through the Copper Range and down to the valley.
Orlando, sprawled at Jericho’s feet, lifted his head at Harley’s approach. His tail thumped against the wooden floor. She handed Jericho a cup of coffee. “You didn’t eat.”
“Not hungry.”
“Last radio contact was here, about three hours ago.” Deke traced a path along the western edge of the glacier. “Not far from the lake. My guess is that she put down there.”
“What was the Mayday for?”
“Not a Mayday, just high winds reported, then nothing. Starr Air called this morning. She took off early with two passengers. Sheldon is down in Anchorage with their other plane, and they’re worried. They have GPS on the plane, and it hasn’t moved since this morning.”
Harley leaned over the map, close enough that Jericho caught the faint scent of lavender shampoo. “That’s Broken Tooth Lake.” Her finger traced the oval of blue. “It freezes solid every winter. It could work. My parents had their cabin out that way.”
“It’s the only flat space for miles,” Jericho said. “Question is, why hasn’t Winter radioed since?”
“The radio towers on Devil’s Peak have been sketchy since that ice storm last week,” Deke said. “So yeah, maybe she was just preemptive, in case she couldn’t contact us later.”
“Plus, there’s no cell service out there.” Harley straightened, pulled something from her pocket. Orlando’s red rubber ball.Wheredid she even—?The Bernie’s ears pricked as she rolled it across the floor.
The ball bounced off the wall. Orlando bounded after it, but instead of bringing it back to Jericho, he dropped it at Harley’s feet.
Traitor.