She lifted a shoulder. “I was a patient, a little further down the journey. I knew Gabe from high school, and we’d dated for a while before that, but the Gabe I met there was different. And so was I.” She squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t have survived the past five years without God walking with me.” Her gaze was warm on Gabe. “With us.”
Silence fell around the table and Harley looked away, at her melting mound of brown sugar, the smell sweet against the scent of the fire.
“God has a plan in everything, and he is merciful,” Gabe said softly. “The day we buried Mom and Dad was the day I knew I’d see them again. It’s the day I found life.”
And the day Harley had walked deeper into darkness.
She nearly pushed away from the table, but Jericho’s hand glued her in place. Still, her eyes burned, and she nodded, unable to meet her brother’s eyes.
“And now, in God’s plan, maybe it’s time for justice.” Gabe’s voice hardened. “We need to take down Mars Sorros, and I have the testimony—and proof—to do that.”
“That means we have to find him,” Jericho said, his voice thrumming through her.
Not alone. She squeezed his hand.
“So what’s the plan?” Winter asked. “About Mars?”
Gabe leaned forward, his oatmeal untouched, steam rising from the bowl. “Like I said, I started working with Dad about six months before he died. I brought him proof that the Sorros brothers were using their construction company as a front for drug running.” His voice fell. “I was working on one of their crews and was able to get into the office and trace shipments through North Face Construction, following building supplies. They’ve changed the name to Summit, but they’re still in operation.”
“Summit?” Jericho stiffened. “They’re building the Eagle’s Nest.”
“Yes. And I think they’re still using the company as a front.” Gabe’s jaw tightened. “They transport product in joint compound buckets. Who checks drywall supplies? It’s brilliant, really. The compound looks normal, but underneath...” He stirred his oatmeal. “They move it from site to site, no one the wiser. Just another construction delivery.”
“Perfect cover,” Harley said. “No one questions a construction truck.”
“Yeah, well, when I testified against them, they were a smallgig in Copper Mountain. They dissolved that company, built another in Anchorage, and now it’s servicing all of Alaska. Who knows where else.”
“And Dad knew this?” Harley asked.
“Like I said—he was behind the original sting.” Gabe’s eyes met hers across the table. “Truth is, I think the Sorroses had something to do with our parents’ crash.”
The room went silent.
“What?” Harley’s voice emerged, barely a whisper.
“The ‘official’ finding was that the storm iced their wings,” Jericho said quietly. “But Barry Kingston says differently.”
Gabe nodded. “I agree. Your dad was too good a pilot for that to be the cause of the accident. It happens, I know, but he knew the weather.”
Jericho’s mouth tightened. “Barry thinks their fuel line froze. But they took off from Copper Mountain—Dad would have filled his own plane.”
“I don’t always fuel my own plane,” Winter said. “Sometimes, I call it in, and the FBO takes care of it.”
“Maybe Mr. Bowie didn’t know the fuel was bad,” Topher added.
“I think we need to talk to Barry,” Harley said quietly.
“To the depths of my bones, I’m sure the Sorroses were behind the crash,” Gabe said. “And they’re still smuggling drugs. But I need current documentation. Account numbers, shipping manifests, correspondence—everything that ties the Sorros brothers to drug trafficking across Alaska.” Gabe looked at Sunni. “They were always careful—no digital records, only paper trails they could destroy. If I could get into one of their offices—”
“There’s an office at the Eagle’s Nest site. I can get in there,” Jericho said, a sudden steel to his voice.
“You should take it to the FBI,” Winter said, holding her coffee cup in both hands, blowing on it. “Let them handle it.”
“I will. But...” Gabe glanced again at his wife. “After Sunni and Daniel are safe.”
“Is that your plan?” Sunni asked. “Is that why you told me to come out here?”
He stared at her. “I never told you to come out here.”