more to an already heavy load. And it wasn’t just the emotional and mental burden. The pack on her back weighed her down, too.
Drawing in a cold breath, she hoisted the hefty pack—loaded down with climbing, medical and camping gear for spending the night—and rappelled the cliff. Cade, ever the protective brother, had insisted on going first, though Heidi was the trained technical climber of the three.
She’d made it halfway to the next rap station and paused for a rest, when gunfire ricocheted off the mountain. Heidi jerked and lost her balance. Her overfilled pack pulled her over, flip-flopping her. Now hanging upside down, her heart pounded.
She was the technical climber here.
She was the expert they counted on to assist in getting these people out.
She hadn’t wanted to come. Not after what had happened last summer. But there’d been no choice. Two other daunting rescue operations were ongoing and they needed the manpower. If only she weren’t out of practice.
All her fault. This was on her, and she knew it.
Heidi was a wreck, but she couldn’t afford to give in to her emotions right now. Those climbers stranded in the saddle between the summits couldn’t afford her messing up.
No way would she call for help, though. The last thing Cade and Isaiah needed was a rescuer who required rescuing. Besides, she’d assured Cade she could do this, but even if she hadn’t, he’d pretty much insisted that she try. Isaiah had been the one to protest. He hadn’t wanted her here. Whether because he personally didn’t want to work with her after distancing himself for some unknown reason or because he didn’t trust her abilities, she wasn’t sure. Either way, his attitude stabbed her like an ice ax.
“What’s going on up there, Heidi?” Cade asked over the radio.
“Nothing.”
“You need help?” Now Isaiah. Great.
And the incident command center would hear their conversation, too. Over the years, they’d developed their own radio-speak, and didn’t use the more technical terms. Cade always wanted them to talk plainly. Worked for her.
“Heidi, I asked if you’re good?” Isaiah again.
At the very least, she would prove to Isaiah she was back. She could do this. “I’m rapping down. You’re distracting me.”
With all the strength she could muster, she grabbed the rope and inched her way up, righting herself. Then she breathed a sigh of relief.
But what about the gunfire she’d heard? Heidi used her night vision goggles to scan the mountain and the saddle below, but saw nothing of concern. Was it someone chasing off a bear somewhere? Cade and Isaiah hadn’t mentioned it. Had she imagined it? Or was it simply echoing from miles away? She wouldn’t bring it up. All she needed was for them to think she was hearing things. As always, Isaiah and Cade were packing weapons in case they came across a bear, so she wouldn’t worry.
Following Cade down, she rappelled, careful that the unusually heavy pack wouldn’t throw her off balance again. She met him at the second rappel. A glance down revealed a beaming flashlight and a small fire burning nearly four hundred feet below.
Voices resounded from the camp. The climbers must have spotted their rescuers. Cade rappelled again. Heidi watched and waited before she followed. She glanced up but couldn’t see Isaiah from here. He was likely growing impatient to hear her call.
Heidi looked down at Cade and saw him swinging over, creating a new path.
“Be careful. There’s a vertical ice wall and a sheer drop,” Cade told them over the radio.
Negotiating the terrain would be difficult enough under the circumstances, but with the expected inclement weather, even in April, things could only get worse.
“Off rappel,” Cade called.
Heidi clipped in and called up, repeating the words to Isaiah, and they were back in rhythm, rappelling and descending a snow-covered slope in the middle of a cold, wintry night.
Reaching the vertical ice wall Cade had warned about, she secured her harness and traversed the cliff face, following Cade’s lead. She found the third rappel station and called up to Isaiah before descending the rest of the way.
The saddle where the two summits met formed a wind tunnel. Maybe that’s why Cade hadn’t mentioned the gunfire. He hadn’t even heard it. The high-pitched wail of the wind harmonized with deeper tones making Heidi think of a lost lover singing a seriously morbid screamo song. Thank goodness she’d grown out of that phase a decade ago.
Dropping a few feet to the ground, the pack pulled Heidi back and she fell on her rear.
Thankfully, in this spot, the curve in the rock formations above and around them protected them from the harsh blasts of arctic gusts. She hoped that would remain the case.
“You okay?” Cade offered his hand.
She didn’t take it, but instead slipped from the pack. “That thing is too heavy.”
“I hear you,” he said.
Isaiah joined them. He tugged Heidi around to face him, his touch surprising her. She tried to ignore the current coursing through his gloved hand and her parka to burn the skin on her arm. It was the first time he’d come close to acting as if he cared in months.
Still wearing his night vision goggles, he looked her up and down. “You okay?”
“Of course, I’m fine. We’re here to help them.” Heidi pointed at the group who remained huddled next to their small fire, a couple of them standing, expectantly looking in the direction of the rescuers. “Stop worrying about me.”
She couldn’t take his attention on her right now. It only confused her and she needed to focus. Besides, she hated to be coddled, and Cade’s and Isaiah’s concern was too much. Cade was right to insist she had to get back into search and rescue now or she never would, but after what happened, after she’d been part of a jaunt in the mountains with friends that ended in tragedy, Heidi second-guessed everything she did. Succeeding tonight in this rescue would serve as a rescue for Heidi, in a way. And she prayed that her participation wasn’t a mistake, that it wouldn’t cost more lives. She reminded herself that North Face needed her today.
Heidi helped Cade and Isaiah gather up their packs and equipment so they wouldn’t end up buried in the snow once the storm set in. By the look of the dark clouds rushing in from the west, they didn’t have much time. She led the way, hiking over to the climbers hunkered by the fire about a hundred yards in the distance. With a glance back she saw Cade and Isaiah pointing to a cornice loaded with snow, just waiting for a reason to bury them. Cade got on his radio and communicated their status and she heard something about the potential avalanche.
Just one of many things they’d have to watch for. In the meantime, a helicopter could drop more gear now that the SAR team had made it down. After assessing the climber’s injuries, they’d relay their needs to the command center.
Only, Heidi noticed, they weren’t dressed like climbers. Coats, sure, but jeans and regular shoes. How could they have hiked all this way this time of year without crampons or snowshoes? Heidi told Cade to request the extra gear and whatever winter hiking wear was available. He arched a brow, the question in his eyes confirming hers, and relayed the information.
What was going on?
* * *
Isaiah caught up with Heidi. She was too stressed for her own good. That could be dangerous. But he knew he was partially to blame for that. Or was he giving himself too much credit?
She’d had a rough time of things the past few months, and Isaiah had pulled away when he’d realized they were growing too close. He couldn’t let himself get involved with anyone because of his own mistakes. He wanted to keep the past he ran from hidden. Heidi deserved better than him, and when he’d seen that look in her eyes—one of longing