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torso. It took a few practice steps, but soon they moved forward in unison—their labored steps somehow easier when taken together.
    They sunk in the snow, the white powder cresting Reef’s thighs and Kirra’s waist. Trudging, they continued on.

    Snow lashed Gage’s face as he whirred through the white mass ahead. Ben had given him the okay to search for Reef and Kirra, but after finding their snowmobile abandoned, his fear grew. Something was very wrong.
    Darcy’s arms wrapped tight around him. He wished she’d stayed at the checkpoint, but trying to force Darcy to staybehind when someone was in trouble was like trying to make a bull a house pet. While he loved her determination to help others, he wished she gave a fraction of the same concern to her own safety.
    He crested the next step, the snowmobile tilting. When he leaned hard right, Darcy followed suit. Fortunately she’d spent enough time on the back of his sports bike to understand how to move with the turns.
    He tightened his grip on the handles. Where are you, Reef?

    Reef guided Kirra toward the trail. Numbness now consumed his legs, his limbs feeling like tree stumps—heavy and clumsy. Kirra teetered with each step beside him. They needed to get out of the snowdrift, and the only way out was to move to the trail. It was risky, but they couldn’t continue on like this. They stepped from the snow onto the trail, and Kirra’s leg caught on a sled rut, flailing her forward. His tight hold kept her from hitting the ground, but it took a moment to get her mostly upright. A whimper escaped her lips as she planted her feet on the ground and shifted clumsily to take the weight off her right foot.
    â€œYou okay?”
    â€œJust twisted my ankle. I’m fine.”
    The pain etched on her pale face said otherwise. A face that was too pale and slightly puffy. Hypothermia was setting in. They needed to reach the shelter and soon.
    The purr of a motor sounded in the distance, and his heart dropped.
    â€œOne of the SAR team?” Kirra said with hope.
    He prayed so, but chances were . . .
    He yanked her back toward the trees, moving in a diagonal toward the icy-covered rocks cresting the edge of the woods. It was a dangerous maze to maneuver but would hide their footprints. Unfortunately the ones on the trail were still visible despite the heavily falling snow.
    Kirra bit back a grunt, clearly favoring her ankle, but kept up with his pace.
    Reef nestled them behind the copse of trees.
    â€œYou think it’s him?” Kirra whispered as the snowmobile pulled into view.
    â€œI pray not.”
    A second snowmobile came into view, both with single riders.
    Reef’s chest tightened. It had to be their attacker, and he’d brought a friend.

5
    Reef signaled Kirra to remain still. The snowmobiles pulled idle.
    â€œWhy’d you stop, Bruce?” Irritation edged the second snowmobile driver’s voice. Their attacker—he recognized the voice.
    â€œI thought I saw movement.” The other man’s gaze swept over the tree line.
    Reef pressed his back firmly against the tree, praying, Please, Lord, don’t let them see us. Mask us with this storm. Hide us and protect us.
    â€œIt was probably a moose,” their attacker said.
    â€œI don’t know . . .”
    â€œWhat I don’t know is why we’re even still out here. I told you there’s no way they survived the night.”
    â€œI’m being thorough. Something you don’t seem to grasp.”
    Their attacker stiffened. “Excuse me?”
    â€œIf you had been thorough, they would have been dead.”
    â€œThey are dead!”
    â€œShow me their bodies.”
    â€œI hit the man.”
    â€œAnd the girl?”
    â€œPlease, like she could survive out here, on her own, with no equipment. She probably holed up someplace and died.”
    â€œHe said to make sure they aren’t going to be a