Page 74 of Thunder Pass

“After this is over—” he began, but got no further because Bear called his name from inside the bar

“Gunnar. Ruth. We came up with a plan, you two want to hear it or you want to just kiss all day?”

“I kinda want to just kiss all day,” Gunnar murmured before letting her go.

He checked his phone once more to see if Bridget had answered, and saw that the cell service had dropped completely. Not a single bar to be seen, not even an SOS.

The plan was for a rotating shift of Firelight Ridgers to watch over the kids while Gunnar and Ruth were gone. Gil and Ani were already with them at the Magic Breakfast Bus. Maura volunteered to start teaching classes a little early so the kids would have something to occupy their time during the day. Martha said they were welcome to spend time at the farm if they missed the outdoor life, although she didn’t have space for everyone to sleep there. Elias would be enlisted to sleep at Granny Apple’s with them—they all knew Elias and would feel comfortable with him.

“But if you’re not back by tomorrow evening, we’ll be sending search parties,” Bear told them sternly. “You lay low, find out what you can, keep out of sight, come back quickly.”

Gunnar shook hands on that; he didn’t mind the idea of backup at all.

“The kids’ll be fine,” Ruth kept saying as Gunnar drove to his shop for one last errand. “They’re tough. They’ve had to be. And they’re together.”

“And the entire town will look out for them.”

“Yes, although remember they’ve been taught that Firelight Ridge people can’t be trusted. I’ve told them several times that it’s not true, and that my rules are different from what they’re used to. But it might take a while to sink in.”

“Kids are incredibly adaptable. Look at us. Just two kids raised in the Alaskan wilderness, about to play spy and rescue a damsel in distress.”

Ruth burst out laughing. “Damsel in distress? You don’t know Sarah very well.”

35

Just to be safe, they stuck to back roads and the logging trails that connected the east and north roads. “It’s a good thing we both grew up here,” Ruth murmured as they bumped across the hardened ruts of a road so overgrown she was sure no one had driven it all summer. “We know all the secret routes.”

Every time they ventured onto a main road, they’d catch sight of a roadblock. The north road, blocked. The Snow River road, blocked. Near the Fire Peak road, they parked the truck out of sight and crept through the woods to get a better picture of what was going on.

Ten men stood guard around the sawhorses they’d set up to block the road. They all carried weapons at the ready. They were chatting casually with each other, apparently unworried about facing any pushback to their roadblock. Ruth listened closely to hear what they were saying, but was distracted by another sound in the woods. Wordlessly, she tugged Gunnar’s sleeve and pointed at the armed guard posted about a hundred yards from the roadblock.

He nodded to show that he’d seen the man, then gestured for them to retreat.

Back in the truck, she let out the cough that had been building up in her throat. Then they both stayed quiet until they reached the logging road that curved between Fire Peak and Wind Valley—the long way to Thunder Pass, and the most remote.

“So they’re guarding the woods too?”

“They set a perimeter. My father taught me about that too. We can check the Blackbear road, but I’m not sure there’s any point.”

Ruth nodded in agreement. “That one would be the easiest to block, because of Snow River. All you have to do is guard the bridge.”

“Or take it out.”

Nausea rolled through Ruth’s stomach. “Remember what that man said at the compound? Something about taking out the airstrip first or it wouldn’t work?”

A breath hissed through Gunnar’s teeth. “It must be blocked too. Damn.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “Is there a signal? Usually there’s an SOS even if there’s no bars.

She stared at the blank screen. “No SOS.”

“So we’re really, completely cut off from the entire outside world.”

Oh my God. If the entire town was cut off and surrounded, what then? Were they being held prisoner? Hostage?

Aunt Magda’s words came back to her. The kids are exactly where they need to be.

Any hostage situation would be much more effective if there were kids involved. Was their presence in Firelight Ridge part of Luke’s master plan? Maybe he’d encouraged them to run away, maybe even told them to.

She bit down hard on her lower lip, thinking of Noah and the others, how confused they must be.

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