Page 27 of Protecting the White Bear

“I was hoping we would get close or maybe even run into someone looking for us.”

“Neither of us was traveling on this road,” he reminded her.

“I know. I wonder if they’ve cleared the one where our vehicles are.” She sighed, leaned against the seat, and closed her eyes. “Tell me when we get to where we’re going.”

“We could try the satellite phones.”

“I tried mine when I went to the truck, but still no reception. It's the same with the phone. Then I heard shots fired.”

“At least you had your backpack with your gear in it.”

“I never leave home without it.” She got quiet then, and he let her rest.

This was a chaotic operation, though he reminded himself that they had stranded the people they had arrested, which was a good thing.

Once he was driving, he was battling a strong wind and an icy road. No wonder Monica had trouble controlling the truck, especially with her injuries. He admired her tenacity and fortitude.

Considering the conditions, he was surprised that Wendell and his men had made it to the cabin.

“Ohmigod, the…heat feels…great in here. I was…free-freezing to death,” a woman said from the back seat of the truck.

Shocked to hear someone in the truck, Monica and Andy immediately investigated the back seat to see a woman of about twenty, wrapped up in blankets, brushing her blond hair out of her face. “Who…who are you?”

“Friends of Wendell,” Monica quickly said. “Have you been in the truck all this time? It’s no wonder that you didn’t freeze to death. I’m Monica, and this is Andy. What’s your name?”

“Elo…Eloise.” She sounded like she was half out of it.

Monica turned the heat up on high. “Have you been drinking? Are you on anything?”

“Why? Are…you a…cop?”

“She might be hypothermic,” Monica said. “I’m coming back there to check you out.” She climbed over the seat. “Ugh. A half-empty container of gin is lying on the floor back here.”

“Drinking alcohol and being out in this cold for an extended period can be a lethal combination.” Andy concentrated on the icy road conditions.

“That’s for sure. It looks like she’s just drunk. If we could give her a field sobriety test, I’m sure she couldn’t pass it. But if she’d been out here much longer, she would have been in much worse shape.”

“Who are you? A friend of Denny’s? No…uh, no, Wendell? You…you wouldn’t be driving…driving…driving hisss truck otherwissse. Why…why are you…you driving hisss truck?”

Andy came up with a quick tale to explain the situation, hoping she had been asleep and hadn’t heard their earlier conversation. “We’re getting gas for his truck.”

“Aww.” Eloise closed her eyes and pulled the blanket back over her.

Monica climbed back into the front seat and fastened her seatbelt. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem with her for a while. As long as she doesn’t get belligerent like Helen was.”

“We could put her in the camper.”

“I would be worried about her opening the back door of the camper and falling out of it in her condition.”

“True.”

“I see lights ahead! A few businesses. A service station. Maybe someone’s got reception.” Monica sounded as excited as he felt hopeful.

He sure hoped they could get hold of someone when he saw a van headed in his direction. He thought it looked like one of his cousins’ vans they used on their tours, but when he got close enough to see the side of the van, he realized it wasn’t theirs.

Monica glanced at the van. “Someone you thought you knew?”

“Yeah, my cousins’ van. They take tourists on wilderness tours, and their vans are white like that. But they have signage on the side: White Bear Wilderness Adventures Tour.”

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