Kitabı oku: «Rule Breaker»

One

Maybe a wiser man would have blocked her number.

Weston Rivera gripped his cell phone tighter as he paced from his home office into the sunken family room. He knew he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen the text from a certain sexy private investigator he really needed to avoid.

The sun was already setting outside, but he could still discern the faint outline of the Bitterroot Mountains framed through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The hulking, irregular peaks were partially shrouded by an incoming storm.

Swearing to himself, he peered back down at the message on his screen.

Any tips for navigating the Northeast Couloir trail? Just made camp but hope to summit in the morning.

Did he have tips?

As a proficient climber and mountain-rescue volunteer, he sure as hell had advice for April Stephens, the smoking-hot financial forensics expert who was an unwelcome guest at Mesa Falls Ranch. She should have never climbed a class-four trail in the winter by herself in the kind of weather brewing out there.

Too bad she hadn’t asked him before she started up the mountain.

He’d really thought he’d dodged April for good. The last time she’d cornered him at the ranch office, he’d made it abundantly clear that he had no comment about her investigation into the finances of Alonzo Salazar, a frequent guest of the retreat Weston owned with his brother and four other partners. Salazar had been a friend and mentor to all of them since they were teenagers. And he’d been there when a devastating accident had ended in a classmate’s death. Weston wasn’t about to speculate on what the man did with his money. Loyalty wasn’t something Weston took lightly.

Yet he hadn’t blocked the investigator’s number after that meeting, which had paved the way for today’s text message.

Was she baiting him? Looking for a way to restart their conversation and dig up dirt for her investigation? Or was she genuinely contemplating that climb? He’d heard from one of the trail guides that she’d visited a local outfitter for gear when she’d first arrived, so he wasn’t surprised she wanted to get out into the mountains. But a day trip was tough enough in the winter, even on the easier peaks.

Cursing again, he dropped down to the leather sofa close to the fireplace. A log popped and shifted, sending a shower of sparks against the screen. How should he respond? Obviously, he didn’t want her trekking back down the mountain by herself in the dark. But with the weather worsening by the minute, spending the night up there could be hazardous too. He knew he had an overdeveloped sense of caution where others were concerned, even if he was a risk taker himself. That cautious streak probably stemmed from the tragedy that had bound his fate to Alonzo Salazar’s more than a decade ago.

Where are you?

He banged out the words with more force than necessary, already knowing where this conversation was going to lead.

She replied with a link. Map coordinates like any good hiker would use, showing her exact position.

His chest eased a bit at first. If she knew about tricks like that, she surely had some solid climbing experience. Clearly, she understood the importance of knowing her location at all times. But as he zoomed in closer on the map to see where she had made camp, the tightness in his chest returned.

And then tripled.

Because April wasn’t camping in one of the safer spots like Gem Lake or Baker’s Lake. Instead, she wasn’t all that far from the Northeast Couloir. A notorious avenue for avalanche activity.

It didn’t matter how experienced a climber she was or whether she knew the risks. She was a guest of his ranch. Someone he felt responsible for. Now that she’d specifically asked for his advice on this ill-advised venture, he had no choice. He had to help.

Stay there. Keep phone on. Don’t light a fire. I’m on my way.

She might not be happy to see him. But Weston didn’t particularly care. Shoving his phone in his pocket, he took the stairs two at a time up to his bedroom to dress for a climb that he hoped like hell wouldn’t turn into a rescue effort. Just the thought of it turned his blood icy, and he hadn’t even set foot out of the house yet.

He already had one catastrophic event on his conscience. He couldn’t survive a second.

“‘I’m on my way’?” April Stephens read aloud from the text she’d received almost an hour ago.

Tucked in the sleeping bag laid over an insulated pad she’d rented from the local outfitter, April still couldn’t fight off the chill from her climb as she shut off her screen to save the phone battery. The shiver up her spine didn’t have anything to do with the knowledge that Weston Rivera, the rich and powerful rancher who’d been dodging her attempts to speak with him, was on his way to see her. The memory of his hazel eyes smoked through her, even though the last time she’d confronted him he had threatened to call security to have her escorted out of his office.

Why was he hiking up here now? In the dark?

Wind howled off nearby Trapper Peak and tore at her one-ply tent, making her wonder if her shelter had been the right choice for this trip. It was lighter, which had allowed her to bring the additional gear necessary for a winter climb. But she hadn’t counted on this level of heavy gusts. She’d thought she’d read up on the Bitterroot Mountains thoroughly, and she’d checked the weather before she started hiking, but somewhere during her trek this afternoon, the conditions had shifted dramatically.

That was part of the reason she’d reached out to Weston Rivera, who was well known around Mesa Falls Ranch for his mountaineering skills. Of course, there was more to her agenda than getting tips on the mountain. She’d hoped maybe their shared interest in climbing would spark a dialogue. Give her another chance at wrangling some answers from him regarding a case that was thwarting her at every turn.

She most definitely hadn’t expected him to drop everything to come to her. But the fact that he would do that—even though he’d made it obvious he wanted to avoid her—caused her to wonder if she’d overestimated her skills in making this climb on her own.

Guilt nipped at her nearly as hard as the bitter wind. Did he think she was in danger? She should have made it clear that she had a reasonable amount of climbing experience. She’d even tackled this mountain once before, just not this particular trail. She never did anything without studying all the angles first. It was a quality that made her excel at her job as a financial forensics investigator.

As soon as she’d received his cryptic text, she’d messaged him back a bunch of question marks in reply. Then she’d sent him an assurance she was fine, but she hadn’t heard anything else from him, prompting her to believe he really might be climbing a mountain in the middle of the night.

Unzipping the tent a couple of inches, she peered out into the inky blackness. She still wore her parka for sleeping, but she’d taken off her boots and gloves for the night. She felt more than saw the swirl of snow kicking up outside, the tiny flakes peppering her cheeks in a frigid blast. A gust of wind whistled past her ears, lifting the inner tent roof and whipping the outer fabric so hard she feared it might rip. The snow was coming down faster now. The powdery base had scaled the tent walls at least an inch since she’d pitched the shelter.

A little bubble of panic rose inside her at the feeling of being closed in. She’d been drawn to mountain climbing as a teen to escape the suffocating home life with her mother, who was then in the early stages of a hoarding disorder. April had climbed to find fresh air and freedom, a place without walls of crap threatening to fall on her everywhere she looked. Now, as an adult, she lived in a beautifully spare home of her own, but she felt the urge to climb whenever stress built from dealing with her mom. April still tried to help, making scheduled trips over to the house where she’d grown up to make sure her mom was still going to counseling and hadn’t fired the professional organizer who came through once a month. Her mother’s house would always be cluttered—to put it mildly—but at least things were at a habitable level.

Even knowing that she’d done all she could to make her mother’s disease manageable didn’t stem the memories of how bad things had been—and how quickly her mom could relapse. Which was why April hiked until her mind was clear again.

So now, as she took in the way the snow covered the lower zipper on the tent, almost as if it was going to block her exit, her heart pounded fast. Her face heated despite the cold, a sweaty fear crawling up her scalp and making her see pinpricks of light in front of her eyes.

Light?

Frowning, she focused on the glow bobbing in the blizzard. As it grew closer, the bright spot seemed to rise in the sky.

Coming toward her.

“April.” A man’s hoarse voice carried on the wind just as a dark shadow took shape in front of her.

Weston—wearing a headlamp—was stalking up the trail.

“Here,” she called back, her softer voice mostly lost in the wind. She found her flashlight just inside the tent and flipped the switch so he could see her.

As he entered the circle of illumination from her torch, she could tell how much conditions had worsened. He was covered with snow, from his jacket and pants to his helmet and balaclava. Even his goggles were coated. Knowing that he’d trekked through this weather to get to her filled her with new alarm.

He crouched down near the entrance to the tent, his broad shoulders blocking the wind. Close enough to touch. He raked his goggles up and switched off the headlamp. His hazel eyes locked on hers, his demeanor as serious as the last time they’d met when he’d threatened to call security on her if she didn’t leave his office. Only now, he looked concerned.

Worried, even.

“We need to move you,” he told her, his gaze never wavering. “Carefully and quickly.”

Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re in a well-documented avalanche corridor.” He spoke the words clearly and almost kindly, as if he weren’t talking about the imminent possibility of a deadly accident. “And conditions are only going to deteriorate with this storm.”

She recognized now what he was doing. He was speaking to her like a rescue worker. Like someone used to dealing with people in terrifying danger. That manner of his, as much as the words themselves, sent a cold ball of fear into the pit of her belly.

“Why—” Her breath stuck in her chest, and she couldn’t breathe for a moment as panic spiraled into every corner of her body. “Why didn’t you tell me in your text? I’ve just been sitting here...”

She peered around the tent, calculating how long it would take to put on her gear. Another sharp gust tore at the outer tent. She was pretty sure she heard the fabric tear.

“Look at me. April.” He spoke patiently, his tone still kind even though she’d made a horrible mistake in coming up here. Risking her neck and his. “You were safer staying put than you would have been out there when you don’t know the nuances of this trail. But I know this area like the back of my hand, and I’m going to take you to a safer location.”

Nodding, she appreciated his calming presence while her mind raced. She had logged countless hours climbing in summer conditions, but not as many in the winter. One of her mentors back in Denver had told her that she should take an avalanche course, but she hadn’t gotten to that stage yet. Hadn’t known she’d need it for this peak so early in the winter. She felt foolish for endangering herself and—worse—Weston too.

He couldn’t possibly know how much she hated being in this position, feeling like she’d screwed up. Like she’d overlooked something important.

“Okay. Thank you.” Swallowing back her fear, she focused on his hazel eyes, needing to believe he was as confident as he sounded. “I’ll get my gear on.”

He moved her out of harm’s way quickly enough.

The knot of worry in Weston’s chest eased a fraction with each step they took away from the gully where she’d pitched her tent for the night. Avalanches were a real danger in that ravine. He hadn’t been a part of any rescue missions there, but there’d been another one ten years back that some of his team had experienced. Plus, he’d seen two avalanches with his own eyes on these peaks. Both had scared the hell out of him.

And conditions tonight were prime. He was so damned grateful he’d found her, and that she’d been safe. Whole.

The demons from his past had teeth, and they would still be gnawing on him when he closed his eyes tonight.

“Where are we going?” she called to him through the wind, her voice doubly muffled by her scarf.

They trudged side by side down the mountain, their pace slow in case of loose rocks under the snow. He’d offered her a second headlamp that he’d brought with him, but she had her own and wore it now. She’d been more prepared than he had anticipated, from her gear to her ease with packing quickly and efficiently.

She’d been scared, though. He’d read the fear easily in her body language from her blinking eyes and darting gaze to her jerky movements, signs that would have been clear even if he hadn’t been trained to deal with frightened survivors. He’d done his best to calm her once they were out of the most dangerous area, but he could tell she was spooked. And he’d damn well been reassured this wasn’t a setup on her part. She hadn’t baited him out onto the mountain just for a chance to interrogate him about his dealings with Alonzo Salazar, the subject of her financial investigation.

She would have had to be a good actress to fake the fear he’d witnessed earlier. The flash of panic in her blue eyes. The tremor in her voice. Although with her goggles on now, he had fewer cues to how she was doing.

“There are safe campsites this way.” They hadn’t gone far from her original spot, since he wouldn’t risk a fall in the dark in these harsh weather conditions, but they were out of the ravine and following a ridge he knew well.

“Shouldn’t we get off the mountain?” she pressed, leaning closer to him as she spoke.

If he’d been alone—yes. He would have returned to the all-terrain vehicle he’d left at a trailhead. But he wouldn’t risk it with April in tow. Sure, she seemed like she must be a strong climber on a regular day. But it was late; she had to be tired and most definitely stressed. Bottom line, he didn’t trust her sure-footedness or her judgment and couldn’t risk going any farther than necessary.

“Safer to make camp someplace I know will be protected until the storm passes.” He pointed to a spot tucked out of the wind ahead of them. Between a secure rock ledge and sheltering trees, there was far less snow here. “I brought a big tent with the highest weather rating.”

Stepping under the shelter of the ledge, he shed his backpack and unzipped it to dig out the gear. Only when he pulled off his gloves did he realize she’d stopped moving. A few steps behind him, she looked lost in the spotlight of his headlamp, snow almost reaching her knees.

She might have said something, but the words were lost in the wind.

Gesturing for her to come closer, he called, “I can’t hear you.”

He set his flashlight on the rock ledge so it shone down onto his backpack while April hopped down to join him. She wrenched off her goggles, taking her headlamp with them. He could see her blue eyes clearly now.

“You’re staying?” she asked, the question huffing into the cold air between them. “With me?”

Maybe it was because she didn’t seem frightened anymore. Or maybe it was because he knew they were out of danger here. But something in the way she asked reminded him how very appealing he found this woman. And how grateful he was that she was safe.

April Stephens had been a red-hot distraction from the first time he’d seen her. Then he’d discovered how good she was at her job as she started to uncover the long-kept secrets of his mentor. And tonight, he’d seen a grit in her that he never would have expected from a woman who looked like she’d be more at home on a glossy magazine cover than a Montana ranch—let alone on a mountaintop.

From the high cheekbones and delicate bone structure to her pillow-soft lips, she had an exquisite beauty that turned male heads. But better than that, she had a fiery determination that he admired, even if he’d been on the wrong side of it when they met.

“I didn’t hike all this way in the dark only to leave you alone now, April.” He couldn’t have held back the flare of anticipation now if he tried. Not that he was going to seduce a woman he felt responsible for tonight. But he couldn’t deny the sensual draw every time he was around her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s—kind of you.” She didn’t sound convinced of that, but at least her voice sounded stronger. Feistier. “But I have a tent of my own.”

She was already wriggling out of the straps of her backpack, plunking it down in the snow while he found his ice ax, which doubled as a mallet to pound in the stakes.

“You’ve got a tear in yours,” he reminded her. He’d heard the fabric shredding in the high gusts along the ravine before he’d helped her disassemble it. “Besides, this is meant for two people.”

His shelter was state-of-the-art. Everest winds wouldn’t take the thing down. Setup took less than two minutes since he was familiar with the equipment and accustomed to putting together a shelter in a hurry. He tossed his sleeping bag and insulated pad inside and then held the canvas flap door open for her.

She still clutched her own backpack uncertainly, wind whipping the ends of her hair that she hadn’t taken time to tuck into her hat. Lips pursed, she studied him and seemed to weigh her options.

That’s when the adrenaline letdown from the rescue mission kicked in, rushing through him in the form of sweet, sharp desire.

April must have been blinded by the snow-globe effect of white swirling between them, because she didn’t seem to notice. She took a deep breath and crawled inside the tent, giving him a view of lush feminine curves that didn’t do anything to put out the flames.

Swallowing back the sudden hunger for her, he ground his teeth while he watched her carefully remove her boots and leave them in the vestibule area. He tilted his face up to the snow, needing the cooling touch on his heated skin before he got anywhere near her.

No doubt about it, he was in for a long night ahead.