NO WAY OUT
Colleen Brennan has one goalâtake down her sisterâs killer. But chasing after evidence leaves her in the path of a tornado and stranded in an Amish community. With the killer nearby, Colleen must depend on the kindness of Special Agent Frank Gallagher. Although the army officer is recuperating from a battlefield injury, he wants to help the beautiful woman he rescued from the tornadoâs fury. He can tell sheâs hiding something important. But getting her to reveal her secrets may be his most dangerous mission ever.
Military Investigations: Serving their country and solving crimes
âDid you try to radio for help?â
He nodded. âCouldnât get through.â
âIsaiah, what if heâd caught you?â Heidi crawled closer to him in the tent. âHeâll kill you if he finds out.â
He started to speak but she pressed her hand over his mouth. âDonât say heâs going to kill us anyway. I donât want to hear it. There has to be another way⦠Why donât we overpower them, get the guns back. Something.â She hated the trembling that crept into her voice along with rising panic.
âIf we get the chance, we will. But I need to tell you something.â He gripped her shoulders. âI found the missing gang memberâs body yesterday.â
Covering her mouth, she sobbed softly. Isaiah pulled her to him and held her. His arms felt strong around her.
âHeidi, he might not be the last person to die as we make it through these mountains. Do you understand what Iâm saying?â
She nodded. The harsh environment would pick them off, one by one. Then maybe they could worry about fighting whoever was left. But she didnât get the chance to voice her thoughts on his words.
Outside the tent, gunfire resounded through the icy mountains.
ELIZABETH GODDARD is an award-winning author of over twenty novels, including the romantic mystery, The Camera Never Liesâwinner of a prestigious Carol Award in 2011. After acquiring her computer science degree, she worked at a software firm before eventually retiring to raise her four children and become a professional writer. In addition to writing, she homeschools her children and serves with her husband in ministry.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
âPsalms 30:5
This story is dedicated to search and rescue teams everywhere, to men and women who volunteer their time, money and skills and willingly place themselves in danger to find and rescue complete strangers. And of course, all my stories are dedicated to my familyâmy three sons, Christopher, Jonathan and Andrew, and my daughter, Rachel (and new son-in-law, Richard), and my husband, Danâfor giving me the time and space I need to create new worlds and characters. You guys rock!
Writers donât work in a vacuum, especially if theyâre novelists. I couldnât write without the encouragement and support I receive from my writing buddiesâLisa Harris, Shannon McNear and Lynette Sowell, and many moreâso glad God brought us together on this writing journey!
Iâd also like to thank my friends in Juneau who provided me with invaluable material regarding specific informationâDoug Wessen, a community leader and SAR hero extraordinaire. And thanks to Teresa, a writing friend in Juneau who works for the US Forest Service. Youâre always available with just the right answer or photograph. Thanks to Bill Glude of the Alaska Avalanche Center for his assistance, and for training search and rescue volunteers. Any mistakes are mine alone either by accident or on purpose in taking artistic license to create a more adventurous and appealing story world.
ONE
âOff rappel!â
Heidi adjusted her night vision goggles at her brother Cadeâs call up the rocky cliff face from below. The snow-covered, mountainous landscape looked green and black, but at least she could see instead of stumbling around in the dark and falling to her death. Even though the moon was out in full force, this side of the mountain remained in the shadows.
The helicopter had dropped them off as close as possible to the summit, but theyâd still had to hike another two hours to get to the place where they would rappel down to the trapped climbers, at least one of them injured, or so the three rescuersâHeidi and Cade Warren and Isaiah Callahanâhad been informed.
As a member of North Face Mountain Search and Rescueâlike the other Warren siblingsâthis was only the second time Heidi had climbed at night, and she shoved aside the unpleasant memory of the first. There was enough tension between her and her brother Cade, and unfortunately their friend and coworker Isaiahâwho usually flew the helicopterâthat she didnât need to tack on anything more to an already heavy load. And it wasnât just the emotional and mental burden. The pack on her back weighed her down, too.