Alex knew the voice. Every neuron in his body fired simultaneously at the sound and intense pain exploded his brain. Besand. He lived. He wasn’t dead under two feet of snow. All Alex’s silent questions from the last three days had just been answered. The back of his mouth suddenly tasted sour, and he closed his eyes. He heard Brynn gasp.

“Besand.” Alex’s voice was flat.

There was a pause, and Alex swore he could hear Besand smile through the connection.

“A-man! It’s my favorite guardian of justice and retards! How’s the temperature in that tin can?”

Alex forced himself to exhale. The autonomic muscles that controlled his lungs seemed to have forgotten how to function. They worked only with direct commands. “Where are you?”

Besand laughed. Alex opened his eyes as Brynn made a small sound. Biting her lower lip, she leaned forward and braced a hand on his knee. Was that support for him or her?

“Would you pay me a visit if I told you? I’ve missed our chats.”

Red fury clouded his vision. Brynn’s fingers tightened on his leg, and the cloud lessened somewhat.

“Can’t be too bad with that hot blonde in there. Wish I had one with me. It’d give me something to do.”

Alex swallowed hard and laid his hand on top of Brynn’s and gently squeezed. He’s trying to make me react. Rule one. Don’t react. “I’m sure you’re staying plenty busy yanking on your dick. No audience out here though. You miss the other prison bitches watching?”

One side of Brynn’s mouth fought to pull into a smile, but her eyes looked horrified at his words. Besand always brought out the asshole in him.

“Fuck you! You know I’m not—”

The connection was lost and the screen flashed the short time of the call. Alex felt like he’d rolled in pig shit. He shook his shoulders trying to get rid of the sensation. He turned off the phone; no way was he calling back. He’d found out what he needed to know. The killer still lived and was obviously close enough to know they were still in the plane.

Brynn’s other hand slid on top of his, sandwiching his between her two. Her heat gently rolled through him, and he felt the filth dissolve from his skin.

The sound of a throat clearing made her yank her hands back. Both of them turned to the rear of the plane. Ryan sat up in the cargo area, his hair sticking up at all angles, his gaze unfocused. “Who’s jacking off?”

“Alex!” A male voice spoke in his dreams.

Kiana barked.

Alex jerked awake in the dark, his hand going for the SIG he’d placed on the floor above his head. Crushed against his back was a soft, warm figure.

Brynn.

After telling Ryan what had happened on the phone, the sick man had fallen back to sleep. After another half hour of talk, Alex and Brynn crawled in the cargo area and stretched out next to Ryan. Alex had lain there for what seemed like forever, listening to Ryan snore, listening for sounds from outside.

“Alex! Ryan!”

Jim’s voice.

Alex scrambled to a sitting position with his gun pointed at the door. Neither Brynn nor Ryan had woken. The thick snow covering the plane was distorting the sounds. Then he heard the cargo door shift open against the snow, and Kiana gave a happy whine.

“Down, dog.” Affection rang in Jim’s tone. A glow from a headlamp lit the plane.

Alex lowered his gun and glanced at his luminous watch face. How long had they slept? Were Jim and Thomas back with help already?

His gut sank as he registered the time. Three in the morning. Something bad must have happened to cause the men to return so soon. He rubbed a hand over his eyes, trying to erase the signs of sleep. “Jim?” He squinted in the direction of the headlamp.

“Everyone OK?”

“Yeah. Ryan’s fever is under control. Why’re you back so soon?”

“We’ve got company.” Instead of excitement, Jim’s voice grew grim.

“Fuck. Besand?” Now Alex was wide-awake. He awkwardly stood, muscles complaining and gun ready. But Jim looked beat, not panicked. He ruffled Kiana’s head as he turned exhausted eyes to Alex. His boots and jacket were covered in snow.

“No. Thomas and I came across a helicopter crash about an hour into our trek. We decided to haul the two men back here before they froze to death. We wouldn’t make it to the train trestle with them.”

“Were they searching for us?”

Jim gave Alex an odd look. “Yeah. I can’t believe they went up in this shitty weather. Ryan and Brynn said they heard a chopper right before that avalanche. Chances are the noises from this chopper set it off.”

“These are those same guys?”

Jim shrugged. “I don’t know anyone else cocky enough to fly yesterday.”

“Where are they?”

“Right outside. We rigged a carrier of sorts to drag one of them. Liam was able to walk mostly on his own.” “Liam?” Alex’s fingers tingled on his SIG. Jim had that odd look on his face again. “Yeah. Brynn’s Liam.”

Alex was shaking her, but she didn’t want to wake yet. She put a hand on his shoulder and tried to pull him down to her. She didn’t work today; why was he waking her?

“Brynn, wake up, damn it.”

Damn it? She opened her eyes and stared at Alex. Snow. Plane. Right.

“What’s wrong?” She blinked at the concerned look on his face. “Ryan?” She rolled to her side to check on the sick man, but he wasn’t there. “Where’s Ryan?”