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said. “It’s too cold out here! We have to stay the night on this mountain.”
    Zach pressed the gun into Isaiah’s temple. “I don’t need all three of you.”
    “Yes, you need us all.” Heidi didn’t hide the desperation in her plea. “Whatever you’re planning, to hike out tonight like Rhea said, you definitely need all three of us. You’ll never make it without our help. We are the bare minimum required.”
    Angling his head, Zach studied her, considering her words.
    The way Isaiah slightly shook his head, as though he was ready to die for them right here and now was too much for Heidi. She couldn’t allow that. Cade could not get his weapon out in time to do anything for them. Isaiah had to know that.
    “Do as he says, Cade.” Heidi took off her own coat and arctic cold swirled around her. She shivered.
    Wind rippled over the small fire and almost snuffed it out, but Heidi knew the darkness wouldn’t help them.
    “You should listen to her,” Zach said.
    Cade quickly stripped from his jacket, revealing his shoulder holster and the weapon inside. He handed it over to Jason.
    “Radios and SAT phones, cell phones, everything.”
    Cade’s expression turned dark and menacing as he handed over everything that would connect him to their brother David, who was monitoring this rescue mission from the command center at the base of the mountain. Adam, Cade and Heidi’s other brother, had been called out on a separate search and rescue. The Warren siblings were spread out tonight.
    “Is that everything?”
    “We came here to help you,” Isaiah said. “A storm is approaching, so we don’t have time for this. Why are you threatening us, pointing those guns at us?”
    “If you don’t want our help, we’ll just be on our way,” Cade said.
    “I like to hear that, because that’s exactly what’s going to happen. We’re going to be on our way. All of us. You’re going to lead, and we’re going to follow you out.”
    Isaiah looked at the cliff face they’d just scaled. “We’re not equipped to help you back up that cliff, not in the dark. Not with a storm closing in. There’s a reason we brought supplies to make it through the night and longer, depending on the weather.”
    “Why did you call us? Why do you need us?” Heidi asked the question, but she thought she already knew the answer.
    “The supplies you brought, and we need you to guide us out,” Jason said.
    Finally, someone besides Zach spoke up. Maybe if they could somehow take him out, the rest of them could be overcome.
    “Our small plane crash-landed up there.” Jason pointed behind them. “Two people didn’t survive, the pilot died. Another guy, too. The rest of us...we made it this far, but knew we needed to call for help or die in the mountains.”
    But why the guns? Obviously, there was much more to this than they were being told. They were desperate to get out tonight, which was also a risk. So desperate that they would hold a search and rescue team at gunpoint. Why were they in such a hurry? What were they running from?
    Fear gripped Heidi at her next thought.
    Were they fugitives?
    She didn’t watch the news enough to know anything.
    Heidi wanted to ask, but her brother gave a slight shake of his head. Knowing too much about this group in need of help could be deadly. But sooner or later the SAR team would learn the truth, and Heidi feared that truth, when it came, would cost their lives.
    * * *
    “Look, I don’t know why you think you need to hold us at gunpoint. This whole thing is some sort of crazy.” Isaiah regretted the words as soon as he said them. “You asked for help and you got it. That’s what we’re here to do, but you have to trust us. And believe me when I say we can’t guide you out of this saddle tonight.”
    Isaiah’s heart battered his insides. He thought he’d already seen enough trouble to last him a lifetime. But he needed to try to talk their way out of this.
    Zach didn’t appear to like to be