Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

A ndi tried to run toward Duke. But too many reindeer were between the two of them.

The animals that had once provided protection now formed a barrier.

Panic raced through her.

She had to know if he was okay!

She started to run through the creatures again but realized what an in penetrable wall they had formed.

“I've got this,” Juniper murmured.

Andi watched as Juniper raised her hand to one of the reindeer. It took the animal a moment the pause. To sniff her.

But once one reindeer stopped walking, the rest of the creatures slowly began to stop also. The pause gave Andi just enough time to dart between the animals and run toward Duke. Ranger followed on her heels.

Finally, she managed to weave her way in and out of the creatures, to get beyond them to the two men lying on the ground.

Just as Andi reached them, she looked up. Four men raced toward them from the entrance.

State troopers, she realized.

Gibson was here.

But she prayed he wasn't too late.

She dropped onto her knees into the snow beside Duke.

He moaned as he lay there.

“Are you okay?” She scanned him. Saw the blood on his shoulder.

Then she continued to rake her eyes over him, looking for any more telltale signs that he’d been hit by that bullet—and hit somewhere critical.

“It was Heath,” Ranger muttered as he hovered near the man. He'd already kicked the weapons away to ensure nobody else would grab them.

Andi glanced at Heath and saw the blood on his chest.

Tears wanted to spring to her eyes, but they couldn't. It was too cold for them to flow.

Despite that, she leaned toward Duke and ran her hand along the side of his face. “Can you hear me?”

He moaned, and his eyes fluttered open. Then he started to push himself up before grimacing.

Before he answered, his gaze went to Heath.

Once he saw that the man was down and no longer a threat, Duke’s expression relaxed. “Now I’m okay.”

As Gibson and his men surrounded them, Andi pulled Duke’s head to her chest and held him.

An hour later, paramedics and more police officers had arrived on the scene. They’d had a crew move the trees out of the way so vehicles could get to them.

Duke sat in the back of an ambulance, a paramedic tending to his wound. The bullet hadn’t fully pierced his skin but only skimmed it. Stitches should suffice.

Andi had hardly left his side since everything went down.

As they sat in the back of the heated ambulance together, a paramedic in front of them, the doors opened.

Gibson appeared. “Can I have a moment?”

The paramedic nodded and climbed out. Gibson shut the doors behind him to keep the heat in before taking the paramedic’s seat across from them.

“That was some showdown back there,” he said. “At least from what I've heard.”

“I've never seen reindeer act like that,” Duke muttered.

“They pretty much saved our lives,” Andi said.

“A Christmas miracle?” Gibson grinned. “Although I have heard that reindeer do things like that. I've just never seen it with my own eyes before. It was pretty spectacular.”

“Do you have any other updates for us?” Andi asked as she reached over and squeezed Duke's hand.

Duke squeezed back, not wanting to ever let go.

“Actually, I do.” Gibson’s grin faded. “Some of my guys managed to track down Caleb.”

Duke's eyes widened. “That's good news. How did you find?”

“He was hiding out at a local hotel, and somebody spotted him. Said he was acting suspicious. He had Tim with him and was holding the man hostage. Apparently, Tim discovered what Caleb was up to concerning the drugs and confronted him. That's when things started to fall apart.”

“Did Caleb tell you anything else?” Andi asked.

“As a matter of fact, he did.” Gibson leaned forward with his elbows on his legs. “Apparently, there was a guest here last week who recognized him from back when he lived in Washington State and was involved in drug trafficking. He began to threaten Caleb, which made him nervous.”

“Did Caleb confess to all of this?” Duke asked.

“He did. Once he started talking, he spilled everything. About how he was involved with taking drugs over the border and selling them. He had been doing it since he was fourteen, he said. He had a guy who helped him with the fake IDs. He made a lot of enemies in the process of doing that.”

“I'm assuming when one of those enemies found him here that he was in big trouble,” Andi said.

“For sure. Apparently, Caleb owed this guy money. But the man eventually left the camp, and Caleb thought he was in the clear. He believes this guy came back and confronted Pepper. He thinks this man killed her as a way of making good on his threat to Caleb, and that Emmett must have seen something.”

“Another casualty . . .” Andi murmured.

“This guy was also the one who compromised the ice because he knew Caleb would be going out there.”

“What about the things that happened to us while we were here?” Duke asked. “The beard somebody drew on the mirror, the snowman on the Christmas tree . . .”

“Caleb was responsible,” Gibson said. “He was afraid you might catch on to what was going on with him, so he tried to scare you away. Little did he know that the actual December Dismemberer was here at the camp and planning his next murder.”

Andi glanced at Duke and squeezed his hand again. “At least we can be thankful that this is all over.”

“If you guys hadn't been here, I have no doubt Heath would have struck again. That he would have claimed another victim. The state of Alaska may not realize this, but they owe you a lot of thanks.”

“I'm just glad that this guy has been stopped,” Andi said. “Maybe people can rest easier now and truly enjoy the upcoming holiday.”

“Let's hope.” Gibson stood. “I need to continue to get some statements and look into things. What are you guys going to do now?”

Duke and Andi glanced at each other.

Duke knew what he wanted. He wanted to have a nice long talk with Andi. To get some things out in the open.

“As soon as we're cleared to leave, I suppose we can go back to Fairbanks,” Duke said.

“It should only be a few more hours. I know they’re setting up in the lodge area for now. That's where the rest of the gang went”.

“We'll head there in a second,” Duke said. “Thanks.”

“Take as much time as you need,” Gibson said before waving and stepping from the vehicle.

Maybe this was the moment he’d been waiting for—the moment he and Andi could really talk.