Betrayed at Forty Below

That warning was for me—and I knew he meant it.

His crew? Totally loyal. Even if he took me out, they'd help cover it up.

I didn't fight it. Just prayed Hugh's team would get here in time.

Wayne boxed me in, forcing me to limp forward, my ankle swollen like a fist.

We trudged through the blizzard—no clue how long. My lungs burned, vision blurred, heart pounding like crazy.

Up ahead, Melvin's voice cut through the wind. "Careful. Crevasse."

Didn't even get the sentence out before Sally shoved me. Hard.

I stumbled straight into danger. Ice cracked under my boots.

One wrong move and I was gone.

Instinct kicked in. I slammed my trekking pole into the wall, stopping just at the edge.

But the force set off a cornice. Snow crumbled.

The ledge gave out—and I went with it, sliding fast.

Thank God it wasn't big enough to trigger a full avalanche.

While the others freaked out, I used the chaos to slide down to a wind-sheltered dip and ducked behind a rock.

Whipped out the sat phone, shot out my coordinates, and prayed someone'd find me before I turned into an ice cube.

The noise above faded fast. Guess they figured I didn't make it and kept moving.

I stayed crouched, barely breathing.

The cold wasn't the only thing trying to kill me—my "teammates" wanted me gone too.

I squinted through the whiteout, heart pounding—praying it was Hugh, dreading it was Melvin.

Then—footsteps.

Crunch. Crunch.

***

A tall figure cut through the snow, flashing that creepy grin.

My stomach dropped.

Melvin. Of course. The devil himself.

I shrank behind the rock, praying he hadn't spotted me.

"Don't bother hiding, Peyton. I saw you."

I looked up—he was already looming over me.

I forced myself to stay sharp. "Why are you back?"

"To rescue you, of course, my dear fiancée." That twisted smile.

"Spare me. I'll be lucky if you don't finish me off."

"Now, now. Don't be so cruel. I even brought hot water." He twisted a thermos open and shoved it toward my mouth.

I tried pushing him away, but the cold had wrecked me.

He grabbed my chin, forcing the boiling water down my throat. My tongue went numb on contact.

Coughing, choking, I barely had time to react before he clamped onto my ankle and twisted hard.

"Ah—!"

Pain ripped through me like my bones were splintering.

I screamed and kicked him square in the gut with everything I had left.

He crashed into the snow.

That one kick wiped me out.