“You’re leaving?”

Vivian stood at the bar, offering a strained smile toward Sadie. “Just for a bit. I’m heading to Tanana to visit. I thought I’d like to see where I played as a child when my grandparents were still alive. I had planned on…uh…well, visiting sometime in the next few weeks, but it seems like this is a good time.”

“Preacher goin’ with you?”

Shaking her head at Iggie as he wiped down the bar, she said, “No. He’s got work to do right now. So…I just wanted to stop by and let you know I was going to be away.”

Sadie walked over, pulling her into a hug as she softly said, “Honey, I’ve been working bars a long time…talked to a lot of people. And I get the feeling that you and Logan are having a little spat.” As Vivian was about to protest, Sadie squeezed her arms tighter and added, “But all couples have that. Lord knows, Iggie has made me nuts over the years.”

She offered a watery smile as Sadie continued, “But seeing the two of you together…now that’s love. He loves you, Vivian. So, go visit your grandparents’ place, but know that man is crazy about you. And then the next time you see him, you’ll jump right into his arms and forget about all this.”

“Thanks, Sadie,” she said, giving a final hug before waving to Iggie and walking out into the sunlight. Climbing back into her car, she swallowed back the tears knowing that Sadie was wrong…she would not be seeing Logan again.

* * *

Frustration pouring off him, Logan carefully destroyed the remaining contents of the shed, following the instructions. As he took his last look at the bare space, his heart ached. Grimacing, he knew he had never had a problem focusing on a mission and, now, all he could think about was the mess he had made with Vivian.

Walking back slowly toward the house, he tried to think of the next step, but the look on her face as she drove away filled his mind.

As he walked across the yard, a flash of light lit the sky and an explosion rocked the ground. The roar and heat blasted him and, reacting immediately, he threw himself down on the ground as flames shot into the air from beyond his house. Adrenaline pumping, he jumped up, running to the other side of his truck, halting at the sight. The Zaman’s house was completely engulfed in flames.

Within seconds, he realized they had destroyed their own home, which meant they had left. How the fuckin’ hell did I miss this? Ignoring the blazing inferno, he raced inside to his computer, quickly searching the videos.

Goddamnit! He watched as Akram and Farrah loaded the car with suitcases, as well as several boxes, before driving away. Observing the time stamp, he cursed again, noting it was while he was at the shed finishing the clean-up. If they’ve destroyed the house, they took the Tularemia with them. To use somewhere…

The sound of a siren could be heard in the distance and he knew he needed to go back out to be seen as a stunned spectator of his neighbors’ house. Stepping onto the porch, he watched as the Ester Volunteer Fire Department rolled up in two fire trucks and an ambulance. He jogged over to talk to them when he spied Iggie climbing out of the first truck.

“Damn, Preacher,” Iggie called. “What the hell happened?”

“Got no idea,” he responded. “I was inside when the whole house shook. Thought the world was coming to an end.”

The firemen immediately went to work, hooking up the hoses to the truck with the water tank that pulled in behind the ambulance. As the streams of water hit the flames and soaked the surrounding area to keep the fire from spreading, Iggie turned back to him. “No one could live through that,” he said.

“They weren’t there,” he said.

“Thank fuck,” came the relieved response. “You see ‘em leave?”

“Earlier. Akram and Farrah both left. In fact, I was just packing up for a little trip myself when this happened.” Hoping that would satisfy Iggie’s possible curiosity, he turned to go back into the house to check Akram’s phone and computer records from the morning to see if he could find out where they were headed.

Calling out orders to the crew, Iggie shifted his gaze back to him. “So, Preacher. You heading to Tanana?”

Confused, he halted and turned back, “Tanana?”

“Thought you might be checking on Vivian.” Grinning, he added, “Figured you wouldn’t be able to stand not being with her for even one night. Sadie was surprised when Vivian stopped by this morning to say she was taking a few days to go visit where her grandparents used to live. We figured you two wouldn’t be able to be separated.” Turning back to oversee the dying flames, Iggie missed the anguished expression on his face.

Five minutes later, he hurried inside to his computer. With a few types on the keyboard, he pulled up a screen with Akram’s phone activity. Got it! About the time the explosion occurred, Akram had sent a message to Rashad.

Testing in Tanana.

Tanana? Oh, fucking hell! Small town. Perfect for trying out contaminating water or food. And right where Viv is heading to!

Racing into the bedroom, he grabbed his bag from the closet, checking the contents—weapons, Kevlar, ammunition, night vision goggles, and a variety of other necessities. Throwing in extra clothes, he hefted the bag on his shoulder before stalking back to gather his electronics. Three minutes later, he threw his hand up toward Iggie, along with a fake smile, as he executed a three-point turned in the yard to leave, passing the emergency vehicles still dealing with the Zaman’s destruction. You might have saved me the trouble of destroying your house and lab, assholes, but I’m coming for you.

`

* * *

Small. That was the only word Vivian could think to describe Tanana as she drove through. Why do things seem so much bigger when you’re a kid? She grinned as she spied the town sign listing the population as 308. Driving along the rough, partially paved roads she passed stores, a few she remembered, some new, and some appearing to be long empty. A couple of restaurants. A bar. A couple of churches. And even a school, which she assumed housed kindergarten through high school in the one building.

Turning off the main street, she drove north for a mile, passing houses and a few subdivisions. The road was so familiar, she remembered summers of riding in the back of her grandfather’s pickup truck, bouncing as he hit the invariable potholes. Looking back, she wondered if he hit them just to see her bounce and giggle.

Finally pulling up to the small house, she parked on the street. The wooden siding appeared to have been recently stained, and it was nice to see her grandmother’s flower gardens were still neatly tended. The plot of land next to the house had been wild, with trees flanking a meadow, but now was mown.

Climbing out of her car, she heard children playing in the backyard and could see a woman hanging laundry on a line tied between two poles set in the ground. The woman looked up at her and smiled.

“Hello,” she called out, as she walked up the walk. “I’m Vivian Sanders. I hope this doesn’t seem presumptuous to stop by…it’s just that my grandparents used to live here. My mom was born here and I remember lots of summers spent here as well.”

A wide, welcoming smile greeted her warmly as the woman said, “Oh, the Panikaks were your grandparents? I knew them when I was younger. I’m Carly. It’s nice to meet you.” She jerked her head toward the house and said, “Would you like to see inside?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all, come on.”

She followed Carly inside, immediately engulfed in memories. While the furniture was different, the walls a different color, the house resonated with the images of her grandfather sitting in his comfy chair in front of the TV and her grandmother bustling in the kitchen.

Turning down an offer of tea, she said, “No, I really have to be going, but this,” she waved her hand around, “has meant so much to me.”

“Are you staying long?” Carly asked.

“I saw there’s a hotel in town.” Chuckling, she added, “It wasn’t there when I was a kid.”

“Oh, that horrible Men of Alaska show on TV that they filmed around here brought in tourists and of course the show’s crew needed somewhere to stay. So, they tore down the cute little single-room cabins that had been here for so long and built a new hotel that could house so many more. I have a feeling they’ll have plenty of rooms now that the show is over. We still get tourists looking for the places the show exploited, but hey, it brought some money into the town.”

“Sounds good, I’ll check there. It was really nice to meet you.” Smiling at Carly, she thanked her for the chance to revisit her family home. Stepping out into the sunshine, she slid her sunglasses on her face as she walked to her car.

The sound of a helicopter flying overhead caught her attention and she leaned her head back, shading her face with her hand at her forehead. The reminder of Logan was painful, but she battled through, determined to not shed another tear. She had shed enough of them on the hour drive to Tanana.

Climbing back into her car, she took one last look at her grandparents’ house and drove into town.