I stopped waiting for Jared’s phone to ring. I had to, or I would have driven myself crazy. Eli would call when he could. He’d only been gone for two weeks, and I had enough on my plate to worry about.

“Rumor has it you have a birthday coming up,” Murphy said as we drove to Stanley’s.

She and Jared had taken up coming with me in the afternoons. It was nice having the company while Eli was away, but it wasn’t the same.

The windshield wipers dashed to and fro, batting away the endless snowflakes as I shrugged and said, “Just another day.”

Murphy sat in the middle of the small cab. Moving wasn’t easy, but she managed it enough to look at me. “An important day. How old will you be?”

My head fell back against the headrest, and I closed my eyes with a sigh. “You tell me, Murphy. It should have been in the report.”

She jerked as if I’d slapped her. I should have felt bad, but I couldn’t summon the energy to since I wasn’t in the mood to mince words. And I damn sure wasn’t in the mood to celebrate anything, let alone my birthday.

Jared, who was usually the first one to have a comeback, stayed silent. In fact, he’d been overly quiet. Murphy had asked him a few times if he was all right, but his answer was to sulk and pick up his guitar.

I had a feeling he was slipping into the winter blues, not uncommon for the area, but a nightmare if left to consume someone. Something would need to be done about it before he went off the rails. I’d talk to Murphy about it once we were back home.

“You know what pisses me off?” Jared blurted.

Murphy and I jumped like two scalded cats.

She recovered first. “Should I start rattling things off, or are you going to spit it out and save us the time?”

Jared slapped his hand against the steering wheel. “How come I can’t go out in the field? Everyone else gets to play the hero, and I’m stuck waiting. Twiddling my thumbs, for all the good that does. And these people,” he spit the word as if it were foul and continued, “they just keep coming. You take down one, but there’s always another one. I never thought the world was such a cruel place, but now that I see it for what it is, I wish there was a place we could put the ones who make it that way into a volcano and then blow it sky high.”

“Well, that would be one way of taking care of the problem,” Murphy said. “Better than my way, anyway.”

“And what’s your way?” he asked as he pulled into Stanley’s driveway.

“Rounding them up and putting them all on an island in cages. Their only view would be a big clock with red numbers that counted down to their end. And then, when it hit zero, drop a bomb on them. I like your way better, Jared. It’s much more environmentally sound.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I don’t know which one of you is worse. Jared for his imagination, or you for your brutal sense of efficiency.”

Murphy’s eyebrow lifted like a bird’s wing. “Oh? And what would you do if it were up to you?”

“I’d drop them in the volcano… and then bomb it so there was no chance for a single survivor. Then I’d leak the footage on the internet as a warning to anyone else with stupid ideas,” I said, reaching for the door handle.

Murphy’s eyes went wide as she said, “Oooh! A guillotine! We could line them up, chop their heads off one by one, and toss the body parts into the volcano. Eliminates the need to bomb it. Can’t imagine anyone coming back without their head.”

I held the door while Murphy got out, eyeing her. “It’s a little scary how bloodthirsty you are.”

Murphy grinned. “I know. Now, about your birthday…”

I groaned and walked away.

“Oh, come on, Nova!”

“Surprise!”

I jerked back, stepping squarely on Murphy’s toes as I clutched my hands to my chest.

“Ha! Got you,” Murphy said, righting me.

I spun on her. “What is this?”

“It’s your party, Nova. Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of the legendary Six.”

I swallowed hard and dug my heels in. “Murphy… I—”

She shook my arm. “No. I don’t want to hear any more excuses. We’re a family. You’re part of that family whether you accept it or not. Now move your ass, they’ve been dying to meet you.”

Jared maneuvered around Murphy and put his arm around me. Guiding me forward, he gave my shoulder a squeeze and said, “Come on, Super Nova. Noni has a special birthday toddy for you.”

“Good. I’ll take two,” I said, hoping the smile on my face didn’t look as fake as it felt.

“Nova!” Noni called out, parting the crowd as she carried a monstrous cup between her hands and placed it in my own. “Your friends have come to see you. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Spiced rum punch? Must be a special occasion,” I said, giving her a real smile.

She leaned in close. “Stanley helped me make it… I think.”

I took a sip. The heat rolled down my throat and then bloomed into my blood as it fought the chill of an Alaskan winter. “That’s good,” I said as my eyes watered.

“It should be. You wouldn’t believe how much alcohol she uses to make that,” Stanley said, holding a cup of his own.

Around me, people kept with their own conversations. Once or twice, their gazes would catch mine and they’d smile. No one crowded me, or gave me any reason to feel uncomfortable. But most of all, Noni didn’t seem to mind that they were there. She moved from my side. Making her way through the room of strangers, she gave one or another a job to do. What really surprised me was when she walked over to Jared and Murphy and they parted so she could stand between them.

Jared put his arm around Noni’s shoulder and beamed down at her as he spoke candidly. Whatever he said made Noni light up like a lantern.

And then, before I knew it, I was talking to each of them one by one. Some swept past calling a word or two at me as if we’d know one another forever. A light touch on the shoulder as I was told about someone falling on their backside in the middle of the street, right outside the bar, making it look as if they’d been on an all-day bender, when they’d really just been wearing the wrong kind of boots and caught a patch of ice. They laughed and jeered, tormented one another, and then turned around and praised each other. It was the most chaotic, yet fulfilling feeling I’d had in a long time.

Murphy walked over toward me, beaming. “Noni’s threatening to haul out your baby books.”

“Ha, good thing they’re in storage,” I fired back at her.

“Says who?” She snickered.

I narrowed my eyes. “They better be in storage.”

“…and here… I think it was fifth grade. Nova, was this fifth grade or sixth?”

“Oh. My. God.” I made a beeline for the book, but she put hands on top of the pages, keeping me from snatching it up from her lap.

“I can’t believe anyone here would wear a bathing suit,” Mark said, shaking his head.

Paige chuckled. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“It’s Alaska,” he said, giving her a look of disbelief. “Land of polar bears and penguins—”

“There aren’t any penguins here,” I huffed.

“No penguins? That’s it, we’re leaving,” Josh said, hauling Ella up from her seat.

“Ass,” she said, swatting him.

“Noni, can we please put the photo album away?” I all but begged.

She closed it and then handed it to me. “How about cake?”

“I like cake,” I answered.

“How long is everyone staying?” I asked.

Murphy lowered her cup with a smirk. “Tired of them already?”

I rolled my eyes, and then poured the last of the pot into my cup. “That’s not why I was asking. I just wondered, that’s all. Most people don’t pop into Alaska to visit in November.”

Jared dashed through the kitchen and snatched the front door open.

It happened so fast that Murphy popped up from her seat, alert as if something were wrong.

“What happened?” Jared demanded as soon as two guys I’d never seen before stepped into the house.

“Where is Eli?” Murphy demanded.

One of the two had a phone to his ear. He turned, speaking low to whoever it was on the other line.

“Aiden?” Murphy said, crossing her arms.

Jared’s hand slammed down on his hips. “Can someone please tell us what the hell is going on?”

Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose, blew out a long breath, and said, “We’ll explain once everyone is here.”

I stepped forward. “Is he…” The question died on my lips.

“He’s alive, Nova. That we’re sure of,” Aiden answered.

I’d never met Aiden before. And if that was Aiden, the other one was Ace. The two Eli was supposed to meet up with in Siberia.

“You two look like hell,” Murphy said, waving them toward the kitchen.

Aiden followed her, weaving on his feet. It was clear they were both beyond the point of exhaustion.

“Riley’s getting everyone together. They’ll be here in a few minutes,” Ace said, tucking the phone in his back pocket. “If you don’t mind, I’d really like something hot to drink and a chair to fall into.”

Jared nodded, tossing his hand toward the kitchen. Ace’s head turned as if in slow motion. His body followed, slowing when he came up beside me and said, “Sorry to intrude on you like this, Nova.”

Murphy stormed into the living room. “Where the hell are we going to put eleven people, Jared? Because you know everyone will want to be under one roof until this gets figured out.”

The front door opened on Murphy’s question. A man stepped in and answered her question as if he’d been in the room all along. “That won’t be an issue. The house next door is for rent.”

“Oliver?” Murphy tipped her head as if she couldn’t believe he was there.

“Didn’t bring Flint with you?” Jared sked, shaking his head.

Oliver snorted. “Someone had to stay behind and run things. Where are the others?”

“Should be pulling in soon,” Jared answered, walking over to the window and pushing the curtain back enough to see outside. “Hope the neighbors don’t get suspicious of all the newcomers. We can’t blend in here like we do in bigger cities.”

“If they do, we’ll just give them the standard fall back the rest of you have used,” Oliver said, eyes zeroing in on me. “Hello, Nova. It’s nice to meet you.”

It was unnerving. First Aiden, then Ace, and then Oliver. They spoke to me as if they’d known me forever.

“The standard fall back?” Jared echoed.

Oliver smirked. “We’ll tell them everyone came into town for a wedding.”

Murphy gaped. “Whose damn wedding?”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Easy, Murphy. Everyone here knows you’re not the marrying type. You’ve said it loud and long enough that we all know where you stand.”

He sounded hurt.

Her nostrils flared. “Meaning?”

Oliver cleared his throat. “I meant Nova and Eli. We are in Alaska, after all.”

“Hard to have a wedding when the groom isn’t here. And speaking of groom… where the hell is Eli?” Murphy demanded.

“Jesus… I should have stayed in Chicago,” Oliver said, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling.

The conversation had bounced so hard back and forth that I thought it better to remove myself from it. Everyone was upset or angry, and emotions were running high. I didn’t care about anything besides finding out what happened to Eli. The rest could sort itself out.

A car door slammed. “They’re here,” Jared said right before the front door burst inward and a line of people hustled inside.

Riley bee-lined for Ace. Mark and Paige stepped out of the way when Aiden met Airen in the middle of the room and hugged her so tight I thought he’d snap her in half. Josh and Ella were the last to come in.

When the door was shut, it was like the bang of a judge’s gavel. Everyone quieted and turned their full attention to Aiden and Ace, but it was Oliver who spoke.

“I need you to know something before I explain what happened, so everyone pay attention,” he said, making it a point to look at every single person in the room, including me, before continuing, “We’re doing everything we can to locate and extract Eli. From what little intel we’ve gathered, it looks like he’s in Mongolia.”

“What?”

I had no idea which one of them said it, and I didn’t care. My eyes weren’t leaving Oliver until he’d explained everything.

“Ivanov sent two of his guys in with the scientist Petrov—”

“The Ukrainians who intel has been tracking?” Jared asked.

“The same. There was an explosion the morning after Eli arrived. Ace and Aiden geared up and went to check it out. Eli stayed to set up the medic room—”

“And while we were out saving Petrov and his assistants, the Ukrainians slipped into the building and took Eli,” Ace finished.

“Why Eli, though?” Paige asked. “And how did they know anyone was there?”

Oliver hunched his shoulders forward, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Best guess? We were set up. Ivanov has been on our list for a long time. We’ve never been able to catch him, although we’ve come close a few times. The last few run-ins have been intense, and Nadia barely made it out in one piece.”

“My mom?” Jared asked. Disbelief colored his voice.

“How could Ivanov, with all of our intel and resources, pull a fast one on us?” Riley asked.

Airen, who’d been quiet up until that point, chimed in. “None of that matters now, aye? What does is working together to get Eli back and taking Ivanov down once and for all.”

Heads bobbed in agreement.

“What’s the plan, Oliver?” Ace asked.

That was my cue to leave. I moved around the group and grabbed my purse. It was way past the time I normally headed over to Stanley’s to check on Noni. No matter how much I wanted to stay and hear what they planned to do, I wasn’t part of the team. I couldn’t be.

I felt like every eye was on me when I walked back through the living room and stuffed my feet into my boots. Everyone stopped talking, and I held my breath, waiting.

No one said a word as I pulled my jacket on. At some point, I’d closed my eyes, trying to keep the spark of courage ignited inside of me to walk away when all I wanted to do was stay.

I turned, reaching for the door handle, and opened my eyes.

Oliver stood before me. How he’d made it across the room without me hearing him, I’ll never know. There was something eerie about such a big man moving without making a single sound.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, crossing his arms.

I met his penetrating stare, refusing to flinch. “I have to check on Noni, and you have an operative to rescue. Excuse me,” I said, stepping to go around him.

He shifted, blocking my path. “What? No questions?”

I had plenty of questions. In fact, they were chasing themselves around in my head like sled dogs. The problem was that nothing I could do or say would make any difference. While those around me had no problem with speaking their minds, I wasn’t the type. Or at least I wasn’t until I gathered my thoughts. And my thoughts had spun completely out of control. Until I had a hold of them, I wasn’t going to fire off questions that no one had answers to. Others might have found it odd, the way I thought, or reacted. Maybe I was odd. All the questions had been asked. Oliver had said they’d do everything to find him. What more was there? Demand he be plucked up from wherever he was at? Like snapping my fingers would change the situation? It was best for me to get out of their way and let them do their jobs.

A tremor ran up my spine that had nothing to do with the howling wind outside, or the cold air that snuck in under the door. Worry for Eli consumed me, but me breaking down would only delay what needed to be done. If I broke, if I allowed my feelings to show, it would shift the focus off Eli, and he needed every set of eyes and pair of hands available to him.

“You’re running.”

My back went up. “I don’t run.”

“Prove it.” The words were low as they rumbled out of him.

“I am,” I answered, walking around him and out the door.

I’d been proving it since the day I returned to Nome.

Stanley met me at the door. The second I saw him, I knew something was wrong. I brushed past him in search of Noni, but she wasn’t in any of her normal places.

“She’s still in bed,” Stanley said, coming up behind me.

“She’s never in bed this late.” Maybe the party had worn her out. She probably just needed to catch up on her rest.

“She’s not very coherent right now, Nova.”

I darted down the hallway and into Noni’s room.

She looked frail was the first thought that come to mind. Tucked beneath the covers, she seemed so small compared to when she was up and moving around. Then again, Noni had always had a presence bigger than she was. And with her so still, her presence was quiet.

“Noni?”

I sat on the edge of the bed and put my hand on her shoulder. When I gave her a slight shake, she still remained motionless.

“I called her nurse,” Stanley said from the doorway.

“Why didn’t you call me earlier?” I was frustrated and upset. Angry and sad. There were too many emotions to deal with… way too many.

“You had friends in town, so I didn’t want to bother you until the nurse got here,” he answered.

“Friends? I hardly know those people. Some of them I only just met last night.” How could he have made such a decision on that basis?

“How long has it been since you’ve taken time for yourself?” he asked.

“I do things for myself,” I argued.

He gave me a sad smile and said, “The last time I checked, before the fire, you hardly ever left Noni’s house.”

“I couldn’t leave. You know that!” I said, wondering why we were even discussing me when we should have been figuring out what to do about Noni.

“Let her sleep, Nova. The nurse will be here soon,” he said. “There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

My stomach bottomed out. “I’d rather stay here. Thanks.”

He caught the doorjamb with one hand and leaned on it. “It isn’t going to get any easier from here on out, Nova. All I wanted you to know is that I’ll be with you every step of the way, no matter what happens.”

“It’ll be fine, Stanley. She’s had bad days and bounced back from them,” I said, trying to ease the worry I saw in his eyes.

“You make it sound like she’s going to pop out of that bed come tomorrow and everything will be fine,” he answered solemnly.

“She might do just that,” I shot back.

“And she may not. What then? What if she wakes up and can’t remember anything at all? Are you prepared to handle that?” His eyes searched mine. “And what if she gets combative? Is that something you’re ready to deal with?”

“That is not going to happen.” I squared my shoulders, wondering if the day could possibly get any worse.

He sighed and pushed away from the door. “I’ll send the nurse in when she gets here.”

I nodded sharply and turned back to Noni, fighting for a sense of calm.