Free Courage Dares by Nancy Radke Page B

looks long, but there’s certain gear you absolutely must have for winter survival. An army-navy surplus store should carry all these things."
    She paused to look from Wes' bruised face to Judd's arrogant one. Her head lifted, appearing confident, as if daring the men to doubt her.
    Connor felt a glow of pride. Mary hadn’t stayed down long. Perhaps she wasn’t so fragile after all. Either that, or it helped her to fight back, even in this small way.
    "Some of the items I include might not seem necessary," she continued, "but I've been all over these mountains, pulling out bodies of people who went in poorly equipped. It pays to be overly prepared. We're going to need stoves, ropes, tents. Snowshoes. I wouldn’t skimp on any of these things."
    Her words made Connor wonder. Was she making the list long to make them shop longer, or because they really needed all those items? He had hiked a lot, and done one session on winter survival. He hoped he lived up to her standards.
    It didn't matter. He’d get her away, today, if it killed him. He couldn’t give Ramone another chance.
    Wes looked at Mary’s list. “We’ll git it all, won’t we, boss? If I’ve got to go into those woods, I wanna have what I need.” He fingered his cigarette nervously.
    “That’s the attitude,” she said. “The avalanche danger is high right now. We’ll be lucky not to get caught. Extremely lucky.”
    “And if we do?”
    She looked at the list and added some extra items. “Get six avalanche transceivers, one for each of us. They can be set to send or receive signals, and will beep under the snow so the rest of us can dig out whoever gets caught. Unless we all do. We’ll also need a couple of collapsing poles—to probe with.”
    They loosed Connor for a few minutes to use the bathroom, then re-tied his hands and feet. He had pulled his bonds tighter during the night. Fire burned through his fingers as the blood again flowed freely through his hands. He welcomed the pain, knowing it meant they’d recover.
    Mary stood up and stretched.
    "Finished?" Judd asked.
    "Yes."
    "The stores should be open soon. Ramone, you stay here and guard these two."
    "Right." Ramone's lecherous gaze immediately swung to Mary, and Connor stiffened.
    "Not wise," Ira countered, shaking his head. "Someone’s got to guard Ramone."
    "Good idea, Ira. You stay, too. What's your boot size?"
    "Twelve. Narrow."
    "Ramone?"
    "Ten and a half."
    "See you." Judd picked up the list and folded it in quarters, carefully matching the edges. "You be good, Ramone."
    Ramone snorted and stalked outside.
    "Watch him, Ira."
    "Of course."
    "And watch him." Judd pointed toward Connor, then he took Wes and left. Soon Connor heard the van rattle away. It was time to start putting together an escape.
    Mary remained untied. Maybe she—
    "You need anything before I tie you?" Ira asked her.
    Connor saw her glance his way before replying. "A drink."
    "Use one of those Styrofoam bowls," Ira said, waving her into the kitchen. "Cups are gone."
    She hesitated at the entrance and motioned toward the dirty dishes that had attracted flies. "What if I clean up some of this? It's enough to make us all sick."
    "Don’t bother. We’re not coming back."
    He followed her into the kitchen and Connor shifted to where the head of a nail protruded from the wall. If he had have spotted it last night, he could’ve tried to untie himself with it.
    He worked the ropes up and down against the nail head for a full minute before Ramone came inside carrying an iPod. The gunman moved the lone chair to a point across the room and set it down. Then, his lips curling back into a sneer, he strolled over to Connor.
    Connor tensed, keeping his hands still. Ramone was highly unpredictable, capable of kicking him in the head just for sport.
    At that moment, Mary entered and asking if she might sort and re-pack her supplies. Ira shook his head, frowning, then motioned for her to rejoin Connor. Ramone grabbed the rope and