Only Survivor

Heavy snow sealed the mountain passes, burying the jagged peaks in deadly white. As the only woman to conquer Deadwood Passs seventy-two switchbacks unscathed, I was offered a ten million dollar rescue job. The target was stranded at the ridges end.

Id been there beforeten years earlier. My seventeen year old daughter and her friends were paragliding when a sudden storm forced a brutal cliffside landing. Rescue never came in time. My girl froze to death on those merciless rocks.

Later, I learned my husband, James, ignored her plight. He spent millions redirecting every helicopter and snowcat to save his first loves childwhod only sprained an ankle.

That day, I quit my tenured professorship and moved to this frozen backwater, becoming a penniless tow truck driver. For a decade, I ran that lethal highway until every icy curve and drop was etched in my bones. No one else died on my watch.

Now my best friend begged me to take this job, slapping the offer on my grease stained table. I glanced at the photoa face Id never forgetlet out a dry laugh, and dropped my keys.

Not this one.

Jess was still riding the high of a massive payday dropping out of the sky. Hearing my words, she froze, her jaw practically hitting the floor.

"Wait, Sarah, are you out of your damn mind? This is ten million bucks!"

"Weve been rotting in this frozen armpit of a town for a decade and haven't seen a fraction of that kind of cash. And you're just walking away?"

We had bled and frozen together on these roads for years. Jess wasn't about to let me throw away a winning lottery ticket. She physically blocked the door as I tried to leave the dispatch cabin.

"Sarah, wake the hell up. Go splash some freezing water on your face and think about this! Ten years ago, you dragged yourself in here looking like a stray dog. You had nothing. Your ex-husband threw you away like garbage!"

"This is your golden ticket! Don't you want to shove this massive win right in his arrogant face? Make him grovel and beg for a second chance?"

I gently but firmly pushed Jesss hand away from the doorframe. My chest felt incredibly heavy.

"I don't care about getting back at anyone. My mind is made up. Drop it, Jess. I'm going home."

"Sarah!"

Frustrated by my stubbornness, Jess was practically sweating despite the drafty cabin, screaming at my back.

"Even if you bail on this, you need a damn good reason! I know you. You are not the kind of person who just sits back and watches someone die!"

I stopped in my tracks. Slowly, I turned to look at her, my eyes entirely dead.

"Maybe I am exactly that kind of person."

Jesss chest heaved. "We've known each other for a decade. Every time the scanner goes off, you never say no. You are always the first one behind the wheel. It doesn't matter if it's an avalanche warning or a whiteout blizzard. When the whole crew begs you to stay back, you always say a kid's life matters more than yours."

"How could you possibly be that cold? Sarah, just tell me why."

"There is no why. Find someone else. Im not driving."

I pushed the door open. Jess followed me out into the biting cold, violently running her hands through her hair in pure agitation.

"The weather up on Deadwood gets worse every year! A few guys tried to run it a couple of winters ago and none of them came back alive. If you don't go, nobody on this mountain will touch that route."

"Are you sick? Is it your back? Look, I'll ride shotgun. I'll handle the winches and the heavy lifting, you just drive."

"You have to give us something, Sarah! The girls in our crew are drowning in debt. They are waiting for a miracle, and you owe them an explanation!"

Looking out at the towering, snow-capped peaks in the distance, I asked myself what had kept me coming back to these seventy-two deadly switchbacks that had claimed so many lives.

It was my daughter.

It was her voice, echoing in my nightmares, crying out for her mom to save her.

It was the sheer, desperate will to keep her memory alive. Even when I was bleeding out in a wrecked cab, I forced myself to stay awake. I swore to myself that no other mother in this world would ever have to feel the soul-crushing agony of losing a child.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I fought back the tears threatening to spill.

"I'll explain it to the crew myself. Just stop pushing me."

Maybe it was the absolute, raw devastation in my eyes that finally silenced Jess. She didn't try to block my path again.

"I don't get it," she whispered. "But you're my girl. I believe you have your reasons. I'll go talk to the others."

Before I could even reach my beat-up truck in the yard, my burner phone buzzed. It was a number I had spent a decade trying to scrub from my brain.

"My wife and I are almost at the base of the mountain. I want to know why you're refusing the extraction. Is it the money? I can write a check for another ten million right now."

"Or name your price. As long as you pull my daughter off that ridge, I will give you anything you want."

That familiar, suffocatingly arrogant voice pierced right through my eardrum, exactly the same as it was ten years ago.

My knuckles turned white around the plastic casing of the phone. "I don't want anything. I cannot save your daughter."

James didn't recognize my voice. He began to shout, the polished veneer cracking to reveal a desperate, trembling panic.

"You sound old enough to be a parent! Do you not have kids of your own?"

"If your child was trapped in a freezing death zone, could you really just sit there and leave them to die?"

Leave them to die?

A bitter, twisted smile crept onto my lips.

Back when I found out James had diverted the entire fleet of helicopters for his first love's kid, I had screamed those exact words at him.

I had screamed until my throat bled, asking him how a stranger's child could possibly be more important than his own flesh and blood.

He was terrifyingly calm.

His voice over the phone hadn't held a single tremor.

"I had the medical team analyze their vitals. Sophie has a stronger baseline constitution than Beth, so logistically, we had to secure Sophie first."

"Neither of us wanted anyone to die. It's a tragedy, but the situation is what it is. I'm grieving too, you know."

He claimed he was grieving, yet the moment I shoved the divorce papers at his chest, he turned around and married his precious first love before the ink was even dry.

"The kid up there isn't your biological daughter, right? If she was your real flesh and blood, would you be doing all this?"

James didn't hesitate for a microsecond.

"I don't care about biology. I raised her. She is my daughter."

"And if she was my biological child? I would liquidate every asset I own and risk my own life to get her down from there."

Before I could even formulate a response, he let out a scoff of pure condescension.

"Since you clearly did your homework and know I'm the CEO of Bode Holdings, you should understand that doing me this favor will set you up for life."

"I can bump the bounty to fifty million dollars. People like you couldn't make fifty million if you worked for a thousand lifetimes."

"If you have half a brain, you'll grab this ticket out of poverty instead of being a stubborn hillbilly and dragging your husband and kids down with you."

I actually laughed out loud.

"You really are Father of the Year."

I had dreamed of my little girl more times than I could count.

In the dreams, she always looked up at me with those big, innocent eyes, asking why Daddy didn't want to save her. Why he picked a friend's daughter over his own.

I could never give her an answer. Deep down, I knew the ugly truth. James never loved me, which meant my child was never going to be his priority.

"Fifty million is a hell of a lot of money. But it's a shame. I don't need it. Find another driver."

I killed the call and powered off the phone completely.

The second I stepped out of the yard, the rest of the crew swarmed me.

Rhonda, our grizzled team captain, blocked my path.

"Sarah, you can't walk away from this. Do you have any idea who's trapped up there? The Bodes. We are dirt-poor mechanics and tow-truck drivers. We cannot afford to piss off billionaires."

Of course I knew.

James and Lexi's fairytale wedding had been plastered all over the national news. A real-life romance that made the internet swoon.

Nobody remembered me. Nobody remembered my daughter.

"James is Sophie's stepdad, but he treats her like gold! And he controls Bode Holdings. He practically owns Denver!"

"And Lexi Bode? She's a world-renowned surgeon. People like that can crush us like bugs."

Jess stood there with red eyes, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

"On top of that, they did background checks. They found out about Brenda's kid needing a kidney transplant. Lexi said if you drive the rig, she'll pull strings at the transplant center. Toby will have a new kidney by next Friday."

Brenda dropped to her knees right in the filthy slush, dragging her sickly son Toby down with her. She looked up at me, absolutely broken.

"Sarah. Please. I'm begging you. I'll kiss the dirt you walk on. He's my only baby. Please save my Toby."

Toby, his face pale and swollen from the dialysis, wrapped his thin arms around my work boots.

"Auntie Sarah... I don't want to die..."

James hadn't changed a bit. He still knew exactly how to manipulate human weakness.

He was still completely devoid of humanity.

I stood there in silence. I pulled a crushed cigarette from my leather jacket, lit it, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke into the freezing air. My voice came out like gravel.

"Today is my daughter's death anniversary."

Rhonda rushed to speak. "We know, Sarah, we remember! Once you get this kid down the mountain, we will all go visit Beth's grave with you."

"Yeah!" Brenda sobbed, snot and tears freezing to her face. "You've saved so many kids out here! Just save Toby too! This is the only chance he has left!"

Before I could say another word, the deep, aggressive roar of a V8 engine echoed through the canyon. A sleek, matte-black G-Wagon skidded to a halt right in front of us.

The heavy door swung open. James stepped out into the mud, his sharp, predatory eyes locking instantly onto my face.

Almost immediately, naked disgust flashed across his features.

He didn't recognize me.

I hadn't seen a salon in years. After a decade of brutal mountain winters, I was no longer the radiant, soft-spoken, highly respected university professor he once knew.

Right now, I was wrapped in a greasy, peeling leather jacket I hadn't washed in weeks. My face was weather-beaten, covered in rough windburn and premature, deep-set wrinkles from squinting into snowstorms.

Compared to his tailored wool overcoat and pristine Italian leather shoes, I looked like absolute gutter trash.

"So you're the so-called legendary female driver of Deadwood Pass?"

He let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Do you have any concept of what fifty million dollars is? It could buy your pathetic life a hundred times over."

I didn't answer. I just took another drag of my cigarette.

The passenger door opened.

Lexi stepped down into the slush. Her gaze swept over me. She tried to maintain a facade of calm grace, but the elitist superiority practically rolled off her in waves.

"My husband's delivery might be harsh, but he's stating facts. Your entire crew works yourselves to the bone year-round, and what do you bring in? Maybe thirty grand? Split five ways?"

"This fifty million won't just buy you groceries. It will catapult you into a tax bracket you can't even comprehend. It's generational wealth."

"Are you really going to let pride ruin your life?"

I gave her a faint smile. "My answer is still no."

"Why? Give me a rational explanation."

"I don't need one."

Jamess patience snapped. He glared at me, his eyes looking like chips of dirty ice.

"Bullshit. Every human action has a motive. If you're refusing, it's because you think you have leverage to squeeze more out of us!"

Lexi's elegant mask finally slipped, her face hardening.

"Look, don't be greedy. People who bite off more than they can chew end up choking."

"You people reek of cheap booze and desperation. All you want is to climb out of the mud and be somebody, right? I can give you that."

"Cash, status, connections. I can get your husband a cushy corporate job in Denver. Whatever he wants, I can make it happen by making a single phone call."

"And your kid. I can get them into an Ivy League feeder school. Pay for a study abroad program in Europe. I'll even set up a trust fund for when they get married and have kids of their own."

I chuckled, the sound dry and hollow. "Married and have kids?"

Beth had actually talked about that.

When she was a little girl, she watched some cartoon where the kids grew up and left the parents behind. She had buried her face in my chest, crying her eyes out.

"Mommy, I'm never getting married! That way, when you and Daddy get old, I can just stay with you forever so you won't be lonely!"

Someone in the crew, eager to appease the billionaires, blurted out an answer to James.

"Her ex-husband cheated on her, man. And her daughter passed away."

James raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with a smug, knowing look.

"Well, your ex-husband was a smart man. A cold-blooded, heartless woman who'd watch a kid die for leverage? Any random whore off the street would be a better partner than you."

"Walking out on you was the best decision he ever made. And your kid died? Let me take a wild guess. Was it your fault?"

My hands balled into tight fists, my nails digging into my palms as I glared at him with pure hatred.

James didn't back down an inch. He sneered, enunciating every syllable.

"When your kid was dying, were you acting exactly like this? Stubborn, detached, playing stupid mind games until you literally dragged her to her grave?!"

"Shut your damn mouth!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

The sheer venom in my eyes was impossible to hide.

Lexi stepped smoothly in front of him, playing the diplomat.

"Excuse my husband's temper. But since you've been a mother, you should be able to empathize with the absolute panic of parents trying to save their child."

She glanced at her Rolex. "The blizzard hits in exactly thirty minutes. If we delay, the extraction becomes physically impossible, and you'll be risking your own neck."

"Playing hard to get once is a negotiation tactic. Doing it twice is just arrogant stupidity. Get in your truck. Now."

When I still didn't move, James suddenly pointed a manicured finger right at Brenda.

"You can stand your ground. But what about these friends of yours? The ones who bleed with you? Are you really going to screw them over too?"

"You cross me today, and not only will her kid never see a kidney donor, I will personally guarantee that everyone standing in this yard is blacklisted."

His voice dripped with absolute malice. "Unless you can guarantee your families will never get sick, there isn't a single hospital in the state of Colorado that will admit you. And no company in this city will ever hire you."

Brendas face drained of all color. She practically crawled to my boots, her tears running completely dry from sheer terror.

"Sarah. Sarah, please. Please, I am begging you on my life. Just say yes."

"Nobody else can drive that ridge! Have some mercy, please look at my boy!"

Rhondas face was grim. She grabbed my shoulders, letting out a heavy sigh.

"The Bodes actually have that kind of power, Sarah. You have to..."

I shoved Rhondas hands away. I looked down at Brenda and her frail son.

In their desperate bid to survive, Brenda had slammed her head against the frozen ground so hard that blood was trickling down her forehead, mixing with the dirt.

"I will figure something out for Toby," I said softly. "But this gig... I really can't do it. My hands are tied."

Something snapped inside Lexi.

She lunged forward, grabbing the collar of my heavy leather jacket, and delivered a vicious, stinging slap across my face.

Every ounce of her fake, upper-class grace evaporated.

"We called every single rescue outfit in the state! They all said you're the only freak crazy enough to run this pass, and now you're telling me your hands are tied?!"

"That is a human life up there! You let her die, and you are a goddamn murderer!"

I let out a dark laugh. My hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of her expensive, blown-out hair. I yanked her head back and returned the slap, twice as hard.

"You're the goddamn murderer!"

James, who had just watched his wife slap me with smug satisfaction, turned purple with rage the second my hand made contact with her cheek.

"Get her!" he barked.

The massive private security guards he brought swarmed me, slamming me face-first into the filthy, packed snow. James stepped forward, grinding the sole of his designer shoe directly into the side of my face.

"You think you can lay hands on my wife, you piece of trash? You want to do this the hard way? Fine. Tie every single one of her friends up. For every minute she refuses to drive, throw one of them off the ravine!"

I struggled wildly against the heavy boots pinning me down, screaming at the top of my lungs. "Don't you dare!"

"Watch me," he growled, pressing his shoe down so hard I could hear my own teeth grinding together against the ice.

"This place is off the grid anyway. We'll just tell the cops your little crew got buried in an avalanche during a heroic rescue attempt. Who's gonna prove otherwise?"

The guards dragged Rhonda, Brenda, and the others toward the sheer drop at the edge of the yard.

The first one they pushed to the brink was Jess.

Sweat soaked through her winter gear despite the freezing wind. She was absolutely terrified, screaming back at me.

"Sarah! Sarah, please! I don't want to die! I haven't even seen my boy graduate yet!"

My eyes went bloodshot. I stared at my crew, my jaw clenched so tight I tasted copper. Slowly, I turned my gaze up to James's face.

"Pull them back from the edge!"

James smirked. He lifted his foot off my face and surprisingly reached down, grabbing my arm to help me up. He even brushed the dirty snow off my lapels with a patronizing smile.

It was as if the psychotic billionaire from three seconds ago had never existed.

"I'm so glad you've come to your senses. I expect you to bring my daughter back without a single scratch on her."

"Because if anything happens to her, my wife and I will get very, very creative with you."

Hearing those words, a raw, manic laughter clawed its way out of my throat. I couldn't stop.

"Is that right? Losing a kid makes you suffer? Really? Because rumor has it, the kid you had with your first wife died too."

Jamess eyebrow twitched violently.

"You didn't shed a single tear for her. You finalized the divorce, married the mistress without skipping a beat, and didn't even bother to go to the morgue to identify your own daughter's body."

"Do you ever think about her? Does your chest ache? When you wake up in the dead of night, have you ever shed a single goddamn tear for her?"

James's lips began to tremble. For a split second, a flash of genuine, agonizing pain cut through the ice in his eyes.

"Who... who the hell are you? How do you know that? Did you... did you know me before?"

I spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "Someone as high and mighty as you? How could gutter trash like me ever know you?"

"James, stop! A broke mechanic wouldn't know us. She's just reading tabloid garbage. Stop wasting time and get her in the truck!"

Lexi grabbed my arm, practically dragging me toward my reinforced tow rig.

"Get in the damn driver's seat!"

When I still refused to move my feet, she shrieked at the guards. "Throw the loudmouth off the cliff!"

Rhonda screamed until her voice cracked. "Sarah, get in the truck! Are you really going to let Jess die? Shes had your back for ten years!"

Jess was ghost-pale, her eyes wide with total despair.

"Sarah, why?! At least tell me why before they kill me!"

I squeezed my eyes shut. The pain radiating through my chest was so intense my knees almost buckled.

"Because if I get up there," I whispered, my voice trembling with a decade of suppressed venom, "I won't be able to stop myself from wrapping my hands around her throat and choking the life out of her."

"I can save anyone in this godforsaken world. But I will never save her."