Vanishing Point

by Lisa Harris

  She watched while he locked off his belay device and ran the bottom of his rope through hers, grateful for his special ops training.

  “We went to dinner and the symphony.”

  “And . . .”

  “That was it. Dinner, good food, and interesting conversation.”

  “Do you like him?”

  She hesitated. “He’s nice. A gentleman.”

  “Like I said. Mr. Perfect, though I’m not sure that nice is what a guy wants to hear.”

  “Then what does he want to hear?” Nikki wiggled her toes while still trying to keep her balance. The cramp had spread from her calf to the arch of her foot.

  “That he’s intriguing . . . intelligent . . . funny . . . a bit romantic.”

  “He brought me flowers,” she said. Somehow he’d found out she loved wildflowers and had brought her a bouquet.

  “But no fireworks yet?” Tyler asked.

  “I’m just getting to know him.”

  For Tyler and Katie, it had been love at first sight. She’d never believed in the notion until the day they’d met. But that wasn’t exactly her own experience. Her longest relationship—two and a half years—had ended in a nasty breakup. Not exactly a scenario she wanted to repeat.

  Like the scenario she was dealing with right now.

  “You’re good to go,” Tyler said finally. “Ease down slowly.”

  Nikki tightened her fingers on the rope as she made her way down the rest of the cliff with Tyler following. She skidded down the slight incline at the bottom of the rock, then disconnected from the rope.

  “Let’s not try that again,” she said, thankful her feet were finally once again on solid ground.

  “You’re telling me. You okay?”

  She brushed the dust from her pants, then peeled off her gloves. “I think my ego’s more bruised than I am. I anchored the rope in the wrong spot.”

  “Sometimes you do everything right and it still isn’t enough.”

  She caught the sadness in his eyes as they began collecting the equipment. Why was that statement always so hard to accept?

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

  She held out her hands, unable to stop them from shaking. “I’ll admit, that was a bit sobering.”

  He pulled her against his chest while she tried to let go of the fear that had surrounded her only moments before. She snuggled into his shoulder. His heart was beating as fast as hers. She looked up at his familiar brown eyes and short, military cut hair and felt his day-old beard brush lightly against her cheek. His arms tightened around her shoulders, making her feel safe and protected.

  He knew as well as she did that sometimes doing everything right simply wasn’t enough.

  But thankfully, today hadn’t ended in tragedy.

  “As long as you’re okay,” he said, “that’s all that matters.”

  She let out a soft swoosh of air. She didn’t want today to hold another reminder of what could go wrong. How in one fragile moment life could suddenly slip away and be gone forever. But that fact wasn’t something either of them could ever forget.

  “Thank you.” Her heart rate was beginning to slow to normal. “You saved my life, you know.”

  He brushed away a strand of her shoulder-length blond hair that had fallen across her cheek, then took a step backward. “Being here with you today has made me realize—not for the first time—that I’m the one who needs to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For coming with me today.” He squeezed her hand before pulling off his helmet. “For everything you’ve done for Liam and me. I’m honestly not sure I would have gotten through the last year without you.”

  “I miss her too. Maybe that’s why I’m feeling so distracted today.”

  Nikki felt the tears well in her eyes and tried to blink them back. She’d promised herself she’d be strong for Tyler. Blubbering like a baby wasn’t keeping that promise. But while the pain had dulled even a year later, sometimes the loss still felt like it had happened yesterday. Sometimes she still heard Katie’s voice. Heard the phone ring and expected it to be her, until she remembered that Katie would never call again. But as much as she missed her best friend, her grief was nothing compared to what Tyler and Liam had gone through.

  “You ready to call it quits for the day?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Nikki blinked back the rest of her tears and smiled. “We’ve barely started. I didn’t wake up before dawn to give up and go back home again before breakfast.”

  They’d planned this day for months. A day out of the city, near the place where they’d sprinkled Katie’s ashes. A day to celebrate Katie’s life. She would have wanted them to be here today.

  “How about a break then?” he asked. “Your hands are still shaking.”

  Nikki pressed her palms against her sides. “I could use some coffee. And if you’re hungry, my mom packed breakfast to go along with the thermos she sent with us.”

  “I love your mom.” Tyler smiled as he started for the trail leading away from the cliffs. “But the smell drove me crazy the entire trip here.”

  “Me too, and there’s plenty.”

  There always was. Boyds’ BBQ in downtown Nashville had been in the family for three generations, and Nikki’s mom never missed an opportunity to ensure her daughter stayed well fed.

  “How about we take care of that scrape on your arm first,” Tyler said. “Then we can eat some of your mom’s breakfast and get at this again.”

  Nikki nodded, then glanced at the gash where she’d noticed the blood earlier. “You know you don’t have to baby me.”

  He smiled at her and shook his head. “You’ve always been there for me, Nikki. Just let me do the same thing for you.”

  Five minutes later, she sat on the tailgate of Tyler’s pickup truck in the parking lot while he pulled out the first-aid kit and started cleaning her wound. He washed away the trail of blood caked with dirt from the mountainside, then covered it with an antibacterial spray.

  Nikki winced.

  “You’re worse than Liam,” he teased.

  “Funny, but that stuff—whatever it is—stings. Remember you’re going to school to be a psychologist, not a doctor, Mr. Grant.”

  “I think I can handle this assignment, Special Agent Boyd.”

  She laughed, thankful that most of the panic was finally wearing off, because she still had her eye on conquering a couple of climbing routes that had gotten the best of her the last time she was here. Today, she was determined to stay focused and make it to the top of at least one of them.

  Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her back pocket.

  She glanced at the caller ID. Unknown. “I should ignore it, but it could be my sister-in-law trying to get ahold of me. She was supposed to go see her obstetrician this morning.”

  “Anything wrong?”

  “Maybe. She’s only got a couple weeks before her due date, but she started bleeding last night.”

  Which had Nikki worried. She’d watched Matt and Jamie navigate an emotional roller coaster through eight years of infertility and three miscarriages. This pregnancy finally promised the first grandbaby of the family, and just last week they’d finished the nursery. If anything went wrong now . . .

  “Go ahead.” Tyler pressed a butterfly Band-Aid over her cut. “I’ve got my phone on in case Liam needs me. You’d better answer.”

  Nikki nodded and took the call.

  “Agent Boyd.” The voice of her boss, Tom Carter, took Nikki by surprise. “How is the great outdoors treating you?”

  She glanced at Tyler, who’d started putting the first-aid supplies back into the plastic case. “I’m fine, sir, thanks.”

  “Good. Listen, I hate to put a wrinkle in your day, but I have a favor to ask of you.”

  Nikki frowned. Saying no to her boss was somehow harder than saying no to her mother. “I’m here with Tyler Grant, sir, we’re—”

  “I remember you mentioned
you were going climbing.” He paused. “Today’s the anniversary of his wife’s death, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  Tyler had met her boss during a joint military training exercise designed to increase the military’s ability to function in an urban setting. According to Carter, he’d been highly impressed with Tyler’s skills and instincts.

  “He’s okay. We’re having a good time. The weather’s perfect.” There was no use mentioning she’d been clinging to the side of a cliff a few minutes ago, afraid for her life. “What’s the favor, sir?”

  “I just got a call from a friend. Actually, I went to university with his father, and we stayed close until he died. The son’s name is Kyle Ellison. He’s not far from where you are with his sixteen-year-old sister, celebrating her birthday over the weekend. Problem is, she went out for a walk this morning and didn’t return.”

  Nikki glanced at her watch. It was just past eight. “Has he called the local authorities?”

  “Not yet. He’s convinced she probably just wandered off the path to get a closer look at some wildlife and sprained her ankle, something like that. He called me for advice.”

  “How long has she been gone?”

  “He’s not sure. She was gone when he got up, around seven.”

  Which meant they were already looking at a minimum of two hours ago, and maybe longer.

  There was another pause on the line before her boss spoke again. “Listen, all I’m asking is for you to look into it for me. I’ll text you the address of the private cabin where they’re staying. Interview the brother and the girl’s friends, then pass it on to the local law enforcement if you need to. The boy’s scared.”

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Nikki hung up the phone and glanced down at her climbing clothes. With her tan lightweight climbing pants, orange T-shirt, and hiking shoes, she wasn’t exactly dressed for the job, but it would have to do for now.

  She jumped down from the tailgate. “That was my boss.”

  “What did he want?” Tyler asked.

  She hesitated. “A favor.”

  “He wants you to work a case.”

  Nikki nodded, trying to read Tyler’s expression. “It shouldn’t take long. A quick interview about a missing girl who’s probably just lost out here somewhere.”

  “I don’t mind.” He shot her a smile. “As long as I get some of your mama’s cooking as soon as we’re done.”

  Nikki laughed, hoping he truly didn’t mind. She’d already begun sorting through the limited information she had. Because with missing persons cases, time was never on their side. If the girl had been abducted, at a mile a minute she could easily be across the state border by now. But hopefully the girl’s brother was right. She’d simply gone out walking and gotten lost or turned her ankle. Most kids who went missing were found.

  Nikki tossed Tyler the truck keys that he’d laid on the tailgate. “They’re staying in a private cabin not far from here. I’ll pull up the directions on my phone while you drive.”

  The familiar feeling of guilt swirled through her as she slid into the truck and fastened her seat belt. Because not knowing what’s happening to someone you love can be the hardest thing in the world to handle. And something she understood far too well.

  Acknowledgments

  I’m always so grateful to those who come alongside me to help bring the ideas in my head to life. To my fabulous team at Revell, thank you for all of the hard work you do in order to get my stories into print and into my readers’ hands. To my wonderful agent, Joyce Hart, your support throughout the past decade-plus has been such a blessing. Thank you to Ellen Tarver for helping me see and fix the flaws in my story from the beginning; and to my family who continues to encourage me to keep writing. And I’m thankful to my heavenly Father for giving me both the desire and opportunities to continue writing for him.

  Lisa Harris is a Christy Award finalist for Blood Ransom and Vendetta, a Christy Award winner for Dangerous Passage, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 (Blood Covenant) and 2015 (Vendetta) from Romantic Times. She has over thirty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent almost fourteen years as missionaries in Africa.

  When she’s not working, she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa, visit her website at www.lisaharriswrites.com or her blog at http://myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com.

  Books by Lisa Harris

  SOUTHERN CRIMES

  Dangerous Passage

  Fatal Exchange

  Hidden Agenda

  NIKKI BOYD FILES

  Vendetta

  Missing

  Pursued

  A NIKKI BOYD NOVEL

  Vanishing Point

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