by Mary Stone
Of all the harrowing things he’d seen in his life, especially overseas while in the service, this was probably nothing. He was on some serious medication for the PTSD, and it wiped him out during the evenings. Sometimes, she envied the way he was able to turn off his brain like that. Sometimes, she had the urge to swipe a couple of pills out from his medicine bottles.
No. Guilt flooded her. She shouldn’t envy him. She was glad he’d found medication that worked for him, and his therapy was helping him to make progress. He’d spent so long a complete wreck, unable to concentrate on anything because of his PTSD. Often, he’d wake up drenched in sweat, screaming, clawing at anything—including her—that got in his way.
It was only after witnessing his nightmares several excruciating times that he confessed to her that he’d been the only one from his unit in Syria to survive a suicide bombing.
She rubbed the muscles of his back gently and smiled down at him. Sometimes it scared her, how much she’d come to love him. She couldn’t imagine life without him, and with the dangerous nature of their jobs, that was always something at the front of her mind. What if something happened to him? Would she be able to go on?
Shaking those thoughts away, her mind went back to that prison escape. He’d only told her about it when she’d asked, leading her to wonder just how dangerous some of the jobs he went on were. The fact that Beez, Will, Kevin, Dina, and Linc were all on it was concerning. She still hadn’t ruled out the possibility that maybe one of those inmates had escaped again and was now prowling around Tallulah Gorge, as crazy as it seemed. After all, she’d looked up Arrendale Prison, only to find out it was less than half an hour away via car. Something about it just didn’t sit right with her.
Lifting her phone, she typed in Arrendale Prison Escape and came up with several results from just a couple years ago. The articles mentioned the three inmates, two who were incarcerated for murder, the other for attempted murder and grand theft.
She found their names and searched for additional news stories, only to find out that one of the inmates had been killed during the escape, and the other two were still safely behind bars in Arrendale.
It was a dead end.
She sighed, then looked down at Linc again, wishing she could pry open his brain and take a look around. He’d been so mum about this prison case. There may have been other dangerous cases out there that the other SARs had worked on together, but Kylie wouldn’t know.
Even though she’d asked him for a list of cases he’d worked on, and he’d said he’d give them to her when they got to the hotel, he’d gone to sleep before he’d had a chance to write them down.
She’d have to get him to do that tomorrow.
She pressed her lips together. Sometimes she really felt like he was interfering with her instincts. Sometimes, he made her feel like she was stupid for chasing her hunches.
He just wanted her to stay safe, really. That was it.
But still. This was her job.
Sometimes, she had to take the risk.
As she was writing herself a note to remind Linc to make that list, her phone buzzed with the news of the day from her “local news” app. She almost closed out of it without looking. But when she swiped it open, her eyes widened as she glanced at the headline:
Man found dead when car plunges off Rte 23 curve
Hair raising on the back of her neck, she opened the article, scanning the words until she glimpsed the name of the victim.
William Santos.
Heart in her throat, she nudged Linc, who let out a growl underneath the pillow. “Huh?”
She kept nudging him, speechless. From her bed in the corner of the room, Storm raised her head and looked in concern as Kylie continued to attempt to wake her master. Finally, Kylie managed to get his name out. “Linc. Linc!”
He pulled the pillow off his head and looked up at her blearily. Still unable to formulate a coherent thought, she shoved the phone into his face, and he recoiled from the bright light of it. “What? You think I can read that?” He sat up, blinking furiously, and grabbed the phone from her. After a moment, he said quietly, “Shit.”
Kylie’s eyes had already started to water. “Route twenty-three. We were just there a few hours ago. Remember when we saw the police cars, ambulance, and tow truck on the side of the road, up on that hill? That must’ve been for him.”
Linc was still scanning the article. “Jesus. Star didn’t make it, either.”
Kylie stared at the starburst pattern on the comforter, numb. She was thinking about how she’d met the man so recently. How alive he’d been, laughing and joking with Linc. Then she realized how funny it was that people always said, “But I just saw him!” whenever they learned someone had died. As if them just putting eyeballs on the person meant that they’d be safe from harm. Or as if people who would soon be dead should somehow know their death was coming and stay inside, away from the public eye.
“What do we do?” she asked him, fisting handfuls of the comforter.
After a moment, he raked his hand over his face, shaking his head. Shock still had its claws in him. “What do you mean?”
She pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged on the bed. “I mean, don’t we have to do something?”
He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “He’s originally from South Carolina. I bet they’ll have the funeral there. I should go. I really want to be there.”
“No!” The word came out as sharp as a blade, and she immediately placed her hand on his, giving him a sorry look. “I mean, doesn’t this end any doubt in your head as to whether someone’s targeting SAR rescuers?”
He rolled over onto his side and looked at her. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, I’ll admit that all these things happening together are odd, but Amy wasn’t in SAR, and—”
“But nothing! Linc, if we don’t get ahead of ourselves, you’re going to end up dead.”
He let out a mournful laugh and threw himself back on the pillow. “Like Will? Jesus, I just can’t believe it.”
She looked over at him. He wasn’t one to be all emotional, but Will was his friend. He should be taking this hard. He needed time to grieve him, not sit here, playing Nancy Drew with her. She shouldn’t pester him about the connection, especially not now, with Will’s death so fresh.
The feeling of dread that fell over her at that moment was overpowering. “I think I want to go home,” she said suddenly.
“What?” He said it like he thought she was joking. Her eyes pierced his in the darkness. “But what about the case with—”
“I’ll just tell Ollie I can’t help him,” she said, gesturing wildly with her arms. Yes, the last thing she wanted to do was give up on a case, especially one so juicy. But if Linc’s life was at stake, then it was different. “We need to get out of here before something—”
He sat up in bed. “Wait, wait, wait. Look.” He grabbed her by the wrists and held them, then pulled her into his muscled arms. She had to admit, just that small action made her feel so much safer. “Kylie, sweetheart, you don’t have to worry. I can take care of myself.”
She snorted, but it was no more than a puff of air. “Will looked like a pretty strong guy too. A guy who probably thought the same thing. That he could take care of himself.”
“Kylie, I—”
She pulled out of his arms and looked up at him. “You have to admit there is something wrong going on here. I don’t want you to be next. I can’t have you be next. You may think you can’t get along without me, but I can’t get along without you. Let’s just go. Now.”
He let out an incredulous laugh. “Now? You’re not serious.”
She stared at him. She was dead serious.
“Lee. It’s three in the morning.”
“Please, Linc.”
He shook his head, leaned against the headboard, and crossed his solid arms in front of his ARMY t-shirt.
She intensified her pleading look.
“Come here.” He beckoned he
r toward him, fluffed her pillow, and tucked her under the crook of his arm, where she had to admit, if she was going to sleep, this was the way to do it.
“You really want to tell Ollie you’re done?”
She was still for a while. Then she nodded. “I’ll call him first thing tomorrow.”
“If that’s what you want. It’d be more dangerous driving in the middle of the night. Just relax, try to sleep for a few hours, and we’ll start back at sunrise. Okay?”
She pressed her lips together. “Promise?”
“Yeah.” He held out a pinky to her, and she linked it with hers. “Now get some sleep.”
She was thankful for that, at least. She expected he’d probably have a hard time falling asleep again, knowing his friend was dead, but she was wrong. His breathing steadily deepened, and a moment later, he was snoring again.
Kylie continued to stare at that ugly painting across the room. The streetlight outside slashed through the vertical blinds, putting the scene behind prison bars. She watched it, closed her eyes, opened them, wishing she could feel tired and nod off.
It didn’t work.
All she could think of was the remaining SAR people. That was three out of five that had been part of that early team. And who else was in danger? She didn’t like Jaxon, but she didn’t want him to die. His girlfriend. Kevin. Lonnie. Forrest. Dina. Did they all have targets on their backs?
And what if they did?
A horrible thought occurred to her, suddenly.
What if Amy Cooper had been murdered simply to lure rescuers to the gorge? What if Craig Silva’s suicide had been a murder too?
Her mind kept spiraling until she longed to shake Linc awake again. She wanted to discuss this with him. Even if he told her she was insane, and that she should just go back to bed.
She pulled herself out from under Linc’s arm and rolled over, spying Storm, who’d gone back to sleep. She found her phone in the covers and opened it up. Then she typed in the name Dina Avery.
She found a number of search results. News reports regarding various rescues she and her German Shepherd, Ghost, had been on. Older articles about her honorable discharge from the army, where she’d served overseas in Afghanistan. Various times for different races all across the country. It appeared that Dina was an accomplished marathoner. She also saw that Dina’s family was located in San Diego and that her father and three brothers were in the navy.
Then Kylie found a link to Dina’s Facebook profile. She clicked on it and was happy to discover it was pretty regularly updated, and not set to private.
Kylie took a deep breath. Dina had looked at her before like she was out of her mind. But maybe now that Will was dead, she’d take her seriously.
She clicked on the messenger icon and started to thumb in a message.
19
Dina Avery was actually awake when the message came in from Kylie Hatfield, though it was only four in the morning. Used to early morning drills in the army and a creature of habit, she always kept early hours. A message notification wouldn’t have woken her up, even if she hadn’t had her phone on vibrate.
It didn’t matter, though. Because she and Kylie weren’t friends, she received no notification. She only saw that a message request had come through by chance while she was taking a break from packing, this time, at nine in the morning. She was in the midst of scrolling through a bunch of messages from her brother’s flaky new wife on the West Coast, who was both lonely and hysterical because of pregnancy hormones and had adopted Dina as her best friend.
Dina had absolutely nothing in common with the woman—Dina was over a decade older, had never even considered becoming pregnant, and didn’t find manicures or spa appointments relaxing in the least—but that hadn’t swayed her sister-in-law in the least. She’d gotten twenty messages from her in the last hour, complaining of everything from insomnia to eye wrinkles.
So, Dina really couldn’t be annoyed by Kylie’s message. At least it wasn’t a complaint.
She read it again as she knelt on her bed, trying to zip up her duffel: Hi, Dina, this is Kylie Hatfield, Linc’s fiancée. I just want to check and make sure you’re okay. By now you’ve probably heard about Will, and I’m worried about all of you. Please let me know everything’s okay.
She finished zipping up the bag and threw it on the floor, then laid flat on her back in bed, thinking.
Yes, she’d heard about Will. She’d gotten a number of texts before she’d gone to bed, from the police, and then the rangers at the park. Honestly, it hadn’t surprised her to hear it. She didn’t know Will well, but she’d worked with him often in the past few years. He’d been pretty friendly and attentive to her those first days, until he found out that her door swung the other way. After that, he’d kept his distance. She found him to be kind of surly, disingenuous, and a bit egotistical. After every search, he’d always head to the bar to blow off steam and pick up girls.
So, to Dina, it was no surprise that he’d driven off that cliff. She’d bet money they’d find it to be a DUI. Sad, but in Dina’s world, you reaped what you sowed.
And now, cute little ray of sunshine Kylie Hatfield was on her butt, trying to make sure she was okay. How sweet.
Dina smiled. Obviously, the girl thought that there was some grand and sinister plan out there to destroy all the SAR workers in Georgia.
Dina didn’t quite buy it. She’d seen a lot of shit in her life. Shit happened. Often.
She read the message for a third time, trying to think of something witty to say. It probably hadn’t even occurred to a sweet, innocent girl like Kylie that Dina was a lesbian, even though Dina had spent far too much time unabashedly staring at Kylie’s perfect heart-shaped ass in those jeans. Linc obviously noticed, from the way he was always inserting himself between the two of them, but not Kylie.
If anything, Kylie was probably jealous of Dina, thinking Linc had designs on her. So innocent. The world was so black and white for her, wasn’t it?
Finally, she just typed in, I’m fine. Thanks for your concern. How are you?
A little while later, Kylie responded with: Fine. Linc and I are headed back to Asheville.
Well, that was probably good. Linc had probably talked some sense into her and told her there was nothing to worry about. Heading to California in a bit. See you for the next case…hopefully not too soon.
Although she wouldn’t have minded taking Kylie aside and getting to know her, she figured it probably wasn’t going to happen. She was definitely barking up the wrong tree, considering this particular tree had Linc as a guard dog tied to the trunk.
Oh, well.
Dina threw her phone on the bed and went to the kitchen to give Ghost her breakfast. When she got back, she saw her phone had lit up with a bunch of messages. They were all from Kylie:
Well, I’m still worried about you.
Do you think you could message us on occasion to let us know you’re safe?
After everything that’s happened with Beez, Kevin, and now Will, you can’t be too careful.
You just never know. A string of smiling emojis followed.
Dina let out a little snort. Geez, Linc really had his hands full with that little firecracker. Linc was quiet and sedate. This girl was like a shaken can of soda—ready to explode the second she was let out of her container.
Finally, she rolled her eyes and typed in: Sure. I’ll message you when I get to California in two days.
She tucked the phone into the pocket of her jeans and dragged her duffel down to her Jeep. She stuffed it in the back and then went inside. Ghost had already finished eating. She grabbed a bottle of water and a few snacks for the trip and gave her a little pat on the side. “Ready to go, girl?”
As she straightened, the phone in her pocket buzzed.
She lifted it out and read: Actually, I’d love it if you could check in with us every few hours before you get there. It’ll really set our minds at ease.
Her jaw dropped. Was this woman reall
y serious? She was just supposed to pull over to the side of the road so that Linc and his uptight girlfriend could keep tabs on her? She supposed they were just trying to be helpful, but…really. What the actual hell?
She figured if she didn’t agree, Kylie’d just keep hounding her, so she typed in: Might be tough but I’ll try.
This was the reason she was still single. People were damn hard to deal with. She’d much rather have the company of dogs.
She locked up her apartment and went to her bright yellow Jeep. As she reached for the door handle, Ghost started to bark. She followed the dog’s line of vision but saw nothing but all the old cars her neighbors kept. The court was always clogged up with cars. Nothing looked amiss.
Hushing the dog, she ordered Ghost to jump in to ride shotgun and climbed in beside her. As she slid into the seat, she grabbed her sunglasses from the dash and slipped them on, looking up at the deep azure sky on this beautiful, cloudless day.
Sure, the happenings at Tallulah Gorge were concerning, as were all the strange things happening to the SARs. But most concerning of all to her was that Kevin’s golden, Molly, had never been found. Neither had Beez’s dog, Tiger.
SAR dogs were an expensive resource. Well-trained animals like those could fetch upwards of fifty-thousand dollars if presented to the right buyer. Someone had once offered her that much for Ghost, not that she’d ever consider selling her…ever. No, Dina liked to say she was more attached to her German Shepherd than she was to her own ears.
The thought made the skin on her neck prickle. Someone after Ghost?
Never. She’d die first, to save the good dog’s life. Dina didn’t know much, but she knew that for certain.
But if she allowed herself to worry about it, she’d never go anywhere or do anything. And the two of them? They were born to go on adventures. Dina had taken her practically everywhere with her and couldn’t imagine not having her along.
“We have someplace to be, right, Ghost?” she said, stroking the dog’s white ears.
And the dog looked back at her, licked her hand, and Dina could’ve sworn that she nodded.