Page 87 of Cisco

“Over there,” Carter stood close behind him and pointed so Cisco could see where he meant.

Cisco shined his light in the direction indicated, and…

“Holy hell,” he hissed.

The kid had been right.

There was one, shiny new bottle propped up in the corner, and Cisco didn’t even need to move close to see the label.

Peanut Oil.

No longer concerned with germs and bugs, Cisco carefully walked forward and dropped to his haunches in front of the damning find. It was a smoking gun, alright, and there was approximately one-half inch of liquid missing.

“You’re right, Carter. This has to be?—”

Something hard smashed down on the back of Cisco’s head. Pain exploded in his cranium, and he pitched forward. His phone flew from his fingertips. Before he could clear his suddenly blurred eyesight, another blow struck him on the temple, and the world immediately slipped away…

Hilly had long since given up her sexy pose on the bed. She gotten up and put on more practical clothes than the sexy robe she’d had draped over naked body.

What was taking Cisco so long? He’d been gone for over an hour and a half, and given the scope of where he’d said he’d be looking, the savvy cop should have been back long before now.

Hilly didn’t want to be one of “those women” who checked in on a man every time he wasn’t around, but her fingers itched to call his number, and see if he was okay.

Another fifteen minutes passed before she said “fuck it”, and stomped outside in the dark, an equally agitated Nel by her side.

Yeah. Her best four-legged companion could always pick up on a mood. Together, they checked the big barn first, then each outbuilding in turn. There wasn’t a sign of Cisco, and the fear gnawing at her gut increased. She then strode to the parking lot, and his bike was still there. Grabbing her phone from her pocket where it had been practically burning a hole, she finally hit his number and waited.

It rang, and rang, then went to his voice mailbox.

What the hell?

Her fingers tightened on her phone. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it, sure as shit.

Before she realized what she was doing, she’d dialed Mason.

“Hey, Hilly. What’s up?” His cheerful voice told her that he and his wife, Everlee, were having a relaxing evening.

“I’m not sure,” she responded worriedly. “I… Something might have happened to Cisco.”

“Tell me.” She could almost see Mason’s posture snapping upright.

She took a deep, shaky breath. “He left my cabin almost two hours ago to snoop around camp and see if he could find anything suspicious that might have led to Bailey’s allergic reaction. He said he was going to check the outbuildings and the surrounding area, but I just went through all of them, and he’s not there.” She continued to walk around camp, peering off into the trees. Her voice rose with the panic that gripped her chest. “I can’t see him anywhere, and he’s not answering his phone.”

All of a sudden, Nel’s head came up, she sniffed the air, and took off into the woods.

“Nel!” Hilly called. “Get back here.”

The pup didn’t respond. Indeed, she was clearly fixated on some kind of nose-mission.

“Now Nel has taken off,” Hilly told Mason shakily, before getting back to business. “I think Cisco’s in trouble.”

“I’m on my way, Hilly. And I’m bringing SWAT.”

Hilly chewed on her lip. “What if I’m wrong, Mase? What if he’s just taking a long walk and you all come out here for nothing?”

“Then we’ll consider it an exercise; which is something we do all the time. I’d rather play it safe, than sorry.”

Hilly nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.

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