Page 40 of Operation: Return

“Cole, thank God it’s you.” She sobbed, her voice shaking.

“Erica? What’s the matter?” Cole lost all control of his worry.

“I’ve got everyone looking. I don’t know what happened. He only walked down the hall. It’s only a few feet from my door!” She was frantic.

“Erica. Slow down, take a breath, tell me what happened.” His heart sank. How had he let himself get distracted again?

“I was working and we had a late lunch. When Pete finished, he told me he needed to go use the bathroom. I didn’t think it would be an issue. We’re inside and all the new guys are outside. But when he didn’t come back in ten minutes, I worried.”

He swallowed the bile forming in his throat. Not Pete. How had anyone gotten on the ranch?

“I went to the bathroom and knocked, there was no answer. I called and it was silent, so I opened the door. There’s nothing. No sign of him. He’s just gone. Completely gone. We can’t find him anywhere.” Her voice rose in pitch until it became little more than a cry.

“Erica, we’re stuck here in town. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Have you called the police?”

“Edwyn didn’t want to until we’d looked everywhere first,” she wept. “It’s been twenty minutes since I realized he was missing, so he was last seen a half hour ago. Do you know how far he could go in a half hour?”

He did, because he walked the trails often when he needed to clear his head. A man could cover a lot of ground even in a short time. He doubted Pete would walk off on his own, especially after Cole had explained the dangers to him and had him explain them back. He was a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. We were met by some guys here in town and we’ll need to file a report. I’ll hurry. I promise.” He never made promises, but he found himself wanting to be with her more than anything.

“Are Scarlet and Trace alright?” she squeaked.

His heart swelled that she would care about the people he needed to watch, even as her own child was missing. “For now, they’re safe. Hold tight. Pray. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

He hung up the phone as Dominic turned toward him. “We need to finish here quickly. We’ve had something happen out at the ranch that needs our immediate attention.”

Dominic slipped his gun back in the holster at his side. “Good thing I know exactly what the officer needed and we’re free to go. He has my number if they have more questions.” Dominic opened the passenger door and got in.

Cole gave the officer a nod of thanks as he holstered his own weapon, fished the keys from his pocket and headed toward home.

* * *

Artemis Timmons,One of The Guardians walked around the cabins with Erica. He’d told her he’d hurried to get ready to help search the perimeter for Pete. Her chest hurt worse the more minutes passed, like a physical hourglass ticking away the minutes.

“Do you have a recent picture of him, maybe with the shirt he was wearing?” Artemis asked as he knocked on one of the empty cabin doors.

She pulled her phone from her back pocket and opened her stored pictures. Taking photos had never become part of her everyday life like so many other people her age. She had no pictures of herself as a child and didn’t see the value in keeping images stored on a computer.

After a minute of scrolling, she found one in the shirt she remembered him choosing that morning. “Here.” She handed it over.

Artemis took a good look at it. “He doesn’t look like you. I don’t know why, but I had pictured in my mind a miniature of you, light hair and willowy. He’s dark haired and solidly built. No one really asked, since there are no other children on the ranch.” He shrugged and handed the phone back.

She took it and glanced at the image one more time. They had to find him. He was all she had in this world. Growing up without a family, she refused to think about what life would be like if he was gone. He couldn’t be gone.

“What could’ve happened to him? Where could he be?” Her thoughts immediately went to the men who’d followed them from her house. Maybe coming to the ranch had been just as dangerous as going home. Maybe more so. Because she couldn’t go back in time and testifthey would’ve followed her. Theyhadfollowed her here.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. You’re probably going to need to consider the fact that we were called here to protect you and the others from some pretty bad guys. I don’t know how they managed to get up here, but someone did because he’s gone.”

She clutched her stomach, willing her body to keep her lunch in place. She needed her strength. She needed Cole by her side. She hadn’t told him with certainty, but the way he’d responded to her made her think he knew Pete was his. He had to be just as worried.

Artemis’s phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. “Edwyn wants us to come up for a briefing. Maybe they found something.” He motioned for her to on ahead of him.

She moved along without thought toward the house. With each step, she blocked the rising tide of emotion threatening to overtake her, swallow her. Pete needed her. She could fall apart once they found him. Artemis caught up to her and laid an almost imperceptible hand on her back, leading her on the trail. She hadn’t even noticed she’d gone in the wrong direction.

“Is Cole on his way back?” he asked.

She wished she knew the answer to that. He’d said he would return as quickly as he could, but he had to help Trace and Scarlet. She glanced at the parking area as it came into view, but the car he used wasn’t there.

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