Page 65 of Only One More Lie

“Did you try him on the radio?” Andi had specifically seen Gibson give Duke a radio before he’d left.

“They’re not responding.”

Her thoughts continued to race. “What’s the range on those things?”

“Usually about six miles.”

She nodded slowly as she let that fact settle. “So if they got out of that range, there’s a good chance they have no cell phone service or radio contact, am I right?”

Gibson frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. Knowing Duke and Ranger, there’s a very good possibility they did just that.”

Andi rubbed her arms as goosebumps covered her flesh. “What if they ran into trouble?”

His cheek twitched. “Let’s hope that’s not the case. They’re both good at what they do. You know that.”

She did know that. But it was good to hear the reminder also.

“What do we do now?” She tried to focus her thoughts instead of letting her fears run wild. That was never productive—though it was always tempting.

“I sent a couple of my guys out on the path where Duke and Ranger were assigned. I hope to hear something soon.”

“Let me go,” she insisted. “I want to help.”

“That’s a bad idea.” He shook his head grimly. “I know you want to find him. But the best thing you can do right now is to stay here and hold tight. We don’t want to lose track of anyone else.”

Andi frowned, understanding his words—even if she didn’t like them.

Instead, she stared out the window.

She prayed Duke and Ranger were okay.

CHAPTER 32

Duke checked the UTV for a spare tire—not that he thought one spare would really help considering they had two flat tires.

There were none. Not only that, but his radio didn’t work out here. He’d tried, but they must be too far away from the transponder.

He looked up at Ranger. “It looks like we’re going to need an alternate plan.”

“Yes, it does.”

He glanced at the forest around them. “It’s cold outside and dark. We wandered at least five or six miles away from the camp. It would be a long way to walk . . . but it is possible.”

“Or we could just camp out here tonight,” Ranger suggested with a nod toward the cabin.

Thatwasanother possibility. There had been wood outside the cabin, as well as some matches. Starting a fire would keep them warm, which would be the smart thing. But Duke also knew Andi and the gang would be worried sick.

“I like your idea,” Duke finally said. “I think our best bet is to go back inside. Then we can set out again in the morning.”

With that decision agreed on, they went back inside the small cabin. Ranger got busy starting a fire. While he did that, Duke tracked down a couple of water bottles, a half-eaten canister of peanuts, and some granola bars. It would be nice to have some food in their stomach. Even nicer if the food was warm, but what he’d found would work for now.

Since he was stuck here, at least that might give him another chance to look around the place. Plus, he wasn’t convinced they’d be here all night. Gibson would most likely send out another team once he realized they weren’t back.

The only problem was that they’d traveled off the path they were supposed to stay on. In one way, the risk had paid off because they’d found this place. On the other hand, it would make the search to find them take longer.

As Ranger continued to work on the fire, Duke opened more dresser drawers.

More women’s clothing waited inside. Nothing fancy, just a pair of leggings and a couple of sweatshirts. If he had to guess by looking at the size and style of clothes, the woman who’d been living here was thin and on the younger side.

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