Page 20 of Searching for Valor

Rylan squeezed his shoulder. “Happens to the best of us, brother. Lord knows I’ve been there. But you’ll get through this. And you’ve got a whole team of people ready to back you up whenever you need it.”

A small smile tugged at Donovan’s mouth. “Thanks, Ry. For the talk and the coffee. I, uh, I think I needed both today.”

“Anytime. My door’s always open. You know that.”

After Donovan left, Rylan sat at his desk for a long moment, soaking in the silence of his office until the pounding in his head became unbearable again. He yanked open the desk drawer and found a bottle of ibuprofen, shaking out a few pills and tossing them back with the last of his now cold coffee. He rubbed at his temples, willing the meds to kick in fast.

A knock at his door made him straighten in his seat and slam the drawer shut. “Come in.”

Zak poked his head in. “Hey, everyone’s in the command center if you’re ready.” His brow furrowed with concern when he got a load of Rylan’s haggard face. “Sure you’re okay?”

“Must be coming down with something.”

“Why don’t you go home?”

“Can’t.” He pushed out of the chair and followed Zak.

The command center was the heart of Redwood Coast Rescue. Sawyer’s bank of computers took up one wall, with various screens on another. Zak and Donovan both had desks, though they were rarely occupied. There was a pair of lumpy couches pushed against one wall that, more often than not, served as dog beds despite the actual dog beds scattered across the floor. Spirit and Ranger had already made themselves comfortable on one of them.

In the center of the room, a large table scattered with maps and notes served as their main gathering point. The rest of the team, including Zak’s wife, Anna, was already assembled around it when Rylan and Zak entered.

Zak didn’t give him time to gather his thoughts. “So, what’s this about?”

Jesus. How did he even start?

At the beginning, he supposed, but even that felt too difficult to broach. Finally, he decided just to spit it out.

“Izzy… showed up at my place this morning.”

At the mention of her name, every person in the room tightened up like they were expecting a fight.

Pierce scowled and signed,“What the fuck did she want?”

Of course Pierce was angry. He had every right to his anger. Izzy’s actions three months ago nearly killed both him and Rhiannon. She deserved all of his wrath and then some.

So why did Rylan feel like he had to defend her?

He held up a hand. “I know how you feel about her. Believe me, I get it. But she came to me for help. A friend of hers has a couple of kids that went missing last night. Grace and Noah Holt. A teenage girl and preteen boy.“

Zak kicked back in the chair behind his desk, a thoughtful frown on his face. “We haven’t heard anything about missing kids…” He looked over at Sawyer for confirmation. “Have we?”

Sawyer spun away from his computer. “Not a peep from local or state police.”

“She hasn’t gone to the police. The mother,” Rylan clarified. “Monica Holt. Izzy was adamant she didn’t want the police involved.”

“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” Sawyer muttered and faced his keyboard again, sliding one side of his headphones over his ear. “What did you say the mom’s name is? Monica Holt?”

Rylan nodded but then remembered Sawyer couldn’t see him and added, “Yes, and her kids are Grace and Noah Holt.”

“On it,” Sawyer said, his fingers already flying over the keys as he started digging into the Holt family.

“Why didn’t the mom go to the police?” Anna asked from her perch on the arm of Zak’s chair. “If my kids were missing, that’d be my first stop.”

“Not everyone trusts cops,” Donovan said. “If I’m honest, calling them wouldn’t be my first instinct either.”

“Nor mine,”Pierce signed.

“Only because you both have bad histories with authority figures,” Rylan said.

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