Page 28 of Mountain Captive

Jedediah held up a palm, and everyone fell silent. He knelt and took the woman’s hand in his own. “Sister, the Exalted sends his strength to you,” he said. “Strength to deliver this child. You need not rely on your own frailties, but on his power.”

The others in the room murmured some kind of affirmation. Rand looked on in disgust. Danny didn’t look any happier than he did. Jedediah stood and turned to Rand. He smiled and stared into Rand’s eyes with an expression Rand read as a threat. “I’m confident you can heal her,” Jedediah said. “Tell us what you need, and we will bring it to you.”

“She needs to be in the hospital.”

“We don’t need a hospital. We take care of our own. It’s up to you to help her.”

CHRISTIMEDDINNERto be ready at seven. When Rand still hadn’t shown up, she turned off the heat under the mushrooms and told herself he had probably gotten involved in something at SAR headquarters. By seven thirty, she debated texting him, but she decided that would be out of line. He didn’t owe her any explanations for how he spent his time. She fixed a plate for herself and set aside the leftovers to reheat when he came in.

By nine o’clock, she was truly worried. Rand hadn’t struck her as the type to disappear without letting her know what was going on. She texted himEverything OK?

No reply. She stared at the phone screen. He had said he was meeting Danny, right? She sent a quick text to Danny.Is Rand with you?

No reply. A chill shuddered through her, even as she tried to tell herself there was a logical explanation for the failure of both men to reply. Maybe they had decided to go out after finishing up at headquarters, and time had gotten away from them. She hesitated, then looked up the number for Carrie Andrews, Danny’s partner and fellow search and rescue volunteer.

“Chris? What’s up?” Carrie answered right away as if she had been waiting for a call.

“Is Danny there?” Chris asked.

“No. He was meeting Rand at SAR headquarters and was supposed to be back by seven or so. I’ve been trying to reach him, but he’s not answering his phone.”

Chris’s stomach clenched. “I’ve been trying to reach Rand. He’s not answering either.”

“I was going to drive over to headquarters and see if their cars are in the parking lot,” Carrie said. “But I can’t get hold of my mom to watch the kids, and I don’t want to upset them.”

“I’ll go over there,” Chris said, already pocketing the Jeep keys.

“Let me know what you find.”

Chris had never realized how isolated the search and rescue headquarters building was before. Almost as soon as she turned onto the road leading up to the building, she left behind the lights of houses. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and checked her mirrors every few seconds to see if she was being followed. Relief momentarily relaxed her when she turned into the parking lot and spotted Rand’s and Danny’s vehicles side by side near the door. They must have become so engrossed in their work they had lost track of time.

She parked and hurried to the door, Harley at her heels. The security light flickered on at their approach. She grasped the knob, but the door was locked. “Hey, open up in there!” she called, and pounded on the door. No answer. She tried phoning Rand again. No answer. Next, she punched in Danny’s number. He wasn’t answering, either, but she could hear a phone ringing somewhere just on the other side of the door.

The phone stopped ringing, and she heard the electronic message telling her she had been redirected to a voice mailbox.

She ended the call, and almost immediately, her phone rang. Carrie’s voice was thin with worry. “Are you there? Did you find them?”

“Their cars are here, but no one is answering my knock,” Chris said.

“Something’s happened to them,” Carrie said. “I’m going to call the sheriff.”

“Do that,” Chris said. “Tell them I’ll wait for them here.” She ended the call. Maybe she and Carrie were overreacting, but she didn’t think so. Something was wrong. The knowledge tightened her gut and made her cold all over.

She waited twenty minutes, she and Harley sitting in her car with the doors locked, phone in hand, willing Rand to call. When headlights illuminated the lot, she sat up straighter. The Rayford County Sheriff’s Department SUV swung in behind her, and Deputy Ryker Vernon got out. Chris went to meet him. “Hello, Chris,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“Rand Martin and Danny Irwin were supposed to meet here this afternoon about five o’clock,” she said. “Their vehicles are here, but the door is locked and no one is answering my knock or my calls.”

“What makes you think they didn’t just go off with friends for a drink or something?” Ryker asked.

“Carrie was expecting Danny home. The last time I spoke with Rand, he said he would be home about six thirty. He’s not answering his phone. It’s not like either of them to disappear like this.”

Ryker nodded. “Do you have any reason to suspect someone harmed them?”

“Rand was attacked outside my apartment last night,” she said. “Maybe that person—orpersons—came after him here.”

A second vehicle pulled into the lot. Ryker and Chris watched as the black-and-white SUV parked next to Ryker’s cruiser. Deputy Jake Gwynn got out. “I heard the call for assistance here at headquarters and came to assist,” he said. “I have a key to the building.”

“Let’s go inside and see what we find,” Ryker said. He turned to Chris. “You wait out here.”

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