Page 27 of A Mile of Ocean

Trent didn’t like the sound of that. “You go secure the perimeter around us. I’ll go check on Slade.”

Hawk nodded and signaled to Drum and Lincoln, their figures vanishing into the smoke and darkness. The sound of sirens grew louder, signaling the arrival of the local fire department. As the first responders began to take control of the fire, Trent charged toward the house, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

He drew his .45 Sig Sauer before entering through the back door. Glancing around the kitchen, he saw that everything looked tidy. But there was no sign of Dolly, Duchess, or Slade.

The tension in Trent’s body heightened as he moved through the house, checking each room systematically. The living room was still filled with the lingering scent of the spaghetti they’d had for dinner. The dining room was eerily untouched except for all the baked goods on the buffet. When he reached the hallway, the stone foyer echoed his hurried footsteps.

“Duchess? Dolly? Slade?” he called out, his voice a mixture of hope and desperation. There was no answer, only the unsettling quiet that surrounded him.

He ascended the staircase two steps at a time, his mind racing with possibilities. At the top, he paused, listening intently for any sign of movement. The second floor was just as silent. He checked the bedrooms individually, the sense of urgency growing with each empty room.

Puzzled, he headed back downstairs. Recalling Tate’s earlier words, he approached the sunroom. The door was ajar, and Trent pushed it open cautiously. The sight that greeted him made his heart race faster. Dressed in her nightgown, Duchess held a shotgun, ready to fire. “Trent. Thank God it’s you. Where the hell is that Slade person?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” He glanced at Dolly, who lay unconscious on the rug, propped up on the wicker sofa, her face pale but showing no visible injuries.

“What happened?”

“I came downstairs when I heard the blast. Looked all over for Slade. Then Tate ran out of here to get the water truck in position. I kept looking all over until I found Dolly like this. I called 911. I can’t find the guy named Slade. He’s nowhere to be found.”

Trent quickly knelt beside Dolly, checking her pulse. He found it steady and strong. Relief washed over him, but the absence of Slade gnawed at his nerves.

He gently lifted Dolly into his arms and carried her out of the room, heading to the front door. He stepped outside into the chaos of the fire department’s efforts, spotting a paramedic team.

“Over here!” he shouted, drawing their attention. The EMTs rushed over, taking Dolly from his arms to assess her condition.

“She has a knot on her head,” Trent pointed out. “I don’t know how it got there. But she’s been out for about twenty minutes.”

“We’ll take care of her.”

With Dolly in safe hands, his thoughts returned to Slade. He glanced around to see Theo and Colt standing nearby, assessing the damage.

“What on earth happened?” Colt wanted to know.

“Where do I start? Fire. Shots from an AR-15 or maybe an AK-47. Bullets were flying every which way. We’re lucky no one suffered a hit. I don’t think the security team was a good idea,” Trent stated. “They were pretty much useless. And now, one of them has gone missing.”

“Which one?” Theo asked.

“The guy they called Slade. He was supposed to stick to the house and make sure nobody got in. Now I’m thinking when the shit got intense, he just walked off.”

Theo rubbed his chin, looking concerned. “I know this crew. Hawk checked in with us when he arrived. Slade was supposed to be one of the best. If something happened to him, we’ve got a bigger issue on our hands.”

Colt nodded in agreement. “We need to find him, and fast. He might be injured or worse.”

Trent’s eyes scanned the area, noting the damage to the property. But something else nagged him. It was the urgency he saw on the cops’ faces. “I’ll search the house top to bottom. Maybe he got trapped or hid.”

Theo and Colt agreed to search other areas, and they quickly dispersed. Trent moved with purpose, his mind racing with potential scenarios. He navigated back to where he’d left Duchess. “Everybody says this isn’t like Slade. What do you think?”

“Honestly? I’m scared, Trent. We need to have an old-fashioned, come-to-Jesus, ranch-wide meeting and lay all our cards on the table. Somebody out there wanted Barrett dead. But that appears not to have satisfied them. They want to damage us to ruin. And after three days, we don’t know any more than we did before all this started.”

“Hold that thought. I’m right there with you. But right now, I need to find Slade. Think back to before the blast. Did you hear anything downstairs? Did he go outside?”

“I heard a thud several minutes after I heard the explosion. I also heard footsteps heading toward Barrett’s study.”

“Okay. Then he has to be inside the house somewhere.”

“Did you check the cellar?”

“I didn’t get that far. But I will now. You keep that shotgun handy.”

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