Page 51 of A Mile of Ocean

Eastlyn stared at Trent. “Would you like me to get the drone ready to go?”

“Yes. Thanks. Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll meet you outside.” He got to his feet, picked up his plate, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Savannah glanced around at the others before getting up to follow him. She found him inside the walk-in pantry, speaking softly to Dolly. When he emerged, he took Savannah’s hand and steered her outside.

“There’s something I’ll never understand,” Trent stated. “Dolly is the only person here who let us talk openly about Mom and Dad. Tate’s upset at Duchess because she never allowed us to bring up our parents. Don’t you find that odd?”

“Yes, I do. My dad never wanted to talk about my brother being gay. Are you sure there wasn’t any tension in the family before that car wreck? Do you remember arguing, raised voices, that sort of thing?”

“Not that I remember, but then Tate and I were seven. I was into baseball cards, sports, and horses. I don’t remember picking up on any arguments. But then, this is a big house with two wings upstairs. There’s plenty of room to argue without anyone hearing it.”

“Maybe you should ask Tate what she remembers. You have a lot going on, Trent. You need a minute to gather your thoughts. You can’t afford to make a mistake while trying to catch this guy.Sending up the drone is a good idea. But that plan to storm the foothills is downright crazy. It’s too risky.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m running out of options. Our enemy is cunning, familiar with the terrain, and always seems one step ahead of us. Tricking and luring him in might be the best way with the least number of casualties. Do you think I want to consider casualties? I don’t. I’d just like to know where he is. What does he do during the day? He has to be somewhere sleeping while the rest of us are working our asses off.”

Her heart went out to him. She ran a hand down the stubble on his cheek, kept a hand on his jaw. “What can I do to help?”

“Go get a few hours of sleep. We’ll spend another night on patrol if we don’t pinpoint where this guy is. Are you sure you want to keep going, to keep doing this? I understand if you don’t.”

“If you’re out there, I want to be out there.”

He pulled her into a tight embrace before his lips met hers. He covered her mouth in a tender kiss that sent shockwaves through them down to their toes. “You’re the bright spot in all of this. I hope you know that.”

“I think I do.”

With a final squeeze of his hand, Savannah turned to go back inside. As he watched her walk away, Trent’s gaze lingered on her retreating figure, a silent promise to protect and prevail hanging in the air.

Chapter Fifteen

Trent and Eastlyn spent the morning examining the drone footage frame by frame, looking for any telltale signs of human activity or anything that didn’t look natural in the setting. They found nothing. No sign of a secondary campsite or so much as a single tent. They went over it another five times, studying the terrain for anything that might have been missed.

“He’s not there,” Eastlyn concluded. “He’s gone.”

“Savannah and I just found his footprints last night all along the hillside until we lost him in the rocks,” Trent argued. “If he’s not using the foothills for cover, he has to be here on the ranch somewhere.”

“Where?” Eastlyn asked. “Tell me, and that’s where I’ll look. Again. I’m telling you we have hours of video that show no sign of him anywhere. He must’ve grown tired of this game he’s playing and moved on.”

“Why now?”

“Because you brought in some heavy-duty firepower,” Eastlyn snapped. “Birk and Beckett mean business. And those other guys—Hawk, Drum, and Lincoln—aren’t slouching around either. That’s five sharpshooters added to your team versus one guy. Plus, the night patrols show him you refuse to give in.”

Trent nodded reluctantly, knowing she had a point. The increased security measures clearly meant they were not backing down.

Eastlyn sighed, the weight of uncertainty pressing heavily on her mind. “Maybe he’s hiding somewhere we haven’t considered, somewhere off the property. Are there still places on this ranch you haven’t searched thoroughly? And when I say search, I’m talking about all the times Theo and Colt have been out here, too.”

“We thought we’d covered every nook and cranny, checked every shadow and corner of this place,” Trent said, his tone resolute. “I suppose we could’ve overlooked something.”

“What’s east of the foothills?”

“The mountains and San Sebastian. Could he have hiked into San Sebastian? Doubtful and unrealistic. It would take two days over rough terrain. That mountain range is thirty-five hundred feet high and another five miles into San Sebastian.”

“I agree the logistics of making that trip doesn’t make sense. So what’s next? Point me in the right direction, and I’ll aim the drone there.”

“Shouldn’t you be getting sleep?”

“Look, Cooper is involved in this now. By looking into your family tree, he might trigger a response from this nutcase. I want this guy caught as much as you do. And I won’t sleep until he’s in handcuffs.”

“How long will it take one drone to cover the entire two thousand acres, though? Could it be done before nightfall tonight?”

---