Page 15 of Her Remarkable Protector

He nods, tucking the card into his pocket. “Yeah. Sure.”

As we head back to the car, Ethan gives me a sideways glance. “The Stone kid was probably just bragging to his friend about some survivor and island vibes nonsense. But this case? It doesn’t exactly scream kidnapping to me.”

He’s absolutely right.

5

CHASE

I drop into the chair across from Ethan in the conference room. Another call with Mira Stone just ended—more nagging, more scattered clues, none of which I’m sure even matter.

“I know we think this isn’t kidnapping. But we haven’t got evidence on that,” I tell Ethan. “Mira maintains Honor took Oakley. Let’s assume she’s telling the truth. Where would Honor go?”

Ethan leans back, tapping his fingers on the armrest. “If she’s smart, she’ll avoid obvious places. But she’s pregnant, right? That complicates things. She’ll need supplies, medical care, probably somewhere near a hospital.”

Exactly what I was thinking. That narrows it down, but not by much.

“Mira mentioned Bighorn,” I say, recalling her remark on our conversation just now. “Claims Honor’s from there. Let’s start there and see if it pans out.”

Coffee in hand, we head to Bighorn. It isn’t far, but the silence between us makes the drive feel endless. When we finally roll into town, we canvass the area, showing Honor’s photo to anyone who’ll spare us a minute.

Dead end. No one’s seen her.

“Nothing,” Ethan mutters as we slide back into the car, his frustration palpable. “I’m starting to think Mira fed us a line.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I say dryly, though the thought nags at me. Mira’s manipulative, sure, but would she send us on a wild goose chase? My gut tells me she wouldn’t. Not this time.

“Maybe Honor lied to Mira about her hometown. It’s not like Honor would hand over her playbook to an enemy,” Ethan ponders.

The kid is right.

Then it hits me. “Ethan, what if Oakley wasn’t kidding about living off the land?”

He frowns, his eyes narrowing. “What are you saying? You think he’s holed up on some island? Chase, we’re in Montana, not the Caribbean.”

“Montana has islands—not the ocean kind, but lake islands, river islands, even some man-made ones.”

Ethan crosses his arms, his expression skeptical. “Okay... maybe. Go on.”

“What if Oakley went with Honor willingly? They could’ve headed to some remote spot that feels like an island.” I pull out my map and point. “Flathead Lake—it has Wild Horse Island, Bird Island. Or how about this: Canoe Island in the Missouri River. It’s not far from Great Falls. And you know what’s in Great Falls?”

“What?”

“One of the largest hospitals in Montana.”

Ethan tilts his head, thinking it over. “It’s a stretch, but it’s worth looking into.”

We make our way to Fort Benton, the closest town to Canoe Island and a place that feels like it hasn’t changed in decades. The streets are quiet, dotted with small businesses and a handful of locals who eye us curiously as we pass. At the ranger station, a man in a faded green uniform leans against the counter, sipping coffee from a mug that readsLife’s Better Outdoors.

“Canoe Island?” he says, raising an eyebrow when I bring it up. “Not much to see there this time of year. Unless you’re into birds or fishing, it’s pretty empty.”

“What about visitors?” I press, taking out Oakley’s and Honor’s photos. “Maybe in the past couple of weeks?”

He shakes his head, setting the mug down. “Can’t say I’ve seen them. We don’t get many folks heading that way without a plan.”

We move on, stopping at a general store where the cashier, a woman in her sixties, adjusts her glasses as I describe Honor and Oakley. “Sorry, hon,” she says, handing back the photos I’d printed earlier. “I’d remember a face like hers. And a kid like him? Nah, haven’t seen ‘em.”

By the time we finish asking around, the answers all echo the same: no one has seen them. I lean against the hood of the car, staring out at the Missouri River. “They’re not here,” I concede, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

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