Page 7 of Crossroads of Betrayal
He studied the area. All the clutter had been cleared and picked up. People sat or stood, waiting for word on when their hike would begin. Tessa was nowhere to be found. “Where’s her stuff?”
“Her pack is over by mine. I made sure everything was in there.”
A beat of apprehension pushed him to his feet. “Did you check with Grace? Maybe she got sick or something during the night and Grace helped her get back to the retreat?”
Joan chewed her bottom lip. “She would have told me. No way she’d just take off. Something’s not right.”
He gave her back a reassuring pat. “Let’s not panic. Let me talk to Grace. We’ll figure this out.”
He marched over to where Grace poured water on the fire still simmering in the pit. Smoke billowed into the air and stung his eyes. “We need to talk.”
Her back stiffened. She took her time making sure the embers were snuffed out before facing him. “I thought you didn’t want to talk.”
He worked his jaw back and forth. “This isn’t about me—about us—it’s about Tessa.”
“You and Tessa can do whatever you want. I don’t want to be a part of any of it, and don’t need to know what goes on between you two.”
The flash of hurt in her eyes surprised him, but he couldn’t get sucked into that right now. “Not like it matters, but there’s nothing between me and Tessa. Apparently, she didn’t sleep in her tent last night and now Joan can’t find her. Do you know where she went?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Haven’t seen her since she pulled you away from Darrin.”
He surveyed the area again, hoping for a sign of the missing woman. “Joan packed her things and tore down the tent. But she’s worried, and I can’t say I blame her. Everyone’s ready to go, and there’s no sign of Tessa.”
Grace glanced around, then waved a hand high to gain the attention of everyone else. “Has anyone seen Tessa?”
The heat of curious stares made his stomach dip.
“Ask lover boy over there,” Darrin said with a nod of his chin toward Zeke. “They went off together after he flew into a rage. I don’t know about everyone else, but I went to sleep before they came back from their little rendezvous.”
Zeke pressed his teeth together to keep from snapping out a quick retort. Besides, Darrin was right. Everyone had turned in for the night by the time he’d removed himself from Tessa’s attempted seduction.
“Obviously Tessa isn’t here,” Grace said, ignoring Darrin’s comment. “We can’t take off until we find her. Did she mention anything to anyone about leaving the area on her own?”
A few heads shook and mumbled no’s reaffirmed that Tessa hadn’t mentioned taking off alone to anyone.
Joan took a step forward, bringing herself toward the middle of the circle of campers. “She wouldn’t have just left without telling me. She’s a city girl who wouldn’t be comfortable in the forest alone.”
Grace wiped her hands on the thighs of her jeans. “Let’s spread out a bit and see if we find her. If she did walk away from camp, she may have gotten lost or injured. Hopefully if that happened, she isn’t too far. Take someone with you.”
Everyone fanned out.
Grace stayed rooted to the spot. She kicked the dirt at the ground and kept her gaze fixed on her boots. “Was she upset when you left her last night?”
He shrugged. “More irritated. She said she wanted a few minutes alone before going to sleep and I walked away.”
She nodded. “Well, makes the most sense to start looking at the last place you saw her.”
Agreeing, Zeke led Grace to the clearing on the edge of the mountain. He’d take Grace’s lead in tracking Tessa. If anyone could find her, it was Grace. Her time in the military was served in special ops. She hadn’t been allowed to explain much of her duties and responsibilities to him, but her training in tracking and survival were well known to everyone in their unit.
The sound of hurried footsteps turned him around. Joan hustled his way. He stopped to wait for her.
“Did you find something?” She asked.
“Not yet.”
She blew out a long breath and fell into step beside him. “Something’s not right. I feel it. This isn’t like her. Did she say anything last night that made you think she was upset or planned to leave?”
He ran over his conversation with Tessa. “She was a little embarrassed because I rebuffed her advances but laughed it off. Said she just needed a minute and wanted to look at the stars. That’s it.”
