Page 72 of A Very Titan Christmas
Jared approached with the look of a man bearing bad news.
“Shit.” Bryce jumped to his feet. “What’s wrong?”
“Come with me,” Jared barked then answered his cell phone. “Get back to our meeting room.”
One by one, they fell in line with Jared. He led them to the conference center and ducked under the yellow police tape. They did the same. The space that had been crawling with investigators hours ago was eerily quiet.
They walked into the same meeting room they had used earlier. Parker sat with Rhonda. Jared went straight to her. Seeing Parker on the grounds gave Bryce a flicker of hope.
Parker glanced around the room as the team settled in. “We might have good news.”
Bryce eyed Jared and Rhonda, who were having a hushed conversation. Jared always looked pissed off, but at the moment, he was scary. To the woman’s credit, she held her own.
Everyone quieted.
Jared cracked his knuckles. “There were two agents on Porter’s detail who were unaccounted for at various times.”
How the hell had that happened? Why had it happened? Fury pulsed in his chest.
Jared flashed Bryce a look that said to keep his mouth shut or be booted out of the conversation faster than Santa could go down a chimney.
“Apprehension of those fuckers is not on our to-do list. The Feds have jurisdiction, and we’re all doing this by the book. But…” Jared gestured to Parker, who tapped on the tablet in front of him. The television screen on the wall came to life with video footage from the helicopter search. “A helo searching for thermal hits saw something we are going to check out.”
The video froze. There was something on the narrow trail between the trees. The camera zoomed in, but the image on the screen was distorted and pixelated. “What is that?”
“We don’t have a thermal hit.” Jared gave Bryce a warning glance. “But we do have whatever the fuck this is on a trail near a ranger outpost that is used for some kind of conservancy work.”
Another flicker of hope surged deep in Bryce’s chest. “An outpost could be a shelter.”
Jared nodded.
Cash leaned forward. “What is that in the trees? A torn tent?”
“Maybe. Fabric of some type.” Jared rubbed the back of his neck. “If it had blown away recently, it would be buried under a few feet of snow. At least, according to Parker and the Feds.”
“We’ve arranged for you to explore the site,” Rhonda said. “With one clear condition: We handle the investigation and arrest.”
“We’ll get her.” Anticipation vibrated in his chest. “That’s all I need.”
“If she’s there, then yes,” Rhonda confirmed.
Bryce could live with that. Perched on the edge of his seat, he wanted the go-ahead to roll out. All he wanted was his woman.
Jared pounded a fist on the table twice. “Then let’s move.”
*
Whatever was caughtin the trees was still there. Bryce squinted through the night-vision binoculars and tried to see what it might be. He couldn’t figure it out as it swayed in the wind.
“Hold. Eyes on the target.” The helicopter hovered in place. Bryce motioned across the belly of the helo to Cash. “You see it?”
Cash dialed in the focus on his binoculars. “Yeah, I see it. Don’t know what the fuck it is though.”
“Let me get closer,” the pilot said over the radio.
There were five of them inside the helicopter, including the pilot. Roman and Jax were inspecting the gear a final time before Bryce and Cash would descend into the woods to get a closer look.
Bryce squinted. “It’s attached to something and caught on a ladder.”
