Page 62 of Colton's Second Chance
Noelle’s stomach flipped, knowing they were among the last people to have seen Grace Galloway before the kidnapping. Could Scott have been following them? Could the bakery clerk have been victimized because she and Eli chose to shop there? Was the kidnapping a sick way for the serial killer to taunt them? Her gut soured. She squeezed handfuls of bedcovers in her fists.
Her ears buzzed so loudly with the surge of adrenaline in her blood that she missed part of Eli’s call.
Eli rolled from the bed, throwing back his bedroom curtains, despite his dishabille. “How are the roads? What’s the latest on the storm? The radar show more coming?” He pelted the man on the phone with questions without giving the caller a chance to answer. “Have there been any new sightings? A ransom call?”
Knowing she’d not be getting anymore sleep—or sex—this morning and that a long day of hunting Scott Montgomery and hoping to rescue Grace Galloway had begun, Noelle crawled from the bed and headed for the shower.
She was done bathing by the time Eli stumbled into the bathroom, dropped a kiss on her lips and took over the shower stall. “Grab some breakfast and put some warm clothes on. I need to be at RTA in thirty minutes.”
Rather than question him about the call, she got busy dressing, drying her hair and finding food in his kitchen with enough protein to stick to their ribs for several hours. Who knew when they’d get a chance to eat again?
Twenty-one minutes later, they were headed down the freshly plowed highway in Eli’s Jeep, headed to the main office of his family’s outdoor adventure company, Rough Terrain Adventures. Eli ate a protein granola bar as he drove. Noelle had stashed extras in her coat pockets for later. Based on what Eli had told her of his update from the state troopers, today could be a long, tense day…
The storm had quieted, leaving significant accumulation across the southernmost part of the state. Snowplows were busy clearing roads and landing strips, and lakes needed for seaplanes were being assessed for ice.
“No sign of Scott or Grace since the surveillance video,” Eli said, giving her a rundown of his call, “but his car was found abandoned at a marina where both seaplanes and fishing boats are moored. We’re working on the assumption that he got out ahead of the worst of the storm and could be almost anywhere upstate. State troopers are working a number of angles and sending searchers to several remote lakes, moving the search outward in an increasingly larger radius of Shelby.”
“And you?” she asked, watching him stuff half of a snack bar in his mouth at once.
He chewed, swallowed. “I’ve arranged with Hetty to take me to Grossford Lake.”
Dread slithered down her back. “Alone? What about backup?”
He cut a glance to her. “This storm has left law enforcement rather shorthanded and overstretched. And Asher can’t—”
“Then take me.”
Eli frowned and did a double take. “What! No. Hell no!”
Noelle grunted her affront. “Excuse me?”
His lips compressed for a moment as he exhaled heavily, his nostrils flaring. “Pardon my language, but I can’t allow that.”
Noelle angled her body toward him, tugging at her seat belt when it cut into her neck. “Why not? Hetty will be with the plane, and it only makes sense that you’ll need someone to watch your back, be an extra set of hands, help with—”
“I don’t want you in harm’s way, okay?”
“But you’re putting Hetty in harm’s way. How is that different?” She folded her arms over her chest, challenging him with a hard stare.
“Because she…” Eli fumbled. He scowled and started again. “You’re not trained for this sort of thing. Can you even shoot a gun?”
Noelle huffed a humorless laugh. “I’m not saying I have to play cop and charge in with guns firing. I just don’t want to be sidelined. I can be an extra set of eyes and hands in case they’re needed.”
The discussion continued until they reached RTA and found Hetty waiting.
Overhearing the ongoing disagreement, Hetty cleared her throat. “I know you didn’t ask for my opinion, but I’m going to give it anyway. I, for one, would feel better having Noelle go with us. You may remember, I was in a bad position not long ago when extra help would have been welcome. You can’t overplan going into an unknown situation like this, and I’d feel more comfortable if I weren’t your only plan B.”
Eli’s mouth opened and closed as if trying to form a counterargument and falling short. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and divided a disgruntled look between the women. “Look, we don’t have time to stand here and debate this any longer. We’re already a day behind Scott, thanks to the storm.” He pinned a stern look on Noelle. “You can go,but…” he aimed a warning finger at her “…you stay with Hetty in the plane. No heroics or putting yourself in the mix. I don’t want you—”
Noelle took hold of the finger pointed at her and pushed it down. “Fine. No heroics. Can we go now?”
Hetty muffled a chuckle as she shrugged into her coat and marched toward the door. “Shall we ride together in your Jeep to the dock?”
Thanks to a combination of high winds churning up the lake, a stint of warmer weather earlier in the week and overnight temperatures that stayed close to the freezing point, little ice had formed on the lake where Hetty moored the RTA seaplane. The lucky break meant they had little trouble with takeoff, but Hetty warned them conditions might not be as good at Grossford Lake. “No guarantees whether I’ll be able to land.”
Eli didn’t like the news, but he knew Hetty was right. He sat in the copilot’s seat, a headset allowing him to talk to Hetty and Noelle over the seaplane’s engine. He gave Hetty a grim nod and peered through the windshield at the snowy landscape below them. “How long will it take to get to Grossford Lake?”
Hetty twisted her lips as she consulted her flight equipment. “Maybe an hour?”
