Page 6 of The Inevitable Us

“Bring your pack upstairs for me to double-check before you leave. And grab your battery backup this time.”

“I will,” I say softly. I zip up his hoodie, wrap the too long sleeves around myself, and breathe in his scent.

He closes the car door and darts to his own car. Billy’s waiting in the passenger’s side now, watching us.

He sits and watches, following behind as I drive into the gate of the house where I’ve always lived, and idles the car at the gate. When I park in the driveway, I notice the tail lights still lingering in the dark. I watch for a few minutes from the window for his brake lights before Sawyer’s car finally drives off.

I’m barely in my bedroom when my phone chimes.

Andrea: That guy isn’t going to tell anyone is he?

Rosalie: No, he won’t tell. He’s one of Dad’s bodyguards. His entire job is to be discreet.

Andrea: What was he doing there? And how did he know where to find us?

Rosalie: Your boyfriend and his buddy decided to post that the daughter of Ethan Coleman was partying at Beta house. It raised a security red flag and he was closer than the other guards since his apartment is up the street.

Andrea: So he was off duty?

Rosalie: Yeah, why?

Andrea: And no one else knows yet?

Rosalie: Nope.

Andrea: So he came to a frat party to drag you out of it while he’s off duty and didn’t tell anyone?

Rosalie: And??

Andrea: And you don’t think that’s a little….unusual.

Rosalie: You don’t know Sawyer.

Rosalie: It’s super late and I’m going to bed. We have to get up early to go hiking tomorrow.

Andrea: Yeah, about that…I think I’m just too wiped out to go. Mind if we do it another weekend?

Rosalie: This is the third time you’ve canceled. LOL! Not up to it?

Andrea: I like the idea of it…

After I crawl in bed in my favorite pajamas, I set my alarm to go hiking. Maybe Rory will want to come with me instead.

Chapter four

Sawyer

WithashakyhandI couldn’t quite still, I spread out a map on the hood of the SUV and did quick calculations of travel speed and time. Closing my eyes, I rub my tense forehead and will the headache to go away. The area Rosalie could be in is massive.

The headlights of a dozen vehicles are on, illuminating the area we’re using as a home base in our search. Rosalie should have returned hours ago, long before dusk. I wish she’d canceled her plans to hike in the State Park when her friend canceled or asked Rory to go with her. But none of that matters now. The only thing that matters is finding her. I try to slow my racing heart with controlled breathing, hoping the buzzing in my head goes away.

We’re in the parking lot, next to her parked sedan. The engine is cool, there’s no sign of distress, but it means Rosalie never left the state park where she’d gone this morning to hike. At least not willingly.

I’d checked Rosalie’s hiking pack myself before she left. We had an awkward brief moment in the garage apartment when she brought it to me as I’d asked. She has a GPS, a radio, her cell phone, and enough food and water to last her more than the length of time she was supposed to be gone. But it’s three hours and forty-seven minutes past her return time, and no one has heard from her, and no one can contact her.

The local agencies wanted to wait a few more hours before going in after Rosalie, saying hikers usually show up. We’re not waiting. We’re going in after her.

The county’s search dogs are hours away still, but I have an old Army buddy, Ezra, who trains search and rescue dogs. He was able to have his dogs here in an hour. They’re currently leashed and waiting to begin their search, heeling at his feet.

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