Page 14 of Talia

Something wasn’t right. Her gut gnawed a warning that she’d learned over her years in law enforcement never to ignore.

She lifted her phone again. This time to call Mason.

He answered cheerfully. “Hey, sweetie. What’s up? I didn’t expect your task-master to give you time out for a phone call.”

“Fleet’s not here, Mase,” she answered without preamble, her concern clear. “And I can’t get in touch with him. You know the place he headed isn’t the easiest challenge, and this time… You don’t suppose…” she trailed off twice, not wanting to put words to her worries.

She’d let Mase come to his own conclusions. She’d told him before she left, exactly where Fleet had been headed.

“Give me his timing today,” Mason probed, using his officious voice, which calmed Ever down just a little.

She carefully went over what should have been the hour-by-hour rundown of Fleet’s trip, this time speaking it out loud. Giving voice to his supposed itinerary made his absence seem even worse. Her friend was a good half-hour past the time he should have arrived back in town, and he wasn’t answering his phone, goddammit.

“I don’t like it,” Mase concurred, and growled. “We’ve warned him before about bouldering alone.”

“We have. But you know him. He’s stubborn.” That was an understatement, but one Ever wouldn’t hold against the missing Fleet at this moment.

“Okay. Stay put. I’m on my way to you. And…just to be on the safe side, I’ll have a squad meet us at the base of the mountain.”

“Thanks, Mase. I feel vindicated that you think he might be in trouble, too. I wondered if I was blowing things up in my head, but…something surely must have happened to him. Maybe…” She thought about a fall he could have taken; the recent headaches he’d complained about, which indicated a possible vision problem, making a snap decision. “I think you should call in an ambulance crew, as well,” she blew out through numb lips.

“On it, Ever. We think alike, sweetheart.”

The next eight minutes felt like forever as she waited for Mason to come pick her up so they could travel to the mountain together. When he did arrive, he got out, hugged her quickly, then they both hurried back into the car and got on the road.

“Who did you call for help?” she asked, filling the dead air with talk. The quiet inside the vehicle ate at her.

“E Squad,” he replied and flashed her a smile, albeit a worried one.

“Talia,” Everlee confirmed, and wasn’t surprised. She and Mason had talked about the connection they’d sensed between Fleet and their squad leader. Mase had clearly known the woman wouldn’t want to be kept out of a potential rescue if Fleet was a victim. “How did she take him being missing?”

Mason shrugged. “I couldn’t tell over the phone. You know how professional Talia is. But I certainly got the feeling she’ll be on scene before us.”

“Will she wait before she heads into the woods?”

“She’ll have to. I told her under no circumstances was she to begin the hike until we and her squad arrived for back-up.”

Ever sighed. “Yeah. She’ll wait. But she won’t be happy.”

It took ten more minutes to drive to the base of the mountain in question, where true to what they’d imagined, Talia was already waiting. Cisco—her second-in-command—was also early on the scene.

“That’s Fleet’s car,” Ever stated loudly as soon as she got out, pointing at the only other conveyance in the small lot.

“I know,” Talia called back. “And we’ve already ascertained he’s not in the general vicinity, at least not if he’s coherent. We’ve yelled for him until we’re horse.”

Talia had donned her professional face, but Ever could see the underlying tension in the woman’s posture.

Squad E’s leader turned back to a vehicle that was parked with the rear hatch standing open. Ever got close enough to look inside, and saw what looked like climbing equipment; ropes, harnesses, and helmets. Ever didn’t know where or how Talia had procured the professional looking apparatus so quickly, but she got her answer as soon as she raised a brow at the woman who was digging around in the pile.

“Cisco brought all this stuff, and we need to decide what to take with us.”

“I dabble in rock-climbing on the weekends,” Cisco explained matter-of-factly.

Ever hadn’t known that. She’d figured the often-times insubordinate squad member spent all his free time lifting beers and jeering at sporting events on TV with a bunch of macho friends.

So much for making snap judgements.

Several more cars pulled in behind them as Talia and Cisco sorted through things they might need. Within minutes, Talia’s entire squad was there, along with an ambulance carrying crew members with whom Ever was not familiar. They must be some late weekend shift guys she’d never come in contact with before.

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