Page 71 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

I turn before he can respond and reach for my cell phone. I open a group chat with Ingrid, Callum, and my mom.

Lachlan: Huge trouble at ranch. Aislinn is missing. Her ex somehow produced a Deed of Trust from Gramps to him. The Recorder’s Office can’t find our Deed of Trust from his Living Trust ten years ago. Where is it? Any ideas? I’m saddling up Thunder and going looking for Aislinn.”

Ingrid: I’ll check the home office. Callum, can you check the storage in the barn? Mom, maybe you could look through the file cabinets in the office at the barn?

Mom: I’ll be there in 15 minutes. Declan and your father are coming to help search for Aislinn. Saddle up two more horses.

Callum: I’ll be up in the rafters. Turning into the ranch now. Go get her, man!

Lachlan: Thanks, guys. My gut tells me something is wrong.

Noah and I rush around saddling up the horses. Edwin gets Cody to leave willingly, sending him to Marge’s for breakfast. The look he gave me before getting in his car made mescoff in disgust. I lead Thunder out of the barn just as my parents arrive.

Noah has his horse, Lightning, ready to go. We prepped Callum's horse, Tornado, and Carl’s horse, Sleet. Handing Tornado to Declan and Sleet to Dad, we all wordlessly climb on horseback.

I clear my throat to get their attention, tossing the keys to the Gator to Edwin.

I announce, “Edwin, when your deputy gets here, have them take the Gator up to the top of Topaz Ridge Trail. Noah and I are going to go check there. Dad, you and Declan can take the Topaz Falls Trail. Those are the only two she has been on so far. I don’t think she would venture off on her own. I think Cody did something to her. The dogs ran out of the forest right where those two trailheads start, so it could have been either one. My gut says the ridge because yesterday Cody overheard me talking to Ingrid about the DEQ representative coming to look at Grandpa’s old mine.”

Everyone nods in agreement, and we set off for our respective trails. About halfway up, the clouds open, and rain begins pelting us from every direction. As streams of water form along the trail’s edge, we steadily make our way to the top. I hop off Thunder and secure him to a tree while Noah proceeds to do the same with Lightning.

“Boss, are these the Gator tire tracks?” he asks, bending down to look closer at the dirt.

I bend down and touch the newly formed mud. There is a very faint tire tread in the soil. We hadn’t had rain lately, so the ground would have been pretty firm this morning. With an uneasy feeling, I make my way over to the ledge.

“Lachlan, what are you doing? You aren’t tethered!” Noah yells.

Quickly, I stride over to Thunder and grab a long length of rope from my saddle bag and a pair of leather work gloves. The same one we used last week to get down the slope. Fastening it to the same anchor as before, I tie the length around my waist and then, grabbing the slack, slowly climb down the ledge. I look up to see Noah staring at me in disbelief.

“The mine! I think he left her at the mine!” I shout over the rain.

Streams of water are falling from the ridges of my hat, and my boots are struggling to find purchase against the muddy ground.

I finally make contact with the ledge. Keeping the rope secured to my waist, I walk toward the opening of the mine. My gaze frantically searches for a pair of turquoise eyes, but as I get closer to the mine entrance, all I can see is collapsed rubble.

Choking back a sob, I sprint the remaining distance and place my hands against the fallen rocks. Hot tears blur my vision. All I can do is release a soul-wrenching cry of anguish, followed by an inhuman roar as I call, “Aislinn!”

Chapter 47

Aislinn

My head, what happened? The sunrise was so beautiful, and that rooster was so annoying. Then nothing. Why is it dark out? Did I sleep through the entire day? Where’s Lachlan? So many questions. As my fingers reach up to touch the tender spot on my head, I feel a gooey substance. I bring my fingertips to my nose and smell the distinct metallic scent of blood.

Well, that explains the pain at the back of my head. My fingers reach out for Lachlan. Maybe I fell at the ranch, and I’m lying in his bed. But it feels incredibly cold and hard. I wiggle my toes and realize I’m still in my boots. Pressing my hand down into the mattress, I realize my fingers are pressing into rock and dirt.

I sit up quickly, but the nausea from the pain in my head stops me from standing. Scootching my bottom along the gravel, my back makes contact with a rock wall. It feels rough to the touch. Is there a cellar at the ranch I may have fallen into and been knocked out?

I’m so clumsy. Everyone must be worried. Why would I have explored a cellar? I’m the opposite of brave and adventurous. There is no way I would go into a dark place bymyself. I go to move but realize something hard is poking into my hip. I reach down to my front pocket and feel my phone.

Pressing the side button to illuminate the screen, the phone comes to life. Oh no. There is a spiderweb crack going across the entire face, but I can make out the time. 8:20 a.m. I turn on the flashlight, and my blood turns cold. I’m in a hand-cut tunnel. It looks so similar to the mine, but about fifteen feet away is a large pile of rubble. The tunnel goes on, past the reach of my light. I can’t see, nor do I really want to know if there is another exit at the end.

Dialing Lachlan, my phone refuses to call out. I have no service this far below the ground. The feel of blood oozing down my shoulder blades makes me stop. If no one knows where I am, how will they find me? I rip off my flannel shirt and tear the seam of my sleeve. Using it like a bandana, I secure it around my head. Hopefully, it’ll slow the bleeding. Head wounds bleed so much. It could be a minor laceration or could need some stitches.

The realization of what's happened hits me square in the face. I’m not used to relying on others to bail me out of situations. I have studied to be the best in my field. If there is an activity, like self-defense, where I feel I'm lacking, I take the necessary classes to give myself a solid base. Since my parents passed away, I have been very independent, but now I have to hope that someone thinks to look wherever I happen to be waiting.

As tears build at the back of my eyes and my throat becomes tight, I realize I can’t give up. I have so much to live for now. I have my new business, my brother, Leo, Paisley, and Chloe. Now, I also have Lachlan. I want to see where this goes between us. Hopefully, I will grow old with him.

Crawling over to the rock wall, I dig my fingertips into handholds and pull myself to an upright position. Fighting another wave of nausea, I begin to slowly pull rocks from the top and throw them behind me down the tunnel. After about ten minutes, I hear the pained roar of an animal in severe distress. But as my mind tunes into it closer, I swear it’s my name.

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