Chapter 24
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R YAN SCANNED OVER AVERY’S email that night, concern growing within him. “Shit,” he muttered, glancing at the timestamp. She’d sent him that message hours ago, right around lunchtime, and hadn’t written him back with an update. Why would she risk searching for whatever boxes the doctor was hiding? She could’ve gone to her management so they could move it up the chain of command and investigate, not take matters into her own hands.
He quickly shot off an email, asking if she’d found anything, then tried calling her. He knew that was futile. Her cell reception was terrible there, but a bad feeling was brewing within him. Avery usually emailed him before bed, so normally it wouldn’t be too unusual that he hadn’t heard from her yet tonight. Except she’d sent him that email in the middle of the day for a reason. Ryan knew she had to return to her room to use her laptop and the Internet. She’d taken the trouble to tell him her plans and then never followed up.
Something was very wrong.
Ryan stood up and grabbed his cell phone, calling Wyatt. He paced barefoot across his living room as the phone rang, wishing that Avery would contact him. He should’ve checked his emails the moment he got home. He’d changed after work into a tee shirt and gym shorts, cooking dinner, and then spending a rare evening in his own house, catching up on some things. Some of the guys had gone to Coconuts, but he hadn’t been feeling it. And now he’d let precious hours slip away because he’d assumed she wouldn’t write until nighttime like usual.
“Damn it!” he muttered to himself, listening to the phone ring.
“Renegade, what’s up?” Wyatt finally said as he answered. Ryan heard the sounds of conversation, music, and laughter in the background, gauging that his team leader had gone out with the other guys.
“Do you have any connections down in Panama?” Ryan asked, pausing in the middle of the room.
Wyatt was instantly alert. “No. Why? Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Ryan admitted. He explained Avery’s email from earlier and her distrust of the doctor she worked with. “I haven’t heard back from her yet, and it’s weird she didn’t update me as soon as she could after a message like that. It’s not like her. She took the time out of her day to tell me her plans and then never let me know what happened. She’s not responding to my messages.”
Wyatt let out a low whistle. “I don’t think I know anyone in Panama, but we could try to get ahold of the Doctors Without Borders staff. They must have a general number to call. I’m sure we could ask for an update.”
“Yeah. Maybe. I’m not sure if Av gave it to me, but I can look it up.”
“Let’s start there,” Wyatt said. “Maybe she’s just had a busy day and didn’t have a chance to email you again.”
“Bull shit. She never emails me in the middle of the workday. Never. She must’ve gone looking for whatever was in those damn boxes and not returned.”
“All right, let’s take it one step at a time,” Wyatt said calmly. “Contact her employer and see if they can locate her. The U.S. has an embassy just outside Panama City. They might be able to assist if she’s truly gone missing and the Doctors Without Borders team is unable to find her. I’ll speak with the CO and see if he has any contacts in Panama that I’m unaware of. He might have some additional ways we can attempt to locate her tonight.”
“I appreciate it.”
“What do we know about this doctor she doesn’t like?” Wyatt asked. “Avery’s pretty laidback, so if she’s got a problem with someone, I’m willing to bet there’s a good reason.”
Ryan’s stomach churned. He’d had the same thought and knew Wyatt’s assessment was spot on. “I don’t know much about him, but I do have a name.”
“Send it over. Let’s hope she just got tied up, figuratively speaking, and sends you an email soon. If this guy is causing problems, though, we’ll look into him. Even if this turns out to be nothing, maybe we can avoid some future trouble. And we’ll use any means necessary to find Avery tonight. You know your girl. If she’s not responding, well, maybe there’s a reason.”
“Agreed,” Ryan said.
“I’m going to bring the others into the loop. We’re at Coconuts now and can head in to base if needed.”
“Aaron’s going to be pissed,” Ryan muttered.
“Yep,” Wyatt agreed. “But he’ll also want to find his sister just as much as you do.”
***
T WO HOURS LATER, RYAN’S frustration grew. No one knew where Avery was, despite Ryan’s calls to Doctors Without Borders. She hadn’t shown up for her afternoon shift at the medical tents, and no one had seen her since before lunch. He’d barely been able to get them to share even that information. He wasn’t her husband. He wasn’t a relative. Aaron was the person listed as her emergency contact, which stung a bit. Of course, Avery had put her brother down when she’d applied for the job all those months ago. He only wished she’d thought to update it before she actually left for South America.
Someone on staff had gone to her bedroom while searching for her, and neither Avery nor Luciana was there. He felt a small sense of relief knowing they were together, but in his gut, he knew something was terribly wrong.
He paced his living room, itching to do something. Wyatt had gone into base, but Ryan had felt compelled to stay here, monitoring his phone and email. He’d reached out to anyone he could think of and even emailed Avery’s roommate in case she returned to their room or somehow accessed her email another way.
Ryan’s phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear. “Renegade here.”
“It’s Aaron.”
“What number are you calling from?” Ryan asked in confusion.
“I headed into base with Wyatt earlier. He wanted to research Dr. Brandon Walters, and I couldn’t stay home. Em has access to various databases with DEA, so she headed back to her office as well. The guy’s probably not on their radar, but she told me she’d look through what she has access to, just in case.”
“You think Walters is involved in Avery’s disappearance.”
“He has to be,” Aaron said. “Avery is a pretty good judge of character. If he was making her uneasy, well, sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one. He’s squeaky clean. Almost too much so. We couldn’t even find a traffic ticket, so we’re digging deeper.”
“Shit. That’s what I’m afraid of. Having no record makes it harder to pin anything on him. But Avery suspected he was hiding something. Walters must’ve gotten wind of it and taken her.”
“What about the roommate?”
“They’re both missing. Neither has been seen since before lunch. Av sent me an email that they were going to be searching through boxes. I pressed the staff I spoke with to search the supply room, but I don’t know if they did.”
“Shit.”
“If I don’t get an update from Doctors Without Borders soon, I’m going down there. I’ll search the damn building and entire premises myself. They checked her bedroom and acted like that was all that needed to be done. Bullshit. I’m getting on the next plane if I have to.”
“Yep. Expected nothing less,” Aaron told him. “I’ll come, too.”
A new email popped up on Ryan’s computer screen, and he rushed over. “I’ll call you right back,” he told Aaron. Ryan clicked on the message, trying to focus. It seemed to be from one of the other nurses, but he wasn’t sure how she’d obtained his email address.
Alarm bells began to go off in his head.
Your Avery and her roommate Luciana are missing. No one has seen them since lunch. Avery left a note for me with this email address. I’m sorry to say I just found it now, slid under our door. She said to contact you if anything is wrong.
Something is very wrong.
We just searched the supply room and found blood. I called the police. You must come help look for her. - Ada
He reread the message, frantic, and pounded a fist on his desk. White hot rage flashed through him, followed by a chill of fear.
Someone had taken her.