CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Kol
ABIRD CALLED OVERHEAD. I TIPPED MY HEAD BACK, taking in its tiny body and the flash of red feathers on its head. The ruby-crowned kinglet was likely on its way south as colder weather approached.
It instinctively knew how to care for itself, what it needed to survive. And I guessed I did, too.
As I walked through the forest, I let the sounds of nature soothe my ravaged edges. Every part of me felt out of sorts. And Waylon had seen it written all over my face.
He’d offered to take Sky for the day, bringing her along for ranch chores and rewarding her with a trip to the Grove Griddle afterward. And the fact that he’d needed to offer it just made me feel like more of a failure.
But my head could be a dark place even on good days. And everything with Nova had thrown me out of balance. Yet I couldn’t help wondering if that was something I needed.
I stared down at my phone. Three calls and four texts. All unanswered.
Me:
I’m sorry. I was an overprotective prick.
Me:
I get that you need to live your life.
Me:
Just let me know you’re okay.
Me:
I’ll be buying the Grove Griddle out of pie as part of my apology world tour.
Not a damn hint of a response. Not even those three little dots appearing and disappearing.
Scowling, I dropped the phone to my side and kept walking.
The forest had been my refuge since I’d come to live with Waylon. It offered the quiet, where I could be myself. Where I could feel whatever was raging through me without having to expose my brothers to it—brothers who had been through so much more than I had.
So often, I felt like I didn’t have a right to those feelings. But in the wilderness, I didn’t have to hide any of it. I could simply be.
But the ease and comfort I usually found within nature didn’t come today.
I felt twitchy, on edge. Letting a curse slip free, I lifted my phone again. This time, I hit Maverick’s number. I didn’t care that it would give away more than I wanted it to. I just needed to know that Nova was okay.
Mav answered on the second ring, a little out of breath. “Yo.”
“What are you, a nineties rapper?” I grumbled as I turned back toward my truck that was parked about a quarter of a mile away, back on a Forest Service road.
“What do you want, Kol?”
“Where are you?” I clipped. I was over trying to soothe my raw edges with nature and peace. I needed Nova.
“Uhhhhh … I was mountain biking with Supernova, but … ”
“Don’t call her Supernova,” I clipped. Then something hit me. “What do you mean but?”
“I, um … I can’t find her.”
I stilled in the middle of the forest, and I swore birds scattered overhead as if they could feel the fear and fury pulsing through me. “What. Do. You. Mean. You. Can’t. Find. Her?”
My rage swept through each word, the anger a living, breathing thing.
“She was right behind me. I kept checking. And then she was just gone. I’ve been calling, but she’s not answering. I think she lost service. So I’m riding the trail back, looking for her. She probably just got a flat—”
“How long?” I demanded, my ears starting to ring.
“Ten minutes. Fifteen, tops.”
“Send me your location now. Then call Dex and Wylder,” I snarled. “And get Orion on a fucking map.”
I didn’t wait for an answer. I hung up. Pulling up the Find My Phone app, I held my breath. Phoenix. No location found.
The fear had a hold now. I picked up to a full run, hitting my truck in a matter of minutes. There was only one problem. I was a good twenty minutes from where Maverick and Nova had been riding.
A million different scenarios played out in my mind. Some, innocent missteps. Others, devastating, violent tragedies. But the longer the possibilities swirled in my head, the darker and more twisted they got.
Looking at my GPS and seeing Mav’s location, I did a mental calculation. There was a Forest Service road off the country road that led to the trailhead. If I took that, it should get me to Mav quicker. And I hoped like hell, to Nova.
Jerking the wheel to the right, I took the pothole-riddled road until Mav’s GPS marker was parallel with my location.
I quickly pulled off to the side of the road and jumped out.
In a matter of seconds, I had my emergency pack slung over my shoulder and was jogging in the direction of Maverick’s location.
It only took me about fifteen minutes to get there. But that still meant Nova had likely been missing for at least half an hour. In the best case, she’d been alone in the woods during that time—in the worst case … in the hands of a monster.
Familiar voices cut through the trees. Brae was yelling at Maverick. “What the hell were you thinking?” she shouted. “You should’ve been with her every second.”
“Hellion,” Dex said quietly.
“She’s right,” I growled, making my way into the clearing. “She was with you, on your watch.”
Guilt flashed across his face. “You can’t exactly ride side by side on these trails.”
“But you can be in each other’s line of sight,” I snapped. “How long was it before you saw she wasn’t behind you? Or were you too caught up in looking for your next adrenaline high?”
“Kol.” It was Wylder’s turn for a gentle warning. But I didn’t give a damn.
Only I’d crossed a line for Mav, who was now in full pissed-off glory. “She said you were being an overprotective prick. No wonder she wanted to get away from you.”
I moved so fast, no one had a prayer of stopping me. My fist struck out, right into Maverick’s jaw. It snapped his head back, causing him to stumble.
Brae gasped, but Wylder and Dex cursed, already moving in. Dex went to restrain Mav, stopping him from retaliating, while Wylder shoved me back.
I tried to dodge him, but he just gripped my shirt. “Pull yourself together. Only one thing’s important right now, and that’s Nova.”
He was right, goddamn it. I jerked my phone out of my pocket, ignoring Mav’s curses. Nova’s location hadn’t popped up on the ride here, and as I looked now, I saw there was still nothing.
I started walking anyway, following the trail they’d clearly been on and hoping I’d see a sign.
“Do you see something?” Brae asked, worry in her voice. “Should Dex and I get Yeti? If she can catch a trail, she might be able to help.”
Brae’s massive beast was a damn good search dog, but Nova had likely been flying over this terrain, making it a hell of a lot harder to follow a scent trail. But I couldn’t tell Brae that. I couldn’t say anything at all.
I had to completely clear my head. Focus.
Dex whispered something I couldn’t make out to Brae, and they fell into formation several feet behind me. Everything got quieter as my gaze scanned on a swivel. One side of the path, my phone, the other side. The same staccato rhythm.
Until a new dot appeared on my device.
Phoenix.
Her location was active.
I didn’t think. I simply ran.