Chapter Twenty-Two
An hour passed without any sign of Camden.
The fire had long since been put out. Yellow crime-scene tape cordoned off the trailer.
Benny had found and returned Rochelle’s shoe.
Her foot was tender to walk on, but JT had done an amazing job with the bandages.
Now that she had a boot on her left ankle, she could put weight on that foot again.
“He had to be in the woods somewhere,” she said to Benny. “I’m going in.”
Benny’s face morphed into concern. “Absolutely not. I won’t allow it.”
“Seriously?” she asked. “You know how well I operate when I’m told I can’t do something.
” She hadn’t moved up the ranks and made detective before age thirty because it had been easy.
In fact, everyone told her to slow down.
She had time. Rochelle realized early on after losing her best friend that time was guaranteed to no one.
She was also beginning to realize just how much that loss had impacted her from an early age.
Kept her from opening up to anyone. Kept her from letting herself fall in love.
Now?
Her strong feelings for Camden both scared and reassured her. At the very least, she was learning that she was, in fact, capable of falling in love.
“I do know how you are,” Benny said. And then he looked at her with the most lost look she’d ever seen. “Why couldn’t it have been me?”
“What?” She was genuinely confused by the statement from her best work bud.
“The way you look at him,” Benny said before stopping himself. “Never mind. We’re friends, right? It’s best that way.”
She caught his gaze and studied him for a long moment. “I used to have feelings for you.” Not like the way she felt with Camden but it was the closest she’d ever come.
“When?” He seemed genuinely shocked by the admission.
“We were in the academy,” she said.
“I was living with Lori back then,” he said. Realization dawned. His eyes widened.
“Being best buds kept us close,” she admitted. “Eventually, those feelings went away and turned into a brother-sister kind of love. But I do love you.”
He wrapped an arm around her and offered a wistful smile. “The ship sailed, and I didn’t even know it was in the harbor.”
“Something like that,” she said, giving him a jovial elbow jab. “This way, we stay in each other’s lives forever. It seemed like a good compromise.”
“I can’t imagine a life without you in it,” he said. “Let’s go find him.”
“You’d come with me?” she asked.
“It’s what best buds do for each other, right?”
Rochelle smiled back. “I think so.”
“Then let’s go.” With that, Benny started toward the tree line.
“While we have cell coverage, we should let our supervisor know what we’re going to do,” she said, pulling hers out and then firing off a text.
“I can do better than that,” Benny said. He rallied three other officers who were either fresh on the scene or not badly injured. After a quick update, they all spread out with one task: find their own.
“Thank you,” Rochelle said to Benny as they entered the woods. “Kage was here. He took me to safety. It’s possible he found Camden too.”
“Can you find the spot again?” Benny asked.
She hoped like hell she could. Camden’s life might depend on it. “This way.”
Rochelle led Benny around in circles for a solid hour.
There was no communication possible between them and the others.
Camden might already be back at the trailer, safe.
Meanwhile, she’d gotten lost in the woods.
Hunger pangs nailed her but she doubted she could eat a bite even if she stood in front of a buffet of her favorite foods.
Acid churned in her stomach as her chest squeezed.
Not only did she have to find Camden, but she also needed to locate Asher if they were going to have a prayer of finding Justina and the latest missing person. Rochelle bit back the urge to scream when she recognized a tree they’d pass four times already.
“We’re going in circles,” she said along with a few choice words.
“I noticed,” Benny responded, calm as usual.
“We’ll never find Camden at this rate,” she said.
“Maybe he’ll find us.” Benny was always reasonable.
Emotions didn’t normally get the best of Rochelle, so it caught her off guard that hers were the equivalent of a runaway train.
At least they had plenty of daylight to work with. This time of year, the sun would set early, but they should have a lot of day left. This time of year. Hell’s bells. “What day is it?”
“Thursday,” Benny answered.
“Thanksgiving?” she asked but the question didn’t need answering.
“I believe you are correct,” Benny said.
It was easy to lose track of upcoming holidays now that both her parents were gone.
Her mother would have been sending texts all week, asking what Rochelle liked better this year, pecan or apple pie.
Their holidays had been small with the three of them, and then down to two, but their traditions meant everything to Rochelle. An ache formed in her stomach.
“This is your first year without your mother,” Benny said, catching on.
“It’s fine,” she said, trying to shake off the onslaught of emotions. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. One broke free and spilled down her cheek. She turned her face away and sniffled. No way was she letting Benny see her weak side.
And then she saw it.
“This way,” she said, making a beeline in the woods toward the stack of limbs that had been made into a makeshift shelter.
And then she realized someone might be waiting inside.
She froze, putting an arm out to stop Benny from going past her.
From this vantage point, it was impossible to see inside.
Had she been too noisy? Spoken too loudly?
If someone was hiding inside, they would have been alerted to Rochelle and Benny’s presence. The mistake could cost them dearly.
“Hold on,” she whispered. “My mistake. We have to go back.” She said those last words out loud and then tromped on the ground, marching in place. She locked gazes with Benny to make certain he realized what she was doing.
Benny gave a slight nod. He didn’t move. She didn’t move.
They waited for what felt like an eternity but was probably less than five minutes. And then, Rochelle tiptoed best as she could with the boot on toward the back of the shelter. Light peeked inside through the cracks.
If someone heard them, they could be watching as they neared the makeshift structure. Could she risk Benny’s life if this went south?
Asking him to step back or stay away wasn’t an option. Benny would laugh at her and keep moving. She would do the exact same.
A twig broke from somewhere behind them.
“Gotcha!” the familiar voice said. Asher.
Camden sat tight as his muscles pulled taut.
He’d been circling around the woods, lost, for hours at this point.
Before he knew it, night would fall. It got dark in these parts early this time of year.
Tree coverage would shield evening sun, which meant he only had a few hours left to figure out how to get the hell out of here.
He’d given up on finding Asher despite the feeling of eyes on him for longer than he cared to admit. The feeling of being watched had subsided roughly thirty minutes ago. Had the predator gone on to find new prey? Realized Rochelle wasn’t with Camden or that he couldn’t lead Asher to her?
From a distance, he heard the crunch of footsteps on the branches that littered the ground. Camden crouched down low, making himself as small as possible as he tried to pinpoint the exact direction the noise came from.
At his height, blending into his natural surroundings might be a stretch, so he moved to the largest tree trunk he could find. Then, he listened.
More footsteps, and they were coming closer.
Camden didn’t so much as breathe as the sound neared. There were deer in this part of the county, so he might be panicked for nothing. Weapon out, he waited until the noisemaker was roughly fifteen feet away before coming around the tree with his weapon aimed directly at the sound.
The second he moved around enough to see, he lowered his weapon and identified himself.
“You’re the person I’m out here searching for,” the deputy said after identifying himself as Deputy Lee. The tall Asian deputy took in a deep breath. “A law-enforcement officer on site formed a search party for you.”
“What was her name?” Camden asked.
Deputy Lee shot a confused look as he joined Camden and checked his phone. “No service, which means I can’t let the others know that I’ve located you.”
“The officer?” Camden asked, circling back to his question.
“Officer Bennett,” the deputy replied without looking up.
“There was a female detective on the scene,” Camden persisted.
“That’s right,” Deputy Lee said as he lifted his gaze from the screen. “Detective Paddock. She’s with Bennett.”
“She’s safe?” Camden asked.
“I saw an EMT attending to her on scene, but she refused to go to the hospital,” Deputy Lee stated.
“Where is she now?” Camden asked.
Deputy Lee waved a hand. “Out here somewhere searching for you.”
Camden couldn’t be angry at Rochelle, considering she was attempting to save his life. She was the type of person who rolled up her sleeves and went to work when she thought someone needed her, ignoring her own pain and risking her own life in the process.
“I haven’t had any cell service,” Camden said. “What about you?”
Deputy Lee checked his cell. “Same here.” He glanced around. “Should we head back—”
Camden was shaking his head before the deputy finished his sentence. “I’m not leaving these woods without her.”
“What if she’s waiting for you at the crime scene?” Lee asked.
“She won’t go back without me,” he said.
Deputy Lee stood there for a moment.
“It’s not in her nature to leave a job unfinished.” Camden felt the need to clarify their relationship.
“She would make a good marine,” Lee said with a nod. His tight-clipped haircut had tipped off Camden to the fact Lee might have served in the military. He thanked the deputy for his service.
“You’re welcome,” Lee said with a proud smile.
“You can head back and tell the others you found me,” he said, realizing the deputy might not want to keep going in the woods. “Stay at the crime scene.”
“Can’t do that,” Lee said.
From somewhere to their left, the crack of a bullet sounded.
In the next second, Camden was on the ground. His head was two inches from a tree trunk. He’d dove on top of Lee, who grunted as he hit the hard earth. Lee cursed.
Camden rolled off him, staying on the ground. He glanced down at the red dot on his shirt. Blood.
A moment of panic seized him as he checked his body for bullet fragments, but found none.
And then it dawned on him as he glanced over at Lee.
His gaze was fixed on the side of his hip just above the waistband of his pants.
He pulled out a tucked shirt to reveal he’d been hit just below his body armor.
Weapon drawn, Camden moved to block the shooter from taking another shot. Crouched on his heels, he asked, “What does it look like?”
“I’m losing blood,” Lee said, shock in his voice.
Camden tore off a piece of his undershirt. “Use this to put pressure on the wound until help arrives.”
“Out here?” Lee said, taking the offering as Camden resumed a defensive position.
“We aren’t alone,” Camden pointed out. “Someone will have heard the shot. You said there’s a search team.”
“I did,” Lee said as he grunted again.
“Everyone will descend on this area,” Camden said. “It won’t be long before the cavalry arrives. Hang tight, okay?”
“No choice.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Camden said with authority.
“No choice there either. Got a wife and six-year-old kid depending on me to walk through the door every night,” Lee said matter-of-factly.
“And that’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Camden reassured him. The bleeding was manageable if Lee kept pressure on the wound. The problem wasn’t the bullet fragment.
Asher had fired at two law-enforcement officers—three, counting Rochelle.
The dart-filled picture of his mother that was hanging on the bedroom wall spoke volumes about his mental condition. He’d snapped in the past few weeks. And now, Camden needed to figure out a way out of the woods while keeping a wounded man from bleeding out. Help might be on the way.
Camden had learned never to count on someone else showing up to save the day. He’d been lucky once when Ace jumped in front of a moving vehicle to knock Camden out of the way.
Had his luck run out?