17. The No-Fly Zone
The No-Fly Zone
Eli
“You’re sure?” I ask again over the speakerphone in my car.
“Yeah,” Nico says. “I took pictures to see which way she was headed until the dot blipped off the map.”
“Fuck.” I turn the wheel and pull the car onto a little gravel road. After a minute, Kenz’s car comes into view. “I don’t think they had a flat.”
“My mom told me that’s what Kenz’s mom texted her.”
We all know Harper can fix a flat. It’s not unreasonable to think they called someone if Kenz didn’t have a spare, but I don’t like it. Especially with Harper’s location. That’s not on the way to Nico’s.
I’m in the middle of nowhere. I park behind Kenz’s car with its four fully inflated tires.
“Still nothing?” I turn off my engine and run a hand through my hair. It’s dried with sweat. I didn’t even take time to change out of the clothes I practiced in. At least I’m not covered in mud and grass stains.
“Still nothing.” Nico sighs. “I could have come with you.”
I shake my head and grab my AirPods out of my glove compartment and tuck my phone in my pocket. “You need your rest. You did what you could. Angela delivered your message.”
“I owe her a favor.” Nico huffs out a breath. Obviously not excited about that idea, and he shouldn’t be. A favor from a horseman is a big deal in the school.
“Yeah. We need to get you more trustworthy people to text.” I get out of the car and stare down the road. The dots went toward the woods, so that’s where I go.
“That would have been awesome an hour ago.”
Even though I’m worried for our girl, I chuckle, because Angela is going to be persistent. But I’m trying to stay positive. Harper has faith in Kenz. She was with Kenz. Though we don’t know if anyone else was with them.
That’s the real worry. That they both got taken.
There aren’t a lot of good reasons to bring someone to a deserted area like this. There are fields on either side of the gravel road. It isn’t even on the map. It disappears into trees at the back of the fields.
I drag in a breath.
Only one way to go. I grabbed my retractable baton to bring with me. I can’t take on a lot of guys at once, but I won’t go down easy. Nico will have my location and hear everything.
I stop and forward a couple of phone numbers to Nico’s phone.
“What are these for?”
“Just in case.” I run a hand through my hair after putting my phone back in my pocket.
There are still a couple guys I trust to get the others.
“We don’t know what I’m walking into. If something goes wrong, you’re going to need to get the others’ attention.
We don’t need you owing Angela Harris anything more. ”
Nico grunts and grows quiet as I walk forward. He has my phone’s location to track me.
“You’re getting close to where her ring stopped transmitting.” Nico clears his throat. “What if this is a trap?”
I stop and stare at the little trail ahead of me. He’s right, it could be a trap. No one knows about Harper’s ring. Her phone was off at the high school. If it was a trap for us, they would have left it on so we had a trail to follow.
I blow out a breath. “It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is Harper.”
Fuck, I actually mean that. Whatever is happening out here is happening because we own her. Do I think someone might have taken her if we’d never shown interest? I release my breath.
Did Luke’s father only become interested in Harper after our friend sent a warning shot across his bow? Or would he have always thought Harper knows more than she does? Why does it feel like we were always meant to collide?
“She’d never forgive me if something happens to you.” Nico’s tone is solemn. “She’s always been open to love, but while she cares for a lot of people, she doesn’t always let herself fall completely. She loves you, Eli.”
My heart pounds a little harder as I let some of the panic rise to the surface. If anything happened to her... My stomach clenches. “I’ll be okay.”
“Maybe we need to call the other guys.” Nico blows out a breath into the receiver. “You need real backup. Especially if this is more than just a walk in the park.”
I try to think rationally about this. Try to wrap my mind around waiting for the others, while Harper might be out there being hurt. I can’t stomach it. Fuck it.
I continue down the path, more determined than ever.
“Seriously, there’s got to be someone who could be backup f—”
The phone cuts off. I stop and grab my phone. When I bring it up to look at the face, there’s no cell service. I look around, but the forest is more dense here.
I step back until cell service returns. My phone buzzes in my hand and I answer Nico.
“What the fuck, man?” Nico sounds like he might have pissed himself.
“Worried about me?” I smirk and look around. There’s no obvious barrier. No reason my signal should have quit like that.
“Your trace went away, and I was worried you broke your phone or someone jumped you.” Nico seems to be calming down.
“Glad to know you care, brother.” I glance around. “I don’t know what’s blocking the signal.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I can’t just wait here for her. You said her dot disappeared. Was it around here?”
“Yeah.” Nico is quiet. “You’re going in there?”
I run a hand across the back of my neck. “Yeah.”
“Give me a time.” Nico sounds resigned.
I blow out a breath. “I’ll go forward and see if I can find a signal. If not, I’ll walk back to here in fifteen minutes.”
“Fuck.” Nico’s quiet for a moment. “I’d say don’t be a hero, but...”
“But it’s Harper,” I finish.
“Yeah.”
“Fifteen.” I disconnect the call and walk into the area, watching my phone. After a few minutes, I come to what looks like a small trail that hasn’t been taken much. It runs both directions though, and I can’t see anything beyond twenty feet.
Ahead of me is another field. There’s no way for me to know which way she went. No obvious drag marks scar the ground. She’s light enough someone could easily carry her.
Fuck. I walk back, keeping an eye on when my phone comes back into service. As soon as it does, I call Nico.
“Either the trees are too thick, or someone’s jamming it, or we’re just too far away from a tower.” I turn. “There’s a path, but it goes both directions.”
“Fuck,” he says softly.
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” For the first time, I don’t have a plan. Nothing comes to me. “Give me five minutes.”
I take my AirPods out and listen to the wind through the trees. The soft trill of a bird. Some squirrels fighting in the bushes. This is just another puzzle I have to solve. There’s no reason for the girls to be out here.
If they came alone, they might be meeting someone. Why wouldn’t Harper tell us?
Her phone was off at the high school. Did she turn it off on purpose or did someone turn it off for her? I grab my hair and pull.
The cameras around the school would tell me if she and Kenz left with anyone else.
Jack would have it up in seconds. I should be able to do this on my own, but my friends are more than friends. They help me figure this shit out. They give me the space I need and the information that helps.
I stare into the space she vanished. Who would know that this place exists? Our friend maybe. The last time Harper went traipsing into the woods was with her mother.
The soft whisper of a female’s voice reaches my ear. I narrow my eyes on the trees, trying to find movement. I put one AirPod back in.
“You there?” I say quietly.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Nico says.
“I hear something. Going quiet.”
Nico waits as I walk forward. I pause right before the spot that my phone cuts out. The wind catches a voice and carries it to me again, but I can’t tell what direction. If it’s the girls, they would have to come back this way to get to the car.
I step back into the tree line and hide behind a large oak. When I hear leaves crunching under feet, I wait.
“When do we cross over to being traced again?” Harper asks.
My heart pounds. She’s here. She’s not under duress that I can tell from her voice.
“It’s when we get to the larger trail,” Kenz says. Their feet stop. “It’s a little more this way.”
“How did you learn to read a map?” There’s amusement in Harper’s voice.
“My mom made me learn a while ago, but she had to brush up my skills before she told me about this.” Kenz laughs. “I never thought I’d need this unless the actual apocalypse was happening.”
“The last things we need are zombies. High school boys are bad enough as it is.” Harper chuckles, and the twist in my gut eases.
“She’s okay?” Nico says in my ear.
If I say anything, they’ll realize I’m here. Obviously I’ll let them know, but knowing Harper’s okay, I want to see if she’ll give me anything else that she might leave out when telling us later. Not that I don’t trust her, but sometimes we forget things.
“We’re still safe here.” Kenz stops walking through the leaves. “Are you okay, H.? You didn’t tell me about your mom.”
“We have no idea what’s bugged and what’s not.” Harper sighs. “If I tell you something, who knows who else I’m telling at the same time.”
“More spy shit.”
“More spy shit.” Harper agrees. “It won’t be forever. We’ll figure out a way to make everything safe again.”
“Do you think this would all end if you walked away from the guys?” Kenz’s words are a punch to my gut.
“Honestly?” Harper doesn’t say anything right away.
My breath catches. Would it? If we backed away from her, would she be better off?
“No.”
The word echoes through my chest, releasing me.
“Whatever is happening was set into motion probably when my mom moved into town in high school.” Harper chuckles. “Some of it has to do with the guys, but most of it is about our parents.”
Fuck. How much should she tell Kenz?
I step out, but stop when Harper says, “I love them.”
She laughs like even she can’t believe it.
“Really?” Kenz’s tone is skeptical, but also full of wonder.
“Yeah,” Harper admits. “I don’t know how this will all go. If it will end or if we’ll always be struggling with something, but I know I want to be with them.”
“That’s amazing, H.”
I don’t detect any falseness. Kenz seems honestly happy. I move to see if I can see them.
Kenz is hugging Harper.
I type a quick message to Nico that I’m going into the dead zone, but everything is okay.
“Good,” Nico says.
I step quietly out from behind the tree. A twig snaps, and Harper opens her eyes. They meet mine, and she grins.
“Took you long enough to find me.” She releases Kenz.
Kenz turns around with wide eyes, looking me over. “Didn’t you have practice?”
“Counting on that, were you?” I cock an eyebrow, but glance at my phone as the service blinks out.
“Not really.” She looks uncomfortable.
I close in on Harper and cup her jaw, tipping her face up so I can look into her dark eyes. “Why are you out here?”
“My mom.” She puts her hand on my chest and smiles. “It was the only way to talk to her and not have to worry about being listened in on.”
I look around. There’s nothing out here. “Where?”
Harper glances over her shoulder. “There’s a cabin back there. A safe house that my mom put in place with other nurses to get the women out. In the back of her head, she always thought she might have to get us out too.”
A little shiver runs through her.
“How did you find us?” Kenz steps toward me, narrowing her eyes. “I shut off her phone and mine at the high school.”
Harper opens her mouth, but I slide my hand over it before she can tell her.
“Trade secret.”
Kenz crosses her arms. “I’m her best friend.”
“And I need to keep her safe.” I search her blue eyes, but she doesn’t seem like she has an ulterior motive. “It’s a need-to-know thing. And right now, you don’t need-to-know.”
She grumbles, but I turn back to Harper and release her mouth, sliding my hand into her hair.
Her nose wrinkles. “You didn’t shower?”
“I thought the worst had happened.” I rub the side of her lips with my thumb.
Her eyes soften. “Where are the others?”
“Practice.” Though they are probably wondering why I left in a hurry. “Your mom, huh?”
Harper grins. “She’s going to see about staying with a friend. I’ll have to go with her.”
“Another friend?” Who exactly is Jennifer Davidson? I don’t think we ever really did a background check on her. Half the shit she does probably isn’t public record though. Especially her helping the women out of trafficking. But everyone leaves something behind for us to find.
“I don’t know who.” Harper glances over at Kenz, who also shrugs.
“There’s no room for both of you at my house.” Kenz glances at me. “Harper mentioned you guys have a way to detect listening devices?”
I nod once.
Her cheeks flush with color. “Could you check my car? I really don’t want someone hearing me and Brandon going at it in the backseat.”
I smirk and shake my head. “Yeah, we can look it over. I’ll ask Caden to bring it to Nico’s.”
Kenz grins. “Good, because it’s really hard to be quiet sometimes.”
Harper leans her head against my chest as her shoulders shake with laughter.
“Shall we?” I gesture toward where our cars are parked. Kenz leads the way.
I wait a second and tip Harper’s chin up so her eyes meet mine. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t know how this will all play out, but my mom said I’d be good with wherever we end up.” Harper shrugs. “I trust her. She’s my mom.”
“Luke might show up in your bed still.” I arch an eyebrow.
A little shiver goes through her, and her smile is a little wicked. “I don’t mind. We still need to have our night together with Jack.”
“First Luke needs to handle Sidney tonight.”