“Find Crash,” Mason ordered, completely ignoring her decree. “Stay with him until we arrive.”

Damn. She’d forgotten all about the tall, able-bodied firefighter on site. That’s how discombobulated she was.

“Okay. I’m headed that way, now.”

Mason hung up.

Hilly’s footsteps took her to the medical cabin, where she knocked once, hoping she wasn’t disturbing the couple. Coco barked from within, and scratched at the wood. Damn. The last thing Hilly wanted was for Nel’s best friend to run into the woods, too.

When she heard footsteps on the other side of the door, she called out. “Grab Coco. Nel took off, and he’ll want to follow.”

There was a bit of shuffling before the door opened to show a shirtless Crash, his hair in all kinds of disarray, and…a hickey on his neck?

Shit. The couple had clearly been enjoying themselves.

“What’s up, Hilly?” he asked, his face a study in concern. Because, yeah, she’d never disturbed him after-hours before.

“Cisco’s missing. Mason and SWAT are on the way, and he told me to stay with you until he gets here.”

Crash opened the door, wide. Adeline stood just behind him dressed only in one of the man’s long-tailed shirt, but she didn’t seem embarrassed. She held onto Coco and invited Hilly in, her face filled with worry. “Tell us what happened.”

Hilly hesitated, taking a long look over her shoulder, not exactly thrilled to step inside. She didn’t want to miss Cisco if he came back.

Crash must have noticed her hesitation. “Stay put and give us a minute. We’ll come out to you,” he stated.

He didn’t even bother to close the door behind him as the pair disappeared.

Hilly sank to the steps, her mind refusing to quiet. She just knew something was very wrong.

Reappearing two minutes later, both Crash and Adeline were fully dressed and ready to engage as they sat, one on either side of her. Coco unhappily whined as he was restrained on his leash.

“Okay. Spill,” Crash ordered.

Hilly gave them all the details she had, and when she was finished, the pair looked equally as worried as she.

Crash picked up his phone and dialed a number. Clearly it rang and rang before he disconnected and grunted. “Cisco’s not picking up for me, either. I’ve caught your bad feeling. But first things first. We need to secure the cabins and make sure no one comes out if trouble is brewing.”

“Dammit. I forgot. Mason already told me to do that.”

She fumbled for her phone and hit her emergency call list. It gave her immediate access to each and every counselor, including Buffy. She quickly typed out a message.

As of this moment, we are all in lockdown. If anyone is outside, they need to be recalled immediately. No one is to leave their cabin until further notice. Acknowledge, please.

She hit send, and within seconds, responses pinged in.

Is everything okay? Several texted.

Do we need to worry? A few asked.

From others, she got a simple thumbs up.

She quickly sent off another missive. I’ll explain when I can. But for now, I need to know that everyone is contained.

This time she got only agreement, until her phone rang, showing Buffy’s number.

“What’s going on?” her friend asked, worry in her voice.

Hilly didn’t hesitate. “Cisco’s missing,” she said. “SWAT’s coming to find him.”

“Flock,” Buffy cursed cleanly, clearly concerned for any of her charges young ears listening. She huffed. “And I’m stuck here, not able to help.”

“You’re helping by keeping those kids inside,” Hilly assured her.

Buffy drew in a loud breath. “Don’t panic, Hill. Mason will take care of this,” she said, still keeping details cryptic for her charges. “Where are you?”

“With Crash and Adeline,” Hilly told her.

“Good. Now promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

Hilly crossed her fingers behind her back. “I won’t.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cisco struggled to open his eyes. Why was he so damned uncomfortable, and what the hell was going on with his nose? It felt like someone was…licking it? He gave an internal grin. Was Hilly being sassy?

The gentle swiping abruptly went away, and Cisco managed to pry his lids apart long enough to see a small shadow slip from the…

What the hell?

This wasn’t his room, or Hilly’s.

The events leading up to his current situation came tumbling back into his beleaguered brain.

Holy shit. He’d been following Carter. He’d knelt down to examine a bottle of peanut oil, then…

The little prick. He’d clocked Cisco on the back of the head, then when he’d fallen and hadn’t totally succumbed, he’d hit him once again on his temple. That’s the last thing Cisco recalled.

He attempted to raise a hand to touch his tender cranium, but wasn’t able to move his arms.

Fuck, and double fuck. He’d been tied, hand and foot, with—he groped with his fingers to see what was holding him—a thick jute rope. The bastard couldn’t have used zip-ties, which would have made escape easier?

Cisco glanced around in the dark, his eyes growing accustomed to the shadows as his head cleared. He saw a glint of metal. The sharp-edged stove-pipe. It was his best bet for cutting his restraints, but in the process, it was going to make a mess of his wrists.

So be it. He needed to get free, locate Carter, and put a world of hurt on the young miscreant.

Cisco’s nose itched, reminding him that he’d just been licked. He stifled a grunt. It had to have been either Nel or Coco who’d given him some love. That boded well for a rescue, but if the dogs alerted Hilly, and she came to find him by herself…

No. He couldn’t risk that. Who knew if Carter was waiting outside, and had something awful planned for her, too.