It rang, and rang, then went to his voice mailbox.
What the hell?
Her fingers tightened on her phone. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it, sure as shit.
Before she realized what she was doing, she’d dialed Mason.
“Hey, Hilly. What’s up?” His cheerful voice told her that he and his wife, Everlee, were having a relaxing evening.
“I’m not sure,” she responded worriedly. “I… Something might have happened to Cisco.”
“Tell me.” She could almost see Mason’s posture snapping upright.
She took a deep, shaky breath. “He left my cabin almost two hours ago to snoop around camp and see if he could find anything suspicious that might have led to Bailey’s allergic reaction. He said he was going to check the outbuildings and the surrounding area, but I just went through all of them, and he’s not there.” She continued to walk around camp, peering off into the trees. Her voice rose with the panic that gripped her chest. “I can’t see him anywhere, and he’s not answering his phone.”
All of a sudden, Nel’s head came up, she sniffed the air, and took off into the woods.
“Nel!” Hilly called. “Get back here.”
The pup didn’t respond. Indeed, she was clearly fixated on some kind of nose-mission.
“Now Nel has taken off,” Hilly told Mason shakily, before getting back to business. “I think Cisco’s in trouble.”
“I’m on my way, Hilly. And I’m bringing SWAT.”
Hilly chewed on her lip. “What if I’m wrong, Mase? What if he’s just taking a long walk and you all come out here for nothing?”
“Then we’ll consider it an exercise; which is something we do all the time. I’d rather play it safe, than sorry.”
Hilly nodded, even though he couldn’t see her.
He continued. “Keep all your campers inside their cabins, and promise me you won’t go off looking for Cisco on your own.”
It was a difficult vow to make. Every one of her instincts told her to run off, like Nel; scour the surrounding acreage, but she understood where Mason was coming from.
She didn’t exactly promise…
“When you get here, I’m going with you.”
“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.”
