“She asked Cora if anyone here would be willing to give her a ride down to town next time they head that way.”
The angry guttural sound that escapes from my lips is definitely not words, but Huck still understands.
“I think it might be time to spell out that she’s your bro, because it sounds like she could be fixing to run.”
“Did Cora ask anyone about giving her a ride?” I growl.
“No. She told me that she was worried Verity would disappear before you and her had a chance to talk. But I know my wife. If Verity asks again once you’re home, she’ll help her get that ride. Cora asked her to have dinner with us one night before you get back, and Verity told her she had plans with James one night and Octy the other,” Huck says.
Scoffing lightly, I shake my head. “I just spoke to Knight, and apparently James added Verity to the group chat, but she hasn’t even opened the messages, and Octy gave her her cell number, and Verity hasn’t reached out.”
Making a sound like he’s sucking air between his teeth, I can feel Huck’s thoughts without him having to say a word. My woman is a runner. Or she’s not my woman at all, and everything I thought we got figured out before I went on shift didn’t go the way I interpreted it.
“Okay, thanks, Huck.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have no fucking clue,” I admit.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks,” I say with a dry laugh, ending the call, before I pull up Verity’s number and hit call again. Just like earlier, the line rings and rings until it connects to voicemail. Thinking back to this morning, I try to remember exactly what she said when we spoke.
She was quiet, not chatty like she had been the previous day. Was I so excited to hear her voice that I missed something? Now that I recall the conversation, her answers had been short, maybe even cold. Fuck. Did something happen and I’m just oblivious?
Could I have done something? Said something? Forgotten to say something?
Calling her again, I grit my teeth when it connects to her voicemail for the third time. She could be asleep, but it’s not late, certainly too early for her to go to bed, unless she’s ill. But if she was sick, Knight and Octy would have mentioned it after they saw her yesterday, and Cora visited her today too and never said anything to Huck.
Maybe she’s just tired. Two months of sleeping on the hard ground and then however long sleeping in a car before that must have been hard on her body. She could just be doing what I asked and taking some time to recuperate.
Only I don’t believe that. She’s distancing herself from me, I just don’t know why.
After dinner, I retreat to my bunk, avoiding the rest of my team as I try to fall asleep, but my mind is too busy wondering if she’s left, if she’s already gone, and I just don’t know it yet. When the alarm to alert us of a call-out shatters the silence of the night, I’m grateful for the distraction.
The call-out is fairly simple, a car accident only a few miles away from base. A tired driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, then lost control and ended up smashing into a tree. The leaked fuel had caught fire, but luckily the driver was able to escape and get safely enough away from the flames. By the time we got there, the car was halfway to a burned-out shell, but the fire was easily controlled with some of the powered flame suppressant we use on wildfires.
“You okay, brother?” Buck asks as we watch the ambulance whisk the frightened, but hopefully completely fine, driver away to be checked out at the clinic in town.
“No,” I admit honestly. “Something is up with Verity, but she isn’t answering the phone when I call, so I have no idea what’s going on. She asked Cora if there was anyone who could give her a ride into town. I don’t even know if she’s still at the house or if she’s already gone.”
“How tired are you?” Buck asks.
“I’m fine.”
“Then once we get back to base, drive back to your place and check up on her. I can’t lose you for more than a couple of hours, but it’ll give you a chance to check she’s there and okay.”
“Nah, Chief—” I start.
“Warrick, you’re no good to me distracted. Go and check on your woman.”
On the ride back to base, I talk myself in and out of going to see Verity half a dozen times. In the end, it’s Oz who finally pushes me into it.
“Can you really last the rest of our shift without knowing if she’s there?” he asks, clearly having listened to my conversation with Buck.
Marching into base, I grab my car keys, then carefully drive down the mountain toward my house. The sun is rising as I slow to a stop on the street and stare up at the dark house in front ofme. I feel like a fucking pussy, but I’m scared to move, because what the fuck am I going to do if she’s not here?
I force myself to get out of the car and unlock the front door. Pausing in the doorway, I scan the dark living space for any sign of her, but the room looks exactly like it did when I left. Padding into the kitchen I spot my note, the key, and her cell on the kitchen counter just how I left them.
