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“Fuck,” he breathed out. “Henri is on his way. I’ll alert forest services and the mountain search and rescue team.” He was rattling things off in his usual businesslike manner, his tone devoid of any concern. I knew how strapped those agencies were right now, and we were on private land, so they’d be at a disadvantage.
“I don’t want search and rescue. I want my wife,” I growled, frustrated.
“Fuck off, Paz,” Adele said in the background. “We’ll find her, Remy. What do you need?”
I looked out at the dense forest, racking my brain.
Had she been taken? Had she run away? Was she lost in the woods? We were hours from any type of civilization. She was a decent navigator but not exactly experienced in the backcountry.
Had she heard them coming?
“I want a plane. A helicopter. Whatever. If she’s in these woods, the best chance we have of finding her is from the air.”
“Walt just had his hip replaced. He can’t fly.”
“Then find someone else. Call the Heberts. Those fuckers have planes.”
“Okay, okay. Stay on the line with Adele. I’ll call Mitch and see what we can do.”
The surrounding forest, even from this vantage point, was too dense. My elevation did fuck-all to help me survey the land around us. Miles and miles of untouched forest with no trails, no roads. Nothing was all I could see.
“Breathe,” Adele ordered.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” I whispered, shame and regret flooding me.
“Don’t do that. You need to stay focused on the mission. We’re going to find her. I’ll get the entire town—the entire state—in those woods looking for her. You are not alone.”
I closed my eyes. That’s all I had ever wanted. To not be alone. To have my person by my side through the good and the bad and the hilarious. And I had found her. Finally. But now she was gone. Probably scared and hurt. And it was all my fault.
After a few moments of silence, a door creaked open. “The Heberts can’t get a plane up today,” Paz muttered.
“What?” I saw red.
“Mitch said it’s a resource management issue, but they could maybe free one up tomorrow. Said they just couldn’t spare it.”
“That’s bullshit,” I spat, fury coursing through my veins. “Our families are supposed to be in this together. We’ve joined recovery efforts for lost men and damaged equipment how many times? This is my wife in the woods with fucking criminals.”
“Wait,” Adele said softly. “I think I can get a plane.”
“How?”
She coughed. “Um. Someone owes me a favor. Let me make a few calls. I’ll get eyes in the air.”
“Good enough. I’m going to start looking for her. Call me on this number if you have news.”
“Remy?”
I was already mentally climbing down this tree and working through how I would start my search. “Yeah?”
“Someone has to tell Dylan.”
“Fuck.”
“I’ll do it,” Paz said. “Adele will get a plane, and I’ll get Dylan.”
“Thanks,” I said before hanging up and climbing down as quickly as I could.
I jogged back toward the cabin, snagging my backpack from the ATV and putting the phone inside. Henri had arrived and was striding toward me.
