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Silence. And darkness. No more wiggly lights.
He holstered his gun and laughed. He’d owe Tai a hefty chunk of change for blasting the man’s toy out of the sky, but whatever the thing cost, it was worth it.
And then he remembered Jane. Heart thudding against his ribs, he raced back the way he’d come, hoping he hadn’t scared her silly.
Nope. He could just make out her features in the glow from the dashboard. She was leaning back against the seat, eyes closed. Between the bullet proof glass, the massive hangar, and her earbuds, the shot had been muffled.
Thank you, Lord.
He holstered his weapon and jogged back to the car. His phone buzzed in his pocket. A text from Tai, complaining about his reckless disregard for technological art.
He responded with a stuck-out tongue emoji before shoving the device back into his pocket. “You play with the big dogs, you get bit,” he said and headed for the Jeep.
Jane eyed him with interest, but her placid expression confirmed that she hadn’t heard the shot. Whew.
Irritated as he was at Tai’s stunt, he sure missed that old camaraderie. The teasing. The way he and his teammates never had to actually say what they were thinking. Comfort was a look—or a punch in the arm.
He opened her door.
“What’s so funny?” Jane asked.
“Hard to explain. Just thinking about an old buddy.” How could he convey the closeness forged through years of danger interspersed with the excruciating boredom of days upon days of surveillance? Especially to someone who lived such an ideal life.
Not everyone in Redemption Creek was law-abiding, or even nice, but most folks were genuinely good. He’d spent the last ten years in places where the opposite was true. Danger was around every corner. A misspoken word, or a mismanaged sortie, could get you killed. Or worse. Get your team killed.
He shook off the ugly thoughts and motioned Jane into the hangar.
After checking his security app one last time, he flicked on the lights. Two stories overhead, the giant overhead fixtures hummed. Despite the industrial heating system, the place was cold and echoey. While Jane set their food out on the only empty workbench in the place, he poked his head into the small rooms built around the edges.
He had to hand it to the guy. What work Jay had done on the place so far was first class. He ran a hand over the cool exterior of the Mustang. Yeah, it looked like Jay was planning to settle in. Another reason his disappearance worried Bridger. Jason was methodical, for sure, but no one would put this much care into a restoration if he wasn’t planning to stay.
Jason was creating ahomehere.
Envy punched him in the gut. He closed his fingers into a fist, trying to ride the wave of pain. He had no such plans. No such desire.
At least that was the lie he’d been telling himself all these years.
He groaned silently and peered into the main office. The intruders hadn’t been methodical. Judging from the papers tossed all over the place, they’d done little beyond make a huge mess.
Or maybe that’s what they wanted anyone who came later to think. It’s what he’d do; make it look like whoever tossed the place was inept.
But he trusted Jay’s instincts. No way anyone but a friend would find a thing. If Jay had left any clues about his disappearance, they’d be well hidden, and encrypted.
Still, he prayed his friend had left them a few breadcrumbs to follow. Without more to go on, he was helpless to mount a rescue op. He blew out a breath and headed back into the main hangar.
He didn’t do helpless. At. All.
Please, Lord, help me help my friend. I need a hint. A direction to move in.
Jane caught his eye and lifted up a taco. “You better hurry if you want any. There are no friends on Taco Day.”
Her attempt at humor only added to his admiration. Other than insisting she be part of the search for her brother, she hadn’t complained or argued or shed even a tear.
Jane Reilly was the kind of woman a man could depend on. Build a future with. The more time he spent around her, the more he realized that future wouldn’t be with a broken man like him.
He pasted a smile on his face and headed for the food.
Lord, what I really need is a miracle. Maybe two.
