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Hearing it all a second time just about killed Tripp. He never should have let her walk out alone. He was guilty of doing the same exact thing that he mentally accused Caden of—failing to protect the person he loved.
Leaning forward, he dug his finger and thumb into his eye sockets until the burn receded.
Rafe went on, “Alexia’s call got through to Tripp’s phone twenty minutes ago. Guns called the ranger station and put out the info, and they dispatched four rangers to check out the area.”
Guns slid his eyes from Tripp to Rafe and gave a swift nod of agreement.
“One ranger phoned in that he spotted chimney smoke from a cabin that they all believed to be abandoned,” Rafe continued.
“Guns.” Tripp’s voice sounded like he’d swallowed a hot poker. “See if you can get the ranger station back on the horn. We need to know if that ranger’s checked in yet.”
“On it.” Guns grabbed the radio and sent out the call.
“Approaching the cabin.” Ollie’s statement had Tripp craning his neck to see through the expanse of glass. The stiff mountain peak rushed by and then he saw the curl of smoke from a stacked stone chimney.
His muscles shook. Anything could be happening down there. Alexia could be—
He slammed the door on that thought.
“Get me down there, Ollie. Set this thing on the ground!”
“I gotta circle around, man. I can’t approach from this side. The wind’s against me.” His voice came muffled when transmitted through the comms even though he was sitting mere feet away from Tripp and the rest of the team.
His pulse tripled.
When they zoomed over a clearing, Tripp saw her.
“Jesus Christ! Set this thing down now!”
Alexia was below.
“Shit, did you seethat?” Guns twisted to look out the other window as they flew over. “Did you see that body on the ground?”
Tripp launched out of his seat and rushed to the opening. “Get me down there, Ollie!”
He had to reach her. One man was already dead. He couldn’t squash the hope that it was the guy who nabbed her. He gripped the doorframe. Wind blasted his face.
“Set it down, Ollie!” His order came with what he hoped sounded like the threat to beat the shit out of his buddy if he didn’t do it now.
“I can’t land, Tripp! Not yet.”
“Can you drop me? Anything, goddammit! I have to get to her!”
They whirred around to the clearing once again. At that minute, he saw the truck rolling forward.
And striking a man down.
“Lower the ladder!” Rafe’s order had several guys on their feet. One kicked the ladder out the door.
Tripp wasted no time jumping out onto it. He descended swiftly, uncaring about safety protocols or how far the drop would be to the ground. The wind and the movement of the chopper blew left and right, and by the time he let go and fell, he was too far from that body on the ground.
He hit his feet at a dead run, churning up the wet ground in his race to reach Alexia. When he ran past the body Guns had spotted from the air, he only gave it a cursory glance, long enough to see it was male and wearing a uniform.
“Alexia!” His bellow echoed and seemed to come back to him.
The truck was still running. When he rounded the front and saw the blood on the ground, his brain almost flatlined. He stumbled forward and saw more blood.
A pool of it.
