“The scent markers are here,” he said, voice low, reluctant, “but they’re stale. Not today. Not even this morning. Two days old… at least.”
I frowned. That was subtle. I hadn’t picked that up. Rhett, based on his expression, hadn’t either.
Didn’t say much for the fact that none of us had caught her omega status before, either. That, however, was a fight for another day.
“She’s gone,” Roan added, confirming what we were all thinking.
“If she’s in heat,” I said, “and she isn’there…”
“She went somewhere to ride it out,” Roan finished grimly.
Rhett didn’t hesitate. He was already digging his phone out of his jacket. “Okay. Okay, okay, hang on.”
I turned in my seat. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t even look up. “May or may not have logged into her cloud once.”
Roan turned slowly in the driver’s seat. “Youwhat?”
“It was adare!” Rhett said, eyes locked on the screen, thumbs flying. “One time. Preseason last year. I logged in, I logged right back out. Didn’t touch anything. But she never changed the password.”
I just stared at him. “You broke into her cloud on a dare?”
“Technically notbroke,” he muttered. “More like…tapped gently.”
Roan just grunted, exasperation radiating off him in waves. “What’s the password?”
Rhett hesitated for half a beat. Then: “notyouralpha99. All lowercase. No special characters.”
There was a pause.
Roan’s brows lifted.
“That’s so her.” I snorted. “Sheknewwe’d try.” A weird little spark of fondness cut through the tension in my chest.
Rhett grinned, wicked and sharp, even as his fingers flew. “Exactly. You think you’re special? You’re not. Get in line, cowboy.”
Roan looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but didn’t give Rhett the satisfaction. “So? What are you looking for?”
“Anything tagged travel,” Rhett said. “Or remote. Or vacation. Orheat bunker deluxe, if we’re lucky.”
I sighed. “You think she left a digital trail.”
“I think she’s human,” Rhett said. “And she was under pressure. People slip when they’re scrambling.”
Though he looked unconvinced, Roan said nothing.
I twisted so I could watch as Rhett navigated folders and files and backups.
“She covered her tracks,” he muttered. “Mostly.”
“Mostly?” Roan asked, voice sharp.
Our resident hellion grinned. “Found a PDF itinerary in her deleted items. Cabin rental. Mountains. Four-hour drive. No return date listed.”
Jay whistled low. “You get an actual address?”
“Yep. Near Yellowstone.”
