“As you should be,” Ink said. “The guy was going to kill Evie. Dice shot him before he could.”
“You should be proud of all of it,” Daphne said. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but you saved Evie’s life that day. And Ink saved Byte.”
“She’s right,” I said. “It is something to be proud of. A lot of people freeze or run when faced with situations like that. Springing into action, especially when it involves someone you care about, isn’t something everyone can do. They’re lucky you two were there.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” Dice said, almost shyly.
“Do you two pop up and save the day like superheroes regularly?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Daphne laughed and answered for them. “They’ve been doing it pretty regularly for the last few years, from what I’ve heard.”
“Flint was the hero in your story,” Dice pointed out.
“For the last incident, yes, but he was there because of you two.”
“I swear I’m not normally this nosy. Well, I am, but I usually have much better control over it. But my mom is missing, and my dad and my daughter are upset, and I could really use a distraction, so I’m going to ask. What’s your story?”
Daphne grinned. “I was married to this dipshit that cheated on me with a woman who was batshit crazy,” she said and proceeded to tell me what happened to her at the hands of her husband’s mistress. She finished just as we were pulling into the campground.
It took us a few minutes to figure out where to go, but we finally found the right section of the campground. Even though I knew the police were there, the number of cop cars and flashing lights was still startling to see.
As soon as I got out of the car, an officer made his way over to me. “Ma’am, we have an active situation, and I’m going to?—”
“We’re Mrs. Calloway’s family, and we’re here to help search for her. This is Presley Calloway, her daughter,” Ink said firmly.
The officer eyed him suspiciously. “And you are?”
“Isaac Manning, her fiancé. My brother and his wife are with us. They brought their dog, who is trained to track scents.”
“You’ll need to wait right here,” he snipped.
Ink leaned into the open car door. “Call Phoenix.”
Meanwhile, I was ready to knock this joker’s block off. “Those are my parents, and that is my child. If you want me to stay right here, you’re going to have to make me!”
The man pulled out a pair of handcuffs and twirled them around his finger. “Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s fucking so!” I yelled and moved to step past him.
Ink reached out and gently tugged me back by my shirt. “I am absolutely loving your feistiness, but wait for it,” he whispered near my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“Dithers!” a man yelled as he made his way toward us from a distance. “Let them through. All of them. And when the rest of their friends show up, you will greet them and kindly show them where to go. We’re expecting at least twenty volunteers and two search dogs, not including the volunteers and canine in front of you.”
The first cop stepped to the side and made a show of gesturing with his hands. “Right this way.”
When the second cop reached us, he extended his hand to me. “I’m Officer Perkins. Are you Presley?”
“Yes, I am. Where are my dad and daughter? Any leads on my mom?”
“Follow me, and I’ll take you to your family,” he said and started walking. “I’d like to apologize for his behavior. I’m just waiting on the final approval from the powers that be, and thenhe’s gone. As for your mother, nothing yet, but we’ve only done a preliminary search around the accessible areas. The terrain around here is rugged, so the extra people and search dogs will be a tremendous help. We have a command center set up outside of your parents’ camper where we will be assigning search zones.”
As soon as the canopy set up for the command center came into view, Ariel spotted us and sprinted to me. “Mom,” she breathed as I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her hair.
“Where’s Papa?”
“Right here,” he said, squishing Ariel between us as he pulled me in for a hug. “And who are your friends?”
I stepped back and pointed to each person as I introduced them. “This is Ink, Dice, and Daphne. And this is Diablo.”
