Crew’s mouth dried out. “So Cathy gave him Fern’s name.”
Gray and Theo reacted instantly, spines snapping straight, their gazes as haunted as Willow’s.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Crew practically roared.
“The Frye house shouldn’t even be standing,” Theo said.
Gray was already pulling up a map on the monitor. The satellite view only showed a tiny structure set on the side of the mountain surrounded by trees.
“It’s barely clinging to the cliff. Spring runoff’s been tearing that slope apart for years.”
Crew twisted toward the window again. The rain was getting heavier.
“The road up there is garbage in good weather,” Gray said. “In this? It’s a death trap.”
His body felt like he was being ripped apart. The pain… Christ, the pain…
“Are you saying she might be stuck on that road?”
“It’s possible she won’t make it far and will turn around.”
Crew was already striding to the door. “Let’s go.”
“On your six.” Gray was right behind him.
When Gray took the wheel, Crew turned to his friend. His brother. “Give it to me straight.”
“It sounds like Fern’s in trouble.”
“He has her. Reed has her. I feel it in my bones.” His lips felt numb. His fingertips were on the way too.
Gray knew the roads like he knew the Black Heart. He drove fast and sure. But when they reached the base of the mountain, a tree blocked the lower road, torn loose by a mudslide. The incline was beyond impassable, thick with mud and rockfall.
When the headlights panned farther up the road, Crew’s heart seized in his chest. He couldn’t breathe.
Gripping the dash, his fingers grew bloodless.
Tire tracks. About the width of Fern’s car.
“She made it up the mountain before the rain.” His voice sounded hollow, far away. “How far she got is another question.”
“Crew, we can’t get up there. The alternate road is just as bad. No one goes to that part of the mountain. It’s why the house is abandoned.”
He turned to Gray, fear fading to determination. He was damn well going to save the woman he loved.
“I’ll fly there,” he heard himself say, still not completely believing what he heard. “Get me to the chopper.”
Gray didn’t hesitate. He was already pulling a U-turn in the road and mashing the pedal to the floor.
As soon as they rocked to a dead stop in front of the chopper, Crew hit the ground at a dead run. The helicopter loomed against the storm-dark sky, its rotors slick with rain. The kind of sight that used to call to him like oxygen.
His hands were steady as he climbed in.
This wasn’t about what put him in therapy. It was about getting to Fern in time.
Crew pulled the headset on, eyes narrowing as systems came online. Rain battered the windshield.
Suddenly, the door was ripped open and a big body landed in the cockpit beside him.
