“Of course it is,” Logan snapped. “That’s a Trailbreaker Extreme. It’s the best.”
Nico nodded like he was impressed, which, being honest, he was. Logan’s dad owned the timber company and was the richest man in town. They used to be richer, but Nico’s father had put a dent into that, an unpleasant fact Nico felt sure was about to come up unpleasantly.
“Are you guys scouting for exotic birds?” Logan smiled darkly. “Adding more precious species to the list?”
Nico held in a sigh.It’s never going away.
“Look, Logan,” Nico began, “I didn’t—”
“Is this your drone?” Logan interrupted, pointing at the quadcopter.
Nico thought it was a ridiculous question, but he answered anyway. “Yes.”
Logan bent down to give it a closer inspection. “Pretty nice! Can I have a turn?”
Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.
Emma caught Nico’s eye and shook her head. Tyler’smouth twisted like he’d bitten into a lemon. But there was nothing Nico could do.
“Sure. Yeah. Just … you know …”
Logan rose slowly, holding Nico’s eye. “Just …what, Nicolas?”
Nico swallowed. “Just be careful. The controls take a little getting used to.”
Logan flashed perfect white teeth. “Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
He removed his driving gloves and held out a hand. Reluctantly, Nico passed him the remote. Everyone watched as Logan launched the quadcopter straight up into the air. A genuine smile broke out on his face as he guided it around the field in a huge circle, steering it back to hover over their heads. “Thisispretty cool, Nico.”
Nico released a pent-up breath. Maybe Logan honestly just wanted to fly the drone.
“I’m curious though,” Logan said, rolling his shoulders. “Are drones as fast as owls?”
Before Nico could respond, Logan jabbed the controller. The drone sped straight for the fog above Still Cove.
“Wait!” Nico lunged for the remote, but Logan shoved him back at Carson, who seized his arms. Parker stared down Emma and Tyler. Helpless, Nico watched his drone disappear into the eddying mists.
“Who knows, Holland?” Logan dropped the controllerand kicked it away. “Maybe Still Cove is a protected breeding ground for crappy machines.”
Nico scrambled after the remote as Logan strolled to his ATV. Nico glanced over his shoulder and found Opal watching him, her expression unreadable. But he didn’t have time to consider it. He scooped up the controller and frantically tried to maneuver his drone back into the sky.
Laughter echoed as the riders mounted, fired their engines, and rode off. Nico desperately worked the switches, but minutes passed and nothing appeared.
Emma sniffed. Tyler put a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “So sorry, man,” he said quietly. “It must’ve dropped out of range. Those guys are the biggest jerks in the world.”
Nico shook his head, anger and denial balling in his chest like melted chewing gum. “No. It’s a Phantom! They float. It’ll come back up once I reconnect.” But repeated jabs on the remote had no effect.
Emma wiped her eyes. “Why were they out here, anyway? I was sure we’d be alone.”
“They ride those stupid things everywhere,” Tyler muttered. “Logan loves looking like a tough guy.”
Nico refused to admit defeat. He rose and stomped toward the fog-covered cliff. “The problem is distance. I need to get closer. Then I’ll catch the signal and everything will be fine.”
“Dude!” Tyler’s hand rose in a gesture of hopelessness. “That’s Still Cove down there. We can’t even see the water. It’s gone, man. There’s no way.”
“I don’t have to go all the way. Just far enough to link with the Phantom.”
Nico began pacing the edge. The cliffs appeared sheer, without any easy places to descend, but twenty yards ahead Nico spotted a steeply angled ledge knifing into the fog. “Here! I can crawl along this until I’m low enough to link up again.”
