~ 3 ~
COLSON
The call came through on the satellite phone; the secure one, the one that rarely got used. And whenever it did, it was never for something good.
“Find her.”
It wasn’t a request, it was an order. One that was growled to me in a voice I’d never heard before, because Donovan Prescott never raised his voice.
Never, until now.
“Sir, we arrived here too late. She’s in the air.”
“I know she’s in the air!” Donovan snapped. “Figure out where she’s going!”
It wasn’t like him to lose his cool. Then again, I’d never seen him this rattled, this much at a loss of what to do. His bride-to-be had really thrown him a curve ball. I couldn’t help but admire her for it.
“We’re working on it now, sir,” I told him, my body straightening to attention. The movement was reflexive.Marine stuff. It never fully left you.
“Work faster.”
I looked behind me, scanning around. Ripley was there, pacing restlessly back and forth before the SUV. He’d wear a hole in the tarmac, if we didn’t move soon. Theo stood behind him, bent over his open laptop. His fingers moved fast and with grim purpose.
“Call the tower,” Donovan suggested, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Get her flight path.”
“There is no tower,” I replied smoothly. “It’s an unmanned airport. No clearance, no witnesses, no flight plan.”
My eyes scanned over the tiny runway, and into the deep blue ocean beyond. We got here quick, and found her motorcycle even quicker. It wasn’t quick enough though, which could only mean one thing:
She planned this.
She knew exactly what she was doing, and made arrangements ahead of time.
“Seems like you weren’t fast enough,” Donovan spat, in a voice that was meant to be demeaning. “So find her when she lands. Reacquire and retrieve her, as fast as possible.”
Retrieve.It was a funny word; for a groom to use who should be worried about the fragile emotional state of his loving bride. You retrieved a stick, or a ball. Or something that belonged to you.
“She’s confused, Colson,” he added for good measure. “When you find her, she might not be in her right mind.”
“No,” I agreed, scanning the sky. “I imagine she’s not.”
“That’s why I need her back right away. Take custodyof her, if you have to. Do whatever it takes.”
I blinked. “Custody, sir?”
“Yes,” Donovan Prescott snarled. “And don’t pretend you don’t know exactly what I mean by that.”
Theo walked toward me now, his fingers still flying over the sleek, black keys. He looked concerned. That concerned me.
“Colson?” the satellite phone crackled over the wind.
“Yes, sir?”
There was a pause at the other end. As if he were deciding just how much to say.
“Tell Theo she’s wearing the locket.”
Theo’s eyes flitted upward. The way his head tilted, I could tell that changed things.
