Fuck!
“What are you doing here, Michael?”
“What? Oh, I came to see how things were going,” he says, biting into a cookie and washing it down with the milk. “You knew I was coming. Two weeks, end of the trial—that was the deal.”
“I know,” I say, a little impatient. “Look, I’m not in the mood for company right now.”
“Really? I never would have guessed,” he deadpans, but makes no move to leave. “Jesus, Matt. You’re always in a mood. How the hell does Ashley stand you?”
His words are like a slap to the face, but it’s nothing I don’t deserve. “She doesn’t. That’s why she’s not here.”
“What do you mean? Her car’s parked outside.”
My brows furrow at his words even as I move to peer out the window. Sure enough, Ashley’s car is parked where she leaves it every day. I walk outside and to her car, peering in, but it’s empty. “What the fuck?”
“What the hell is going on, Matthew?”
Michael is standing in the doorway, watching me with confusion, but I have no answer for him. Where the fuck would I even begin? How do I explain to my older brother that I am a coward who would rather break the heart of the woman he’s desperately in love with than face his own demons?
“I thought she left,” I say simply. “No, I was sure she did.” It was hard to miss the rattle of the windows when she slammed the front door earlier.
There are questions in his eyes, but he doesn’t voice them. “Do you think she walked home?”
“No, her bag and keys are still in the car. I’ll try calling her phone.” I storm back into the house and grab my phone, then dial her number. I let out a low curse when the familiar ringtone comes from inside her car.
I’m panicking. I don’t let it show, but the uncertainty of her location sends my heart galloping and fear taking over my emotions.
“She probably went for a walk or something,” Michael offers, following me back outside. I don’t respond to him as I walk to the end of my driveway and look at the footprints. I notice Penny’s paw prints as well, and they’re pointing east in a pattern that suggests she was running. Michael must notice the direction I’m staring at because I hear his soft gasp. “You don’t think…”
“They headed toward the cliffs.”
“Huh, was she with someone?”
“Just her dog, Penny.”
“Wait, that’s good, right? I thought dogs have a great sense of smell that helps them find their way home.”
“Not greyhounds,” I mutter, walking further down to see if I can spot them. “They’re built for speed, not endurance. It doesn’t help that they’re sensitive to heat and likely to get dehydrated and exhausted quickly.” I glance down at my watch and curse when I realize they’ve been gone for two hours. With the weather this hot, I can’t imagine they’ll last much longer in the heat without passing out, and I know there is no shelter to find out there.
Fuuuuck!
I should have never let her leave. Of course, she’d choose to take a walk and calm down instead of driving high on emotions. If I weren’t so fucking screwed by my own demons, I would have seen it. Hell, I would have taken the damn walk myself instead of exploding at her.
“Matt—”
“I need to find her before the sun goes down and I lose their tracks.”
Michael grips my arm before I can walk past him. “I’m calling the police. You need to wait until they get here.”
“You can wait; I have to do something.”
He doesn’t stop me when I stalk back into the house. I head straight into my garage and grab the gear I never thought I would have use for since I left the military. I pack my rucksack with supplies and change into proper hiking boots, trying not to think of Penny and Ashley out there all alone. Scared.
Fuck, I need to find them. Soon.
This is what I trained for, and the extensive experience as a tracker from my days as a SEAL should help me locate her fast.
My left knee aches when I tighten my boots—the rebuilt joint reminding me I’m not the operator I was a year ago. But I’mnot the operator I was three months ago either. Ashley’s bands and her bodyweight work and her steady pressure to push and her stubborn refusal to let me push past my limits have given me back enough to do this. Enough to walk acres of slickrock and broken ground without my knee folding under me. Enough to track. The pain I’ll experience is the kind that comes from work. I know the difference now.
