“I’ve looked everywhere and asked everyone I could think of. She’snot here.” As far as I know, V was the last person to see her earlier today. No one I’ve asked has seen her for hours.
“You don’t think she tried to leave, do you?” Bec’s voice shakes.
I shake my head vehemently. “We both know she wouldn’t.”
I considered that as a possibility, of course. Maybe she got spooked, tried to run off. But I like to think I know Delilah fairly wellat this point. She wouldn’t do anything like that. Not anymore. Plus, the ferry is docked and I had the speedboat all morning.
Bec pulls at the strands of her short hair. “Fuck.”
I grab my flashlight, some hand warmers, my water bottle, and an energy bar and stuff them into the pockets of my jacket. The storm rolled in out of nowhere—even the most experienced hiker would struggle in this weather. We always settle camp at a higher elevation to avoid flash flooding, but if Delilah’s out there in the woods in the dark, she could slip and fall, become hypothermic, or god-knows what else. I desperately force the worst-case scenario from my mind.
“I’ll come with you,” Bec says, grabbing another flashlight.
Normally, my instinct would be to do this solo to prevent anyone from getting hurt. But right now, all I can think about is finding Delilah, and I know that logically, the more people we have looking for her, the more likely it is that we’ll find her. “Thank you.”
I step out of my tent, shocked to find several faces in the dark before me. V, Benji, Liv, and a few other members of our camp are gathered, raincoats on and flashlights in hand. I’m hit with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for these people, for the community that Arcadia is.
V’s the one to step forward and grip my arm, shouting over the rain. “We’ll find her, Mav.”
I nod, determined. “The mud’s a bitch so watch your step. Don’t go too far if you won’t be able to find your way back. Yell if you find her.”
Our small search team sets out, fanning out to cover more ground.
“Della!” They all yell, scanning their flashlights over the soaked earth.
“Delilah!” I yell, my voice hoarse with worry. I don’t care if she’s offended by my use of her given name. I’ll call her whatever it takes to ensure she makes it back to me safe. Zeus never leaves my side as he sniffs the ground for her scent.
Each step has the knot of anxiety in my stomach drawing tighter. If my supposedly waterproof raincoat is barely managing to do the one job it was created for, I don’t want to think about how cold and wet Delilah is right now. Unless she found some sort of cave to wait out the storm in, she’s probably soaked to the bone.Goddammit.Hopelessness and dread start to cloud my thoughts.
“Delilah!”
“Maverick!”
My head whips to my left where Benji’s distressed voice came from. I shine my flashlight in that direction, unable to see much of anything through the rain.
“Mav, I found her!” Benji yells again, waving his flashlight frantically. Zeus bounds toward him, barking frantically.
Thank fuck.I take off in that direction, almost slipping several times as I rush toward the sound of my friend’s voice and the small light source. I find them about a hundred yards away, Benji trying toshield Delilah’s body from the rain with his own. I squat down to get a better look at her, and my stomach drops.
“She’s cold as ice.” Benji’s voice shakes, whether from the cold or fear, I’m not sure. “I’m sorry, Mav. I tried to lift her but I couldn’t.”
I clap him on the shoulder. “You did great, Ben. Thank you.” I press the back of my hand to Delilah’s cheek, cursing under my breath. He’s right, her skin is freezing. Her lips are dark blue and she’s shivering violently, her eyes moving rapidly under her closed eyelids. “Delilah.”
Her eyelids flutter open at the sound of my voice. “I’m cold,” she stutters.
“I know, baby. We’re gonna get you warmed up, okay?” I scoop her into my arms, cradling her against my chest as violent shivers wrack her body. Benji shines his flashlight ahead of us, illuminating the way back to camp. Once we make it back, Benji heads back out to tell the others that we found her while I get to work on making sure Delilah doesn’t stay hypothermic.
I set her down on top of my desk, uncaring that the documents there will be ruined. Her eyes are still closed, so I cup her cheeks in my palms. “We gotta get you out of these wet clothes, darlin’.”
She nods her consent, shivering all the while. I work as quickly as I can to strip the soaked clothes off of her, dropping them to the floor of my tent with asplat. I grab a dry shirt from my backpack and squeeze the excess water out of her hair, hoping it warms her up a bit.By the time she’s down to her bra and underwear, my only concern is for her safety, so I barely notice the extra exposed skin. Her undergarments are soaked too, but I’m not about to force her into anything she’s uncomfortable with.
“Don’t tell m-me this is the first time you’ve s-seen a n-naked woman b-before, Rebel Man.”
I can barely understand her through the teeth chattering, but a surprised laugh huffs out of me at her attempt to lighten the mood. “Are you sure this is okay?”
She nods. “I j-just w-want to b-be warm.”
“Arms up, darlin’.” She lifts her hands above her head, allowing me to peel her wet sports bra up and off her head. I avert my eyes, giving her the privacy she deserves. “Can you walk?”
