kid still had her own room there. A fact Sun knew would come in handy at some point, just not this early in the game.
“Love you, bug. Sleep well.”
“Love you, too, Mom.”
With Auri taken care of for the night and Zee and Price going over the footage, Sun decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to check on Levi. See if he found any sign of Jimmy. Or Sybil, for that matter.
She drove out to the search area just as the snow started falling. Levi’s truck was still in the same place, her note still on the windshield. They were probably camping on the mountain instead of coming all the way down.
It was freezing. She should have been doing exactly what Levi was doing. She should’ve been out there, on that mountain, searching for Hailey’s son, blizzard or no blizzard. Instead, she sat in a warm cruiser with heated seats and ambient lighting.
Guilt assaulted her fast and hard. Oh yeah. She was going to make a great sheriff.
Despite her inability to do anything even remotely resembling productive, she stayed put, waiting and hoping Levi and his cousin would come back with Jimmy. And even Sybil. The winds howled, and sleet pelted the truck from all directions.
It was no wonder. The forecasters had predicted this was going to be the worst storm the county had seen in a decade.
Sun kept the cruiser on for a while but ended up turning it off to save gas. And she waited, mulling over her day. Only one word seemed to sum it up and tie a nice bow on top: clusterfuck.
Or was that two words?
She huddled inside her coat to stay warm, and her lids grew heavy. Before she knew it, the digital clock read 1:00 a.m. She needed to get home, but hope won out again. She watched the mountain like a mama bear watches her cubs, looking for any sign of them, until her lids staged a rebellion and refused to cooperate any longer.
Slowly freezing to death, Sun tried to climb out of a snowdrift in the wake of an avalanche. Wind whipped around her, and she wondered how she’d gotten there. How she’d been buried neck deep in ice and snow. But she couldn’t remember getting out of the SUV. Or the avalanche cascading down the mountain. Or the gentle crackling of water as it solidified into an ice block around her body.
Before Sun could open her eyes and make sense of her surroundings, a loud crash jerked her awake. She bolted upright and looked around, trying to figure out how she’d gotten back in her cruiser.
She turned to her left and saw someone short and stocky standing at her window, wearing coveralls, a face mask, and goggles. He lifted gloved hands and motioned for her to roll down her window. She shook her head. Then another sound caught her attention. Someone was at her passenger window, but this guy she recognized. Somehow, through all the layers and survival gear, she recognized him.
Levi Ravinder motioned for her to open the door. He also wore a face mask and goggles, but he looked far less ridiculous than his cousin for some reason.
He opened the door, and Sun realized the rocking in her dream had been caused by the wind rocking her cruiser. Levi climbed inside and closed the door with some effort before removing his face mask and lifting his goggles to the top of his head.
“You’re turning blue,” he said, breathing hard. He tossed her a blanket. “It’s as cold in here as it is out there.”
She jutted out her chin, the one underneath her chattering teeth. “I look great in blue.” Even with all her bravado, she shook out the blanket and wrapped it around her.
“Right.” He motioned for his cousin, who was still standing outside her window, to get to the truck. He gave a thumbs-up, then did as ordered, stumbling twice before he managed to get inside the massive vehicle.
Sun leaned forward, turned on the cruiser, and amped up the heat. Then the reason she was there hit her, and she gasped, wide-eyed, and asked, “Did you find him?”
Levi shook his head, his disappointment evident in the set of his shoulders.
“Oh, my god, Hailey must be sick with worry.”
The ice in his hair had started to melt. He wiped moisture off his face with a large hand, the act so everyday and yet so sensual. “Since when do you care about Hailey?”
“Since never.” God, she was going