certain.”
“I didn’t look for her.”
“Yes” —she reached out and placed her hand upon my chest— “you have. You’ve been searching nonstop, doing all you could do.”
I laid my hand over hers. “No, I didn’t look for Lorna the night we met. I never imagined that I’d find a woman to love. I wasn’t trying. I had the life I wanted. I didn’t think I needed more.”
A tear trickled down Laurel’s cheek as she smiled sadly. “But you found her.”
“She blew me away.” I remembered her at that stupid debutante ball in New York. We’d all been present to secure allies in our recent coup. I recalled the blue dress she wore and her gorgeous red hair pinned up with a small crown. Fuck, I thought she was royalty. I forced a smile. “She’s everything I didn’t imagine needing or wanting in a miniature package.”
Laurel lifted her hand, palm up. “Come back inside.” She looked down at the broken bat. “I guess we’ll get Seth’s kids a new bat.”
“Oh” —I looked down and then back up— “I didn’t know.”
“Come inside, Reid.”
The emotions that propelled me out the door were gone, leaving me an empty shell. I didn’t argue, taking my friend’s hand and walking back to the sidewalk, up the stairs, and into the house.
The wood-lined entry was warm with golden light, yet I felt only the chill.
“You’ve barely slept,” Laurel said as she closed the front doors.
Beyond the windows, rain began to fall.
“Can I get you something to eat? How about a sandwich?”
“Reid,” Mason called, “get your ass back down here.”
With a quick glance toward Laurel, I took off, nearly running through the entry, living room, and corridor. Once I crossed the threshold of the office, I stopped. “What?”
“Look at this.”
I stared up at the screen. The image was grainy as natural light was waning. “Fuck.” My heart remembered how to beat as it took on a double-time rhythm. “That’s the same fucking truck.”
“At about the same spot we found Araneae.”
“Can you see what they’re doing? Is it Lorna?”
“I can’t get that close,” Mason said. “But this time, he carried two objects.”
“Okay.” My mind was fully revived. “Get the plane, we’re headed over there.”
Mason rushed past me. A second later, he came to a dead stop. The large raindrops pelting the windows came into range like the sounding of war drums. Before us, the plates of glass blurred as the brewing storm came into view. “It’s fucking raining.”
“So what?” I asked. “Planes fly in rain all the damn time.”
“Big planes.” His green gaze came to me. “I’ll check the radar.”
Laurel entered from the other direction with her phone in her hand. “Storms. They’re coming from the south. Dubois is recording fifteen lightning strikes per minute.”
“No.” My head shook. “We have to get there. What if she’s there? What if she wasn’t in that building?” A thought came to mind. “I know.” I grabbed Mason’s shirt. “The explosion, it was for you. It was a trick to get you to go after her. The Order, they want Laurel and the way to get her is to eliminate you.”
Mason took a deep breath and pulled my grip from his clothes. “We’ll take the truck.”
“It will take too long.”
“What fucking choice do we have?” he countered.
“Where are the capos?” Laurel asked, a calming voice in the storm.
“Near Anaconda,” I said.
“Ranch hands?” she asked.
“I’d have to contact Seth,” Mason answered.
“Let’s go in the truck,” she said.
“Laurel, you don’t...” I didn’t finish.
Her blue eyes came to me as they had outside. “I stayed to help. I’m not a medical doctor, but I know a few things. Let me grab the first-aid kit and I’ll meet you both out front.” She looked at Mason. “Make sure the tank is full. We’re not stopping.” With that she turned and headed for the stairs.
When I looked back at Mason, I grinned. “She’s good for you.”
He nodded. “And Lorna is for you. Come on, we’re getting my sister back.”
When I stepped outside, I stared at Mason’s truck. It was bigger than a normal truck, and there was an ATV loaded in the long bed.
“What’s that for?”
“In case we need it.”
I nodded.
As we all piled into the truck, Mason driving, me riding shotgun—literally, we were carrying—and Laurel in the back seat, I called Romero. He answered right away.
“We need you to head back this way. The truck was just spotted in the same area where Mrs. Sparrow was found.”
“Sir, we entered the one building.”
I put the phone on speaker as