Page 29 of Edge of Desperation

“Remotely,” General Parks clarifies. “She met with Hugh, and he offered her a position writing articles under a pen name. Aurora doesn’t interview anyone anymore. She only writes what others give her.”

That makes more sense. So, what caused this episode? If she was happy and doing well, what made her want to end it all?

“What are the doctors saying?” Hudson pipes up.

“I should’ve known you’d put me on speaker,” General Parks mumbles. “They won’t tell me much because of HIPAA. As far as I know, they’re keeping her for at least a seventy-two-hour involuntary psych hold and evaluation. I hate that they’re doing that to her, but I have no idea how else to help her. Willow’s in there with her now. I stepped out to take your call.”

I lock eyes with Thomas. “What about Yazzie?”

Thomas rubs his chin in thought. “I could get a message to him.”

“Do it,” I order. “General, I have an idea.”

Thomas pulls out his phone and begins texting.

“I’m listening.” He sounds hopeful.

“I have a friend in Fairbanks. He raises Wolamutes.”

“What the hell is a Wolamute?” he asks, confused. I scroll through my pictures, searching for the one of a dog that would put the fear of God into anyone, and hit send. “What the hell is that thing?”

I smile. “It's a crossbreed. A gray wolf and an Alaskan Malamute. Very loyal dogs, and as you can see, they’re also huge and very intimidating. They also make very good guard dogs,” I explain. “Our buddy, Yazzie, breeds and trains them for vets with PTSD.”

“You think he’d have one for Aurora?” he asks, hopefully.

“Yazzie has one,” Thomas announces. “Who’s gonna pick him up and when?”

“You are,” the General states. “Pack up. You boys are coming home. Bennett, get the travel plans ASAP. I want you in the air in two hours. Debriefing in my office in seventy-two hours, gentlemen.”

“Sir,” Carver inserts. “What about our mission? What about the other missing victims?”

“I’m sending another team out today. Carver, send whatever intel you have over to Benson’s team,” he orders. “I’ll see you on Friday.”

“Roger that,” we all respond before he disconnects the call.

Hudson breaks the silence first. “I can’t believe she tried to…”

“What do you think triggered her to do something so drastic?” Bennett asks the question we’re all thinking.

I shake my head. “Who knows? Could have been overwhelmed by the crowd, or something might’ve triggered her. We’ll have to ask her.”

Carver rubs the back of his neck. “Hate to say it, man, but if she ain’t telling the general, she sure as fuck isn’t going to tell us.”

I scowl at him because he’s right. We’re not close to her. We feel a special connection to her because not only is she the general’s daughter, but we also saw her at her lowest. We were there when she lost control. Sure, we’ve rescued other victims, but we didn’t see the same horrors we did the night we found Aurora. That’s a bond that’ll never be broken.

I turn toward the bedroom. “You heard the general. Wheels up in two hours.”

A chorus of ‘Oorahs’ follow me.

CHAPTER 10

AURORA

“You’re lucky to be alive,”the doctor says.

Willow sits beside me and squeezes my hand in solidarity. I hate that she was the one to find me. When I swallowed those pills, I wasn’t thinking about anything except never falling into Dmitri’s grasp again. All I wanted to do was save myself from any more torture and abuse. Instead, I put a haunted look in the eyes of my best friend and father.

“Are you sure you want your friend to stay while we talk?” the doctor asks.

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