Page 52 of Talon
“Give me a second, I need to make a call.Who do we want on the gate with Colt?”Watt asked.When he got an answer, he stood and went into the next room, carrying his phone with him.
“I’m calling Gizmo, he or someone down there can review all the camera footage.That will leave all of us to be boots on the ground up here to search,” Jake said, standing and taking his own phone down the hall.
From the way conversation kept flowing and Jake, Steele, and Lurch discussed the best way to go about the search that the others weren’t leaving to keep information from her, but to not interrupt what was going on in here with the need to be able to hear what was being said on the other end of the line.
Still listening to everything that went on, she went to the freezer and pulled out three bags of frozen squared potatoes.After digging out the largest cast iron skillet she could find, she added oil and turned on the heat.She was going to make breakfast burritos like Dad used to make.Next was two tubes of sausage in a different skillet and she browned both while breaking two dozen eggs into a large bowl.
Burritos could be wrapped up and carried with you, so it was fuel on the go.Any leftovers could be frozen and reheated later.It seemed the best bet since she had no clue how long this might last.
37
Adrenalinehadbeenhighin Talon’s system since Madison had woken him up and told him Kerry was missing.He’d hated letting her go out to look for Kerry, but she’d been armed, and he’d called Lurch, who had met her somewhere along the path.Not that it made him feel much better.Something had happened to Kerry along that path.
When the door off the kitchen had opened and she’d stepped inside, he’d taken his first easy breath since she’d woken him.And that wasn’t fair, he knew it.Kerry was still missing, and it wasn’t that he wasn’t worried for her, but having Madison there, and knowing she was safe was a huge weight off his chest.
Now, they stood around the kitchen trying to decide the best course of action to find Kerry, hopefully safe and alive.There was no telling what had taken her.He couldn’t imagine someone coming onto the ranch and taking her, but oddly, that was the best option.The other was that an animal had gotten brave enough to attack a grown woman.That wouldn’t be good, no matter how you looked at it.
“Hey, I’m just trying to cover all our bases here, don’t take this wrong, okay?”Talon waited until he had Lurch’s full attention, and he’d nodded his acknowledgement before continuing.“She didn’t leave on her own, did she?”
“No, she fucking didn’t.She has no reason to sneak out like that.Besides.Her car is still in front of the house.”
“I’m not saying she did, just offering it as a possibility.It would be lax of us to do all this searching, and not check the most obvious options.Did anyone look in her car?”
Lurch scowled.“No.Why would we do that?If she were in her car, she would have gotten out as soon as whatever scared her into it was gone, or she would have driven it over here.”
Talon nodded.He wasn’t trying to anger or antagonize the president, only make suggestions.The back door opened, admitting Ghost, Malice, and both of their women.Heather and Bonnie looked worried.So did Robyn, but she also looked a little green.
“He’s not wrong, man,” Ghost said, clearly having heard at least some of what was being said on his way in.“Someone should go check her car just in case she was hurt by the time she made it inside and passed out or doesn’t have the energy to get out.”
“Fine,” Lurch bit out.“But I was serious about no one goes anywhere alone until we find her.Take someone and go check.”
Ghost pointed at Watt, who’d just filled his coffee mug and turned to face the gathering crowd, he made a hand gesture and the two went to the door and out.
Jake came back from his phone call and glanced around the room, taking in the new arrivals before seeing how distraught Lurch was so he stepped forward and spoke up.
“Thank you all for sticking close to us today, and for coming up when called.We don’t have anything for you to do right now, but we don’t want anyone left alone right now, not even in their homes, until we figure out what’s going on.”
“Totally understandable,” Heather said.“What can we do to help?”
“We are still getting organized.Right now we’re trying to figure out what might have happened.I’ve got someone reviewing the footage from the gate camera and you know they’re checking her car.Any ideas are welcome, we won’t think of everything ourselves.”He went back to his laptop and sat down.
Talon wasn’t sure what he was doing on there, but knew there was one thing he could do.He went to Robyn.“Are you okay?Is there anything I can get you?”
She shook her head.“I just need to wait until it passes.I already have my crackers.”She pulled a sleeve of saltines from the pocket of her hoodie.“Though lying down would probably help.”
“Feel free to use our bedroom, though I was in such a hurry to get up and make calls this morning, I haven’t had a chance to make it yet, or one of the sofas in the main room.Wherever you’re more comfortable is fine.”
“Thank you.”She shuffled past him, as if she was afraid that picking up her feet would be too jarring on her already iffy stomach.
“Is there anything I can do for either of you?”Talon said turning to where Heather and Bonnie watched him.
Both shook their heads.
“I’ll help Madison with the cooking,” Bonnie said, going to Madison who kept moving.The two of them spoke for a moment then Bonnie got busy.
Heather didn’t say anything but went to Jake.She laid her hand on his back.
“Tell me what I can do,” she said, not to Talon or Lurch, but to Jake.
