Page 17 of Raven's Curse
Silence stretched along the airways, the pressure of it stealing her breath.
Bodie sighed. “This doesn’t feel isolated.”
“The beginning rarely does.”
“You’re thinking there’s more to come.” He hadn’t asked, and she simply blew out a rough breath.
“I really hope that’s not the case, but…” She wasn’t convinced, and they both knew it. “I want regular check-ins. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Screw that.”
“Excuse me?”
Bodie grunted. “Greer. You’ve been up for twenty-four hours straight. We’ve got this covered. Besides, you’re needed there. Stay with Chase. Get a few hours of sleep if you can. I’ll keep you updated, but you need to be focused, and you can’t do that if you can’t see straight.”
“Have you always been this bossy?”
“Only when you’re being incredibly stubborn. I know this is personal… For all of us. I won’t let you down.”
“Never thought you would. I’ll check-in once we’re out of here. Just, watch your damn six.”
Greer signed off, giving herself one moment to suck in a breath — tamp everything down. Puzzle out how to be the sheriff and a friend at the same time.
How to pretend this wasn’t another epic failure on her watch.
The fluorescent lights seemed overly bright as she slipped back into the hallway, blinking a few times until her vision adjusted. She turned, inhaled at the scene — a doctor standing with Chase and his teammates. Head bowed. Motioning with his hands. She didn’t need to hear the conversation to know how it had ended.
The tight lips. The furrowed brows. The slashes of red across their cheeks a harsh contrast to the ashen hue of their skin. How Zain palmed the wall as if he wanted to punch his fist through it. It all spelled out the same conclusion…
Rhett Oliver hadn’t made it.
Chapter Five
Silence.
The kind that lingered in the dark. Hovered in the empty spaces where hope died.
The kind only time lifted.
It followed them back to the hangar, no one uttering a word until they landed, and she corralled Zain and Saylor. Asked them to take one of Saylor’s Zodiac’s in the hope of scouring the coastline. Looking for any hint their perp had taken refuge in a cave or tunnel. Maybe waiting for daybreak to make a run for international waters.
While Greer doubted it — couldn’t shake the feeling this was only the first in what she feared would be a parade of bodies — she needed to consider every option, every scenario. No stone unturned as the saying went. Maybe then, she’d be able to meet the gaze in her reflection.
Feel some semblance of redemption.
She sighed. Redemption had a funny way of staying just out of reach. A brass ring that slipped away as soon as her fingers brushed the surface. But she’d try. Pray she’d eventually make peace with the ghosts.
Zain had muttered a simple, “Yeah,” then taken off with Saylor, his fierce strides speaking louder than words. The unresolved anger. The restless energy. All mirrored in the loud taps. The way the truck shook as he gave her a boost, then slammed the door — peeled out.
Arriving at Foster’s hadn’t lifted the oppressive weight. The lights on his porch were duller than she remembered. Grayer. As if the night’s events had sucked the life out of everything.
Mac squeezed Greer’s hand, claiming Foster’s once he’d rounded the truck. He dropped a kiss on her forehead, palming her belly as if he needed something to anchor him. A reason to walk into the house instead of running into the forest — screaming at the moon.
Foster turned and stared at Chase, frowning as his best friend stood in front of the grill, back rigid, hands fisted at his side. He’d washed off the blood, but Greer knew it hadn’t vanished. That it clung like an invisible cloak.
She’d been there. Had lived for months with the stains lurking beneath her skin. Waiting for a moment of weakness — of hope — to reappear. And she vowed she’d do whatever it took to help Chase claw his way back. Escape the abyss she knew he’d fallen into.
Foster glanced at her, then back to Chase. He took a step, one hand shoved in his pocket, the other gripping Mackenzie’s like a damn lifeline. “Chase.”
