The Last Letter(123)

My stomach hit the floor.

“The kids.”





Chapter Twenty-Seven


Beckett


Rotors spun above me in a familiar rhythm as the ground fell away. Havoc sat next to me, her ears back. She could handle helicopter rides, but she still wasn’t a fan. I snapped my helmet and turned on the radio.

“Okay, we’re in. What’s the emergency?” We’d been outside, running a few drills, when the call came in. I heard Wasatch trail, and that was it, and I wasn’t familiar enough with every hiking trail in the county to remember which one that was.

I’d grabbed my gear, thrown in Havoc’s rappelling harness, and taken off at a dead run while they ran the helo up for launch.

“They’ve got a kid off the grid,” Jenkins, the resident medic said through the comms.

“Lost?” A chill ran down my spine. Where were the kids today? Ella had signed that permission slip, and I hadn’t asked.

“Yep. That’s all we know. Report came in about ten minutes ago, said kid went missing.”

I nodded and looked out the open doors as we passed over Bridal Veil Falls and headed up the pass. Absentmindedly, I stroked Havoc’s head as we crept up the mountain.

“I think we can put down right there,” the pilot said, and I looked over to see where he was indicating.

The small clearing intersected with the trail, which looked wide and well-traveled.

“Once we’re on the ground, you two do your thing,” Chief Nelson ordered from the bench next to Jenkins. “County is involved, but they know you’re coming, since their dog can’t ever find shit.”

“Got it.”

A kid. My blood started pumping furiously through my veins, just like it did before every mission I’d ever taken part in. This was that same adrenaline but a hell of a lot more scary.

“How much time went by before the kid was reported missing?”

“They don’t know. Witness is in shock. If the kid slipped off the trail, it’s pretty densely wooded after the cliff.”

Holy shit.

“The kid could have fallen off a cliff?” I scanned the terrain, but we were too close to landing to get the full picture.

“Sounds like it. Wouldn’t surprise me if this turns into a recovery effort.”

My jaw locked. Not on my watch. I wasn’t losing a kid to a freaking hike in Colorado.

“We’ll wait here. Let us know what you need,” the pilot called out as we unhooked and ditched our helmets.

I gave him the thumbs-up when he looked over his shoulder, then took hold of Havoc’s leash, giving her the hand signal that it was time to go. She stayed at my side as I jumped the few feet to the ground and headed toward the team from County.

“The site is about a quarter mile up this trail,” their chief said from the center of the circle. “Teachers and some of the students are still there, so be sensitive.”

Teachers. Students.

I didn’t wait for the rest of the brief, just broke into a dead run up the trail, Havoc perfectly paced with me. It was rocky and even on the path, but the drop-off to the south was anything but friendly. That was rough and rugged, but not too dramatic. Until the face became sheer. This was the cliff.

Shit, there was no way a kid was living through that kind of fall.

I increased my pace, nearly sprinting up the rest of the trail, passing a few uniforms from the sheriff’s department until I rounded the corner.

Then I stopped so fast I skidded a little on the rocks.

Mrs. Rivera stood, shaking her head as she talked to a uniform. She was trembling, tears streaming down her face.

“Mrs. Rivera?” I called out, making myself move forward.

“Mr. Gentry, oh God.” She covered her mouth.

“Where are my kids?” I tried to keep my voice level, but it came out as a strangled bellow.

She glanced over her shoulder, and I bypassed her, looking for the small group of students who sat against the mountain, their lunch bags still out, all startlingly quiet. My eyes raked over the fifty or so of them until—

“Beckett!” Maisie cried, her little body emerging from the crowd. She ran full throttle at me, and I caught her, hugging her tight. She sobbed into my neck, her frame shaking with each cry.

One down. I gulped a breath and let myself feel her heart beat as my hand steadied her back. She was okay. She was here.

“It’s okay, Maisie-girl. I’ve got you,” I said as I looked past her, still scanning the group.

Where the hell was Colt?

I looked again, and my blood ran cold. “Maisie.” I dropped down to my knees so she could stand, and then I peeled her off my neck. “Where is Colt?”

“I don’t know, and they won’t tell us anything until the grown-ups get here.” Tears raced down her cheeks. “There’s another group over there.” She pointed up the trail about forty feet at another assembly of students.

“Okay.” I debated sitting her down with the class for all of two seconds. Screw that. If we already had one kid over the edge, my daughter wasn’t going to be next. “Come with me.”

I hefted her into my arms, bracing her on my forearm as I hiked up the trail. As soon as we were away from the first group, I looked down at Havoc and let her off the leash. If any parents freaked out, they could kiss my ass.