Thrill Me

Del shared what Jacob had told him. Shep input the information to the program while Kipling passed out equipment to the various search teams.

“You know how to use this?” he asked Del.

“Sure.”

Maya moved next to him. “Seriously? You’re familiar with this?”

“You don’t go exploring in remote parts of the world without some kind of tracking equipment. Not if you want to be found.”

“I thought the point was not to be found.”

“It is, unless someone gets hurt.”

She looked at the map on the wall. “Or gets lost. Are we going to find her?”

“We’re not going to stop looking until we do.”

He and Maya joined a group of people from town. He saw that several firefighters and deputies had their own groups. The guys from the bodyguard school were also out searching. The program might only be a few months old, but it was growing. Kipling knew what he was doing.

He and Maya were joined by Angel, along with Dakota and Finn Andersson. Finn had a satellite phone with him in case the decision was made to call in a helicopter to help with the search.

“We expect to find her before that’s necessary,” Kipling said. “Good luck.”

The volunteers drove out in a caravan, with Shep leading the way. Kipling stayed behind to man the command center. The family’s outing had started at one of the campgrounds closer to town, where the trails were well marked.

“If she went after a rabbit, she could be anywhere,” Maya said.

When everyone was ready, Shep gave them last-minute instructions, then they headed out.

They walked in groups of six, spread out and moving forward in the same direction. At regular intervals, they called Alyssa’s name. Del kept track of their progress on the screen of his tablet, and had them make adjustments as they were directed by the search program.

Maya kept up easily. She scanned the area and when it was her turn, yelled for the girl. The afternoon was hot, but she didn’t complain about the temperature.

She got the job done, Del thought as they continued to search. She stepped in and did what had to be done. Hyacinth had been willing to work hard for what she wanted, but if the results in question were about someone else, she wasn’t likely to participate. She didn’t believe in putting herself out for other people.

It had taken him a while to recognize that about her. Once he’d figured out what she was thinking, he’d wondered if it was the result of being successful or simply a personality trait. Not that the answer mattered. Although she had claimed to love him, she wasn’t willing to change to make him happy. Not when she wanted things a different way. Her way.

Maya was more of a “how can we both get what we want” kind of person. There wasn’t the same level of drama or stress. She was easy to talk to. He respected her. Their night together had been amazing.

He glanced at her and wondered about the odds of a second go-round. His only hesitation in asking was that he knew Maya wasn’t one to give herself without the promise of some kind of relationship. And while the two of them were friends, he wasn’t sure that was enough.

There was also the fact that he was leaving and she was staying. Which meant whatever they started would never go anywhere.

For a second he allowed himself to think it could be more. That she would want to leave Fool’s Gold with him and see the world. That they could continue their partnership in other ways. But could he trust her to be a true partner, to give it to him straight, even when she thought he wouldn’t like what she had to say?

Before he could take the next mental step, his tablet started flashing and beeping. He looked at it and saw the message.

“She’s been found,” he yelled. “Alyssa’s been found.”

Thirty minutes later, they were back at the HERO offices. Alyssa had been reunited with her family and the volunteers had turned in their equipment. He and Maya walked back toward his truck.

“I’m glad they found her,” Maya said.

“But?”

She shrugged. “That was oddly unsatisfying. I guess I wanted to be in thick of things. I know we helped, but it was kind of a letdown.”

“Since when did you want to be where the action was?”

She laughed. “I don’t know. I guess you’re having an influence on me. Next thing you know I’ll be taking off to remote corners of the globe.” She wrinkled her nose. “Not that there can be corners on the globe, but you know what I mean.”

“I do.”

Come with me.

The words came from somewhere deep inside. He toyed with the idea of saying them, but changed his mind. He’d asked Maya to be with him once and she’d said no. As far as he could tell, there was no reason for her to say yes now.

* * *

MAYA MET MADELINE outside of Paper Moon. “Shelby texted me that she and Destiny are already there.”

Madeline laughed. “You don’t think they’ll start having fun without us, do you?”

“I hope not.”

The women linked arms and headed toward their destination.

Rather than meet for lunch, several of them had decided to enjoy a girls’ night out. While each of them had been to The Man Cave before, they’d never been as a group.

“Think we’ll shock the guys when we stroll in?” Maya asked.

Madeline wrinkled her nose. “I wish, but no. Now, if we walked in topless, they’d take notice.”

Maya laughed. “You have an adventurous streak I didn’t know about.”