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He continued. “Keep all your campers inside their cabins, and promise me you won’t go off looking for Cisco on your own.”
It was a difficult vow to make. Every one of her instincts told her to run off, like Nel; scour the surrounding acreage, but she understood where Mason was coming from.
She didn’t exactly promise…
“When you get here, I’m going with you.”
“Find Crash,” Mason ordered, completely ignoring her decree. “Stay with him until we arrive.”
Damn. She’d forgotten all about the tall, able-bodied firefighter on site. That’s how discombobulated she was.
“Okay. I’m headed that way, now.”
Mason hung up.
Hilly’s footsteps took her to the medical cabin, where she knocked once, hoping she wasn’t disturbing the couple. Coco barked from within, and scratched at the wood. Damn. The last thing Hilly wanted was for Nel’s best friend to run into the woods, too.
When she heard footsteps on the other side of the door, she called out. “Grab Coco. Nel took off, and he’ll want to follow.”
There was a bit of shuffling before the door opened to show a shirtless Crash, his hair in all kinds of disarray, and…a hickey on his neck?
Shit. The couple had clearly been enjoying themselves.
“What’s up, Hilly?” he asked, his face a study in concern. Because, yeah, she’d never disturbed him after-hours before.
“Cisco’s missing. Mason and SWAT are on the way, and he told me to stay with you until he gets here.”
Crash opened the door, wide. Adeline stood just behind him dressed only in one of the man’s long-tailed shirt, but she didn’t seem embarrassed. She held onto Coco and invited Hilly in, her face filled with worry. “Tell us what happened.”
Hilly hesitated, taking a long look over her shoulder, not exactly thrilled to step inside. She didn’t want to miss Cisco if he came back.
Crash must have noticed her hesitation. “Stay put and give us a minute. We’ll come out to you,” he stated.
He didn’t even bother to close the door behind him as the pair disappeared.
Hilly sank to the steps, her mind refusing to quiet. She just knew something was very wrong.
Reappearing two minutes later, both Crash and Adeline were fully dressed and ready to engage as they sat, one on either side of her. Coco unhappily whined as he was restrained on his leash.
“Okay. Spill,” Crash ordered.
Hilly gave them all the details she had, and when she was finished, the pair looked equally as worried as she.
Crash picked up his phone and dialed a number. Clearly it rang and rang before he disconnected and grunted. “Cisco’s not picking up for me, either. I’ve caught your bad feeling. But first things first. We need to secure the cabins and make sure no one comes out if trouble is brewing.”
“Dammit. I forgot. Mason already told me to do that.”
She fumbled for her phone and hit her emergency call list. It gave her immediate access to each and every counselor, including Buffy. She quickly typed out a message.
As of this moment, we are all in lockdown. If anyone is outside, they need to be recalled immediately. No one is to leave their cabin until further notice. Acknowledge, please.
She hit send, and within seconds, responses pinged in.
Is everything okay? Several texted.
Do we need to worry? A few asked.
From others, she got a simple thumbs up.