Page 108 of Betrayal of a Billionaire

GRANT

Grant’s heart thudded against his ribs with every step through the thick woods. The search party had formed rapidly. Alicia led them, her pace quick as she hurried toward the spot where they’d fallen.

She seemed agitated. The potential loss of her sister weighed heavily on her. He felt sorry for her. It weighed on him, too. With every step, he feared they’d soon spot two mangled bodies lying on the forest floor.

As he trudged through the dense forest, his thoughts circled back to Julia. Each step laden with guilt, and each call for her a reminder of their unresolved tensions. Had his actions led to this?

Could they possibly be alive? With every breath, he hoped so. But they would have not only fallen through the trees but then survived the microburst that had passed through the area.

He shuddered as images of Sierra and Julia riding that frightening experience out in the midst of these woods.

“Julia!” Alicia shouted, calling his attention forward. She broke into a run, and his heart stopped. Had she spotted them? He quickened his pace, arriving as Alicia bent to scoop something off the ground.

“That’s the harness she had on,” Luke confirmed.

“So, she made it to the ground.” Alicia spun in a circle, searching.

“And unhurt enough to move,” Ethan added.

“Unless the microburst tossed them.”

“Julia would have moved before that happened,” Luke said.

“Unless she couldn’t,” Alicia said as she stalked a few steps away. “Julia!”

“Spread out and look for them,” Ethan said. “They may have taken shelter from the storm nearby.”

“Ethan, they could be still moving on foot,” Charles answered him.

“Yeah, they could be, but this is the best place to start. If we don’t find them in the vicinity, we’ll expand the search radius.”

“Julia!” Alicia shouted. “Sierra!”

“Julia!” Luke called.

The others spread out, shouting each of their names. The dense canopy above muffled their shouts as if nature resisted their frantic search.

Grant’s stomach clenched as he stalked through the woods, calling to them. With every step, the threat of happening upon a hurt or worse Julia or Sierra marched through his mind, threatening to buckle his knees.

“Julia!”

“Sierra!”

Voices called all over the forest in search of the two lost women.

“Julia?” Alicia called. “If you can hear me, answer!”

Grant stopped, twisting to glance at his sister-in-law. The look on her face suggested she thought she’d heard something. “Julia!”

A grin spread on her face. “This way! I hear her.”

Grant’s heart skipped a beat, a mix of hope and dread filling him. She was alive. Was Sierra? Were they hurt?

He hurried toward them as Alicia stood at what appeared to be a rock wall. She peered through an opening in the boulders.

“Hold on–we have Tony here, and he’s way better at this than I am.”

Another man slid in front of the opening. Were they trapped inside?