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It took about forty-five minutes to get to the spot where he’d found her.

Grizz kept trying his phone, but no luck.

The storm must have knocked out the cell towers.

He’d have to rely on his team to realize he’d run into trouble and send reinforcements.

Except why would they? Most likely his crew would assume his mission had been a success and that he’d headed to his cabin for the night.

How long would it be before they sent a search party?

The main road that fed the various trails had been washed out.

He stopped the ATV and grabbed his backpack. “We’ll have to go on foot from here. But we need to be careful. There are some dangerous things going on in these woods.” She’d stumbled into something big, and he couldn’t discount her judgment.

He pointed to the boulder beside a slick wash of mud and debris, then up the mountain. “This is where I found you. You fell from up there.”

So far, nothing seemed to jog her memory. She stared with wide eyes, taking it all in but saying nothing.

He led her up the hill, picking an easy path that steered clear of the shifting mud and earth that continued to flow down. Grizz kept an eye out for any signs of danger. Just in case any gunmen from yesterday were still around.

Dani turned in a circle, waving her arms. “This is so frustrating. Why can’t I remember? Nothing looks familiar.”

Wet leaves and branches mashed into the earth under his boots. His legs burned with the exertion. Last night’s sprint in the mud had taken a toll on him. If he was aching, Dani must be?—

“What’s that?” Dani picked up her pace.

He followed her pointed finger. Something glinted in the flickering sunlight through the trees.

Grizz hiked to the spot and saw the object half stuck in the earth. He picked it up and wiped the dirt away with the edge of his sleeve. “It’s a camera.”

He handed it to her.

“It’s Josh’s camera.” Her eyes filled with tears.

“He…he was taking pictures.” She squinted her eyes as if recreating memories of herself and Josh, in those matchy INN windbreakers, taking pictures.

Maybe they’d taken pictures of something they shouldn’t have.

Was that what had happened to her friend?

She took the SIM card out of the camera and shoved it into her pocket to protect it from the rain. “We need to retrieve the images on the SIM card. It might have evidence on it. Can I put the camera in your bag to keep it dry?”

He took the device from her and added it to his backpack.

Grizz patrolled the mountain with his eyes. Someone might be looking for that camera. He crossed his arms. “I don’t like this. We need to head down the mountain. We don’t know who is out here.”

She shook her head so hard her hood slid back. “I have to find Josh. It’s the only way I’ll get my memories back. We need to keep hiking.”

He winced, not liking that he’d lost control of the situation. Since when was she in charge of their survival? But he knew she’d never let it go if he forced her to head to town.

“Fine.” It was more of a grunt than a word.

Silence consumed the air around them except for the occasional snap of a twig under their feet.

Grizz jumped in front of her, taking the lead. They weren’t on any kind of discernible trail.

“Do you know where we’re headed?” she whispered. In the quiet of the mountain, her words reverberated like she’d shouted them at the top of her lungs.

He shook his head and glanced back, waiting for her to catch up. “I’m trying to follow the map and recreate where you walked. Why don’t you tell me what you remember now while we hike? I really want to find Josh fast so we can get out of here. I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

She sighed and squinted her eyes, as if that would make the memories from the last twenty-four hours materialize. “I received a tip about a secret bunker or lab of some kind. I know the FBI shut down the SOR base camp, but my source believes there must be another location.”

“And they need the help of a reporter to investigate?”

She shrugged. “My source’s hands have been tied. They believe the incidents this summer indicate something bigger is at work, like a terrorism plot. But someone high up in the government has quashed any kind of investigation. I’m here to get to the truth.”

Terrorism?

Grizz led the way up the mountain, his hopes of finding Josh shredding with each step. If what Dani was telling him was true, Josh didn’t stand a chance against these ruthless men.

“What else do you remember about yesterday?” His question was interrupted by a glowing pair of amber eyes peering from the dense area of shrubs. A low growl gave them plenty of warning to take the long way around the bushes.

He touched Dani’s shoulder and moved them away from the area. “Coyote,” Grizz whispered.

Dani gulped. “Did you bring your longbow?”

He couldn’t stifle a chuckle. “I’ll handle the coyote. We’ll take the long way around for now. And when we get off the mountain and find safety, I’ll teach you how to use the longbow.”

Just like that, he’d invited Dani one step farther into his life. As if she would be sticking around this place once Josh was found and her world was safe again. What was he thinking?

When they were far removed from the coyote’s presence, Dani answered Grizz’s prior question. “We stopped at the hotshot camp, where we were turned away by you and a few of your friends.”

He ran a hand through his thick, wavy hair and lamented not getting a haircut earlier. “Yeah. We have some bad blood between us and your network. The coverage of a fire from earlier in the summer where a group of homes was lost didn’t exactly paint us as heroes.”

“But I had nothing to do with that story. I even advocated that they not air it. It was all for the ratings anyway.”

A buzzing sound zipped through the air. They froze.

“Wha—”

Grizz covered her mouth with his hand and pulled her behind some trees. He uncovered her mouth but kept both arms around her in a bear hug. She was warm against his chest, and her hair was tickling his cheek, smelling like his shampoo.

There was no electrical grid on this side of the mountain. He let go of her to part the bushes and saw the source of the noise. From their vantage point, they overlooked a small valley enclosed by rock walls on all sides.

A compound had been carved out of the mountain. Complete with electricity and armed guards.

“I guess you were right.” Grizz took it all in.

Two men with rifles slung over their shoulders patrolled the edge of the property.

One man served as lookout in a stand perched above the main windowless building.

A few other structures dotted the compound, but it was the steel-doored factory-looking structure that sent his nerves humming.

Whatever was going on in there wasn’t good.

“I—I have to get out of here. Something bad happened here. I—Josh—guns…”

She wriggled out of his arms and took off down the mountain. He needed to get to her before one of the men discovered their location.

The gunman turned and pointed the scope in the direction of Grizz.

Too late.

Time to run.