Page 61 of Into the Storm

ChapterEighteen

Undine pressed the doorbell button for the second time. Maybe Audrey didn’t hear the first one. After another long interval, she pulled out her phone to check the time and see if Audrey had messaged her with a change in plans.

No message. They’d agreed Undine would pick her up at eight a.m. sharp. She should be here.

Maybe she forgot?

But that wasn’t likely. Audrey had texted yesterday to ask if they could meet for breakfast instead of lunch because her work had been interrupted yesterday and she had to return to Forks today to finish. Undine suspected Audrey would work well into the night if needed. After nearly losing her job a month ago, she was putting in long hours to prove to park management her dedication to the park.

Every time Undine thought about what Chief Warrant Officer Xavier Rivera had done to Audrey, she wanted to hurt the man.

Audrey wouldn’t talk about him, and it was obvious she was devastated—not just by the fallout from work, but because she’d really liked the guy. She’d confessed as much in early November.

Undine had hoped to get her friend to talk over omelets and hash browns. It wasn’t good to bottle up the pain. Her husband, Luke, had suggested Undine take Audrey out for a meal to try to get her to open up. He knew from experience how gutting it was to have a lover’s betrayal destroy a career. That the lover who betrayed him had been Undine didn’t change how much it had hurt at the time.

So here she was for her friendtervention, but Audrey wasn’t here.

It didn’t make sense.

She texted Audrey again, letting her know she was on her doorstep.

No response. Not even a read receipt, which Audrey’s phone always sent.

She hit the Call button as she spotted a US park ranger law enforcement vehicle turning onto Audrey’s street. Relief fluttered through her, and she tucked the phone away. Audrey was probably getting a ride home from a coworker.

She smiled, thinking maybe Audrey had a date that had extended into the morning. Had she and Jae finally hooked up?

Good for Audrey. She needed some fun after that prick Xavier.

Sure enough, it was Jae in the driver’s seat, but she frowned when she realized the passenger seat was empty.

Jae looked weary as he exited the vehicle. His uniform was rumpled. “Hey, Undine. Good to see you.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You going somewhere with Audrey? I’d like to chat with her before you take off. It’ll only take a minute.”

Her heart sank. “I was hoping she was with you.”

“She’s not here?”

“No. I was supposed to pick her up for a breakfast date”—she checked her watch again—“fifteen minutes ago, but she’s not answering her door. This isn’t like her.”

Jae frowned. “Agreed.”

“Why are you here this morning? You look like you’re just coming off a long shift.”

He nodded. “I am. It went several hours over—multiple mudslides on roads near Forks.” He ran a hand over his tired face. “Before the slides, I was supposed to meet her by the Lake Olympus Road gate. There were issues with the cameras monitoring the village site.” He paused then added “I presume you know about that?”

She nodded. She’d have helped Audrey bury the cable if she wasn’t busy with her own job.

“I was held up by some campers at Mora, and by the time I got to the gate, she wasn’t there. I couldn’t get ahold of her. I left a message for her with the dispatcher to call me when she got home. I was going to check on her last night…but then the mudslides happened. I called her as soon as I remembered this morning, but went straight to voicemail. Thought I’d swing by.”

Fear squeezed Undine’s heart. “Do you think she was on the lodge road during the storm?” It was a lousy, narrow road to begin with. Add icy rain and…well, there was a reason the lodge was closed this time of year.

Jae shook his head. “She shouldn’t have been. The storm didn’t start until at least an hour after she would’ve entered the park. Plus, the gate was locked—even my key didn’t work.” He cleared his throat. “That part of the park is closed right now—for everyone, including park employees.”

All at once, what Jae was not saying became clear. “Oh, shit. There’s a SEAL training going on. Xavier Rivera is at the lodge.”

Jae gave the most imperceptible of nods.

“You think…she went there to confront him? And now she’s missing?”