Page 56 of Tone Deaf

“Callum. Sweetheart. Wake up for me.” I can hear Pen’s voice, but the pain behind my eyes is making it difficult to open them. “Christ sakes, why isn’t my radio working?”

“Pen?” I say in a whisper. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, babe. But I found you out cold, on the ground. Did you trip and hit your head?” Pen has my head propped on his lap and is gently checking my scalp. “You do have a bump on the back of your skull. Let me look in your eyes.”

“What?” I say, finally opening my lids and looking up at Pen’s worried gaze.

“You’re coming off one concussion and you just got another knock on the head.” He studies my eyes for a minute. “Your pupils look fine. Am I blurry?”

“No. You always look fine, Pen,” I say with a slight smile.

Pen kisses my forehead. “I think you’re all right. So back to business. Why are you walking alone in the woods? I thought I told?—”

“Jordan was with me, then suddenly he was gone. Then I heard…hisvoice—but I think maybe it was you calling me, and I just thought it was him because I was panicked and alone. But I can’t be sure,” I confess, trying to sit up.

“Move slow. I want you to get your bearings before you get to your feet.”

“Pen. I swear it,” gripping his hand tightly. “Something actually hit the back of my head because I felt pain before I blacked out,” I explain, trying to rehash the event in my mind.

“You saidhis voice.Who were you referring to? Do you think it was Jordan calling for you?” Pen asks as he helps me to sit up.

I meet his stare with a note of apprehension. I don’t want him to think I’m losing it. “No, it wasn’t Jordan. Pen, it was my attacker. I swear it sounded just like him. But maybe?—”

“Don’t doubt yourself. We can’t discount anything right now,” Pen says as he grasps both my hands and slowly hauls me to my feet. “Are you able to walk on your own?”

I take a calming breath, then a step to make sure I won’t get dizzy. “I’m good, for now.”

“Okay. Now where were you when you heard his voice?”

I lead Pen back in the direction I came from… hopefully. When we arrive at the clearing, I point to where the voice seemed to come from.

“I hope Jordan isn’t hurt like I was,” I say, slowly scanning the area. “This is where he should have been when I heard him.”

“When was the last time yousawJordan?” Pen asks as he studies the ground around us.

“Not much farther,” I say and start walking in the direction.

“Don’t move,” he says and I freeze on the spot.

Pen carefully walks over to me, his eyes focused on the ground. He bends down and studies a print in the soil.

“What did you find?”

“Not sure yet. But,” he pulls out his cell phone and takes a picture of the shoe print. Then he proceeds to reach for some sticks and carefully surrounds the print with them. I don’t ask what he’s doing since it’s self-explanatory. “Let’s go find Jordan.”

He takes my hand and we walk back until we find the trail I started on. But there’s no Jordan.

Pen’s radio chirps. “Come in, Pen. Fig here.”

He taps his earpiece. “Is Jordan with you?”

“That’s a no. I was told that he went with Callum to look for you.”

“Yes, but I found Callum alone, and hurt. Gather Joel and Dean’s men and meet us where the trail meets the gravel drive.”

“Ten-four.”

“Pen.” I swallow down the worry and ask, “Where’s Dom?”