His heart threatened to stop. “What do you mean? She was with her mother when I left her.”
“It’s been chaotic around here. We didn’t realize she was missing until a couple of minutes ago. Callie asked her to go and let in Kelly, Polly’s girl. The gate can only be opened by residents and guests who have keys. Nell went out to manually open the gate.”
“Where is this Kelly person?”
“That’s just it. She’s not here, either. She was in her car at the front gate, and now she’s gone. I’m trying to pull up the security tapes right now. Pam and Callie are with the others searching the grounds, but I have a very bad feeling.”
Bishop ran for his car. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Call the sheriff.”
“I called him before I called you. Rye Harper’s on his way and the sheriff’s going out to Polly’s to make sure Kelly didn’t just go home.”
“How long has she been gone?”
“It’s been about half an hour since anyone saw her.”
Nausea threatened to take over. That was practically forever. If all Lyle wanted to do was kill Nell, he likely would have just shot her and left her body lying there, but he’d taken her. Bishop had to hope that Lyle wanted to torture her for a while. He couldn’t even believe he was thinking the words, but she had to be alive. He could help her, put her back together, anything—just as long as she was still alive.
“John, she’s alive. If we haven’t found her body, then she’s alive. We just need to figure out where he would take her.”
Bishop didn’t know the land. He didn’t have any idea where the hell the fucker would go. And he needed a goddamn piece. He wasn’t carrying. He’d locked his SIG away back at the resort because he didn’t want Nell to catch him with a gun. He didn’t even have a knife on him.
Mel was suddenly beside him, the older man moving almost silently. “Is everything all right? You went real pale there for a second. Are you remembering a past alien experience? It happens to me all the time. I got some tonic that helps.”
“I don’t need tonic. I need a gun.”
“Shotgun, handgun, stun gun? You’re going to have to be more specific.” Mel straightened his trucker hat, the tinfoil crinkling. “Do you know the nature of the creature we’re hunting?”
The guy was a nut, but maybe he had some guns. And he probably knew the area. “It’s not a creature, just a giant asshole. He’s got Nell Finn, and I’m worried he’s going to kill her.”
“Come with me. I’ve got a kit in my truck and a radio. I’ll get the crew on this. How long’s she been gone? Do we know what type of vehicle she was taken in? The snow’s been coming down hard all afternoon, so they wouldn’t get far on foot.”
Now the man suddenly sounded competent. He strode back to his antique pickup and opened the bed as Bishop followed along. He could already see a full gun rack through the back window. He counted a shotgun and a rifle. Maybe this Mel guy could track more than fake aliens. “Bill said she was likely in someone named Kelly’s car. I don’t know her.”
“Kelly Hansen. Nice girl. Crappy car. It’s going to struggle in this snow, especially coming down off the mountain. I’ve been out here for about forty minutes trying to make sure the order to MI17 had gone through before I threw the Sibalian out.” He pointed at the place where the road from the resort met the highway. “Unless they tried going down the other side, this is where they would have come out and I’m telling you, Kelly’s brakes wouldn’t make it down the other side. Once you get past my place and the Harpers’, the grade is too steep. I haven’t seen anyone come off the mountain so they’re either still up there or they’re likely at the bottom of the other side.”
Fuck. It seemed like there were a whole bunch of ways for Nell to die tonight. “Can you get me back up there? We should be able to follow the tracks in the snow. Most people around here drive trucks and SUVs. If this Kelly’s car is smaller, we should be able to tell where she’s gone.”
A large tool kit sat in the back of Mel’s truck. He worked a lock and then flipped it open, and Bishop’s eyes widened because he wasn’t even sure what half that shit was. The tinfoiled man had guns of all kinds, knives, a short sword, what looked like a medieval mace, some hair spray, and several items that Bishop was pretty sure he didn’t want to touch. But there was a very staid-looking semiautomatic, and Bishop felt better the minute he felt the weight in his hand. He checked the clip. The gun was in perfect order. It would blow a very nice hole through Warren Lyle’s head.
Reality settled on Bishop as Mel opened his driver’s door and started talking on a radio. He’d been in too many fucked-up situations to really think that this would go well. His brain worked through all the scenarios and almost none of them played out well. Almost every single one ended with Nell dead in the snow and with Bishop seeking revenge.
He loved Nell Finn. It was stupid. It was wrong. It could only end in complete disaster, but he was in love with Nell, and he suddenly understood that if he allowed Nell deep into his heart, she would change him forever. It had probably already happened. He was probably ruined for any other woman, but then it didn’t matter because he wasn’t the kind of guy who got married and settled down in a small town. He was a killer. He was a tool, and the United States government wasn’t going to allow an asset like John Bishop to ask for a mulligan and walk away. They would come after him, and Nell would get hurt.
If Nell was even alive.
“I just got some info on the radio. Max is on the case. He’s talking to Rye, says they have confirmation that Nell got into Kelly’s car and they started back down the mountain. He’s calling some people he knows on the other side to see if they remember Kelly’s car rolling by. Bill Hartman is going to send some of his folks out on snowmobiles to see what he can find.”
So everyone was looking for her. He wasn’t alone. There was an odd comfort to that, but no one would look for her the way he would. No one else would keep going until they found her. Even if it took forever because the world was suddenly utterly meaningless if one brunette with soft eyes and a softer heart wasn’t walking around in it.
Bishop took a nice-looking hunting knife out of the box and pocketed it, too.
“Are you ready to go? I figured we would drive to the base and see what we can find from there.” Mel slapped at the side of the truck. “Let’s get going.”
A buzzing sound came from the highway, and in the distance, Bishop could hear his fake name being called.
“Henry! Henry! Stop!”
Not Nell. Bishop looked out and saw a single headlight breaking through the twilight. Was that a motorcycle? It was too small. Dirt bike, maybe. And it had at least one too many people on it. He counted two heads as the dirt bike turned into the parking lot.
Seth Stark hopped off the back and started running toward Bishop. Logan parked the bike and slid the helmet off his head. The lanky teen had a hunting rifle strapped to his back. “Please, Mr. Flanders…”
Bishop growled a little. He didn’t need this distraction. “I won’t tell your moms. What is it Seth? I have to go. Lyle has Nell.”
Seth had his own version of a weapon in his hands, a state-of-the-art laptop. He opened it, the light glowing from the screen. “I know. I overheard the sheriff and Rye Harper talking on the police radio. I figured she probably had her phone. Almost no one walks around without their phone out here, and Nell’s been really careful since her mom got sick. She always carries it around.”
A spark of hope lit through him. “You talked to her?”
Seth shook his head. “No. She’s not answering, but I think I got something better. I hacked into the cell company’s computer and I have a signal on her. She’s up on the mountain.” He frowned. “The signal’s not moving. We need to hurry because any minute the company’s going to realize that someone else has control of their satellite and the feds are probably going to come after me again.”