17. Code Orange

17

CODE ORANGE

BLAKE

I woke up to the sound of my phone chirping with incoming messages. I’d rather wake up to Olivia in my arms. After yesterday, that eventually has a higher probability of happening. Soon.

When I illuminated my screen in the dark, one word jumped out at me from Nate’s text. A word I seriously doubted I’d ever see.

ORANGE.

As in code orange, the message we devised amongst those of us helping guard Tori and Porsche while they hid out in Kissing Springs. It meant trouble. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my gear bag.

“Let’s go, Lucky.” I unclipped his crate door, and we ran out to my truck. Once there, in sweats only, I took thirty seconds and pulled clothing from behind my seat. I shoved my feet into an extra pair of hiking boots and threw a KSFD sweatshirt over my head.

I tuned my radio into the channel we reserved for this. Nate’s voice clicked on as I headed into town. “Code Orange. Cherry.”

Cherry for pie. That meant we were to meet at the pie shop. “Ten four,” I replied. A few others did as well. I made out Robbie’s voice, Dillon’s, Andrew’s, and Kipp’s. Charles, Dillon’s brother, never usually dealt hands-on with tactical things like this. He was the money guy, though, helping keep us equipped with the latest gadgetry, and we all admitted he had some impressive ideas to help the team evolve as needed.

Another ten minutes to go. Of course, I wondered what I’d find going on at the shop. Nate had said originally he’d use the code only if something bad happened to Tori and Porsche, or worse.

I reached into my center console, then pulled out a few snacks for Lucky and a protein bar for me. “That’s it, boy. Eat up. I don’t know what’s ahead, but we’ll need our strength, won’t we?”

Five minutes to go, and I downed the bar in two big bites. It was early enough yet. As long as whatever this emergency was wouldn’t take all day, if we could wrap things up before school started, I might be able to meet Olivia and River at their house. I could send them off with kisses and hugs to start their day.

She was right; I jumped in with two feet. I sounded like one of those fucking obsessed guys now. But hell yeah, I was. I had a son now, and I finally found a woman worth fighting for. I’d do anything and everything I could to hang onto them and keep them safe.

“Jesus.” I braked to slow down. Main Street in front of Minnie’s was packed with every emergency vehicle the town had. Each one flashed their lights, turning night into day. I threw the truck into park, grabbed my pack, and secured it to my back as Lucky and I sprinted up to the building.

The others lived a little closer to town, so I was last to show up. I joined their huddle. “Fill me in.”

“Have you heard from Livvie?” Kipp asked.

I jerked back. “What the—? Not since last night.” Oh fuck. My chest ached.

“We found her phone under a bush, same as Porsche and Tori’s.” He pointed to the pile sitting on top of a mailbox on the sidewalk.

“The hell? If this is here… Where’s my girl? And what about River?”

“Here’s what we know,” Nate took over. His eyes feral but steely. I knew right then the situation was messed up. Some of us had military experience, others only first responders, but either way, I recognized in Nate the need for him to focus on the facts, keep emotion at bay, find his family.

Even if their marriage was all fake, a front to hide behind against some sinful people, I could tell Nate had crossed that line in recent weeks and cared for the mother and daughter in his charge.

“When I returned home this morning, neither Porsche nor Tori were there. I tracked their phones to here, intact, the store open, but no one on the premises. It’s also important to note that their security detail wasn’t at either place. Spence was assigned to watch the house last night. I don’t know if he’s been compromised, but he’s not here.”

My heart jumped into my throat, hearing his name. “No. Oh, fuck. Did any of you know he lives next door to Olivia? I just saw him there this weekend. Olivia said she had a bad feeling about him.” I should have listened to her instincts. I told the guys everything she told me about her interactions with him, but we were all stumped why either of them would be involved in this mess at all.

“I need to go to her house. What if my—my son is there alone? And what about Nancy? We could search Spence’s house, too, just in case. I gotta go.”

“You will not leave this team. We operate as one,” Robbie barked in my face.

“But my son... Olivia…”

“We don’t know where they’re at. What if they’re in the hills somewhere? I might need the best Search and Rescue guy I have, and his dog, to find them, so you stay put officer. Now calm down. I’ll send units racing there now. They’ll report back to us.”

Robbie followed through. I stood by the radio and the body cam monitors in our tactical van as the officers arrived on the scene, forcing entry into both houses at once. Minutes ticked by, but no sign of them.

“All clear at house number two,” one of the officers reports. That was Spence’s house.

“A woman at house number one found in the basement,” another reported.

I doubled over and wanted to hurl the protein bar I’d scarfed down. Lucky whined beside me.

“Woman is awake and says her name is Nancy. Hold.”

Everyone stood around the radio, quiet, waiting until the officer came back on.

“She suspects Spence knocked her out with a drug in her coffee and cannot be trusted. Over.”

The adrenaline, the sheer fear of losing people I cared about, too much, the contents of my stomach came right up.

Then I grabbed the radio. “Confirm please. No child and no other woman at house number one. Over.”

“No other. Over.”

My jaw clicked. Nate and I locked eyes, both of us in the same situation. All the other guys could do was pray they’d never find themselves in any situation like ours.

To lose a loved one sucked, and—Wait. Olivia’s voice floated forward from the back of my mind. Something she’d said at the rest stop that day. I didn’t lose him. I misplaced him.

I grabbed the radio. “House number one. House number one. Search the premises for a pair of child size black tennis shoes with a red car on the side. I repeat, black shoes, red car. Over.”

“What does that mean?” Nate stepped closer.

“Give me a minute,” I paced away.

I yanked my phone out again and clicked an app open. Tracy’s parties were all about family and friends, but she had a tendency to over invite many people to each one. Half the damn town showed up sometimes. I had worried about her Halloween party being crowded, since she hosted it at the very popular Harvest Festival. I’d asked Kipp about it, catching up to him the night before on my midnight shift. What did he do to keep track of all his kids at these parties. He shared his secret with me.

Before the Halloween party, when River and I went into Nancy’s car to take out his booster seat, I had a quick talk with him about safety and staying by us.

Given what Olivia had said about his penchant for hiding, the little mischief maker, I had reminded him not to run off to climb the trees, and to take one of us with him wherever he wanted to go.

I asked him if he knew about stranger danger and to kick and scream if ever someone tried to take him from us. Whatever information I could pour into a kid’s head in a span of about a minute while we unhooked the car seat, I did.

Would he recall all of that tonight? Did he kick and scream, but there wasn’t anyone around to hear him? I hoped like hell he was at least with his mother and not alone.

I tapped the button for his tracker on the app to find him. Because I’d turned obsessive about these two humans—one and a half humans—I’d also tucked into his right show, the tracker Kipp had given me, his “secret weapon” to keeping his kids safe at crowded events.

I told River never to take it out. That way, if he was ever lost, Lucky and I could find him.

“And save me again?” He’d said, looking at me like I was his hero. And I wanted to be that for him, for life.

I’d forgotten about telling Olivia, by the time we got on the road and the excitement of sharing our news with family and friends about us. In hindsight, I should have asked her permission to be able to track our son in the first place. I would need to remember that there were two of us parenting River now. I wasn’t alone.

The app came alive, lighting up my phone. The tracker bleeped and connected. I had his location pinpointed out at Lake Maneto. I shouted, “Holy fuck.” I took off at a sprint for my truck. If I had River, then with any luck, maybe the women were with him, too. But I came to a dead stop within ten feet of my vehicle. One realization hit me.

There I went off again, going it alone. Off to save the day my way, instead of the best way, and leaving my team behind. When would I learn?

I darted back to the guys and spit it all out. “I have their location.” Minutes later, we mobilized into action.