Chapter 26

Austin glanced at his phone again at twenty-one hundred. It was late. Too late. He’d texted Alexa earlier to see if she made it back, then tried calling her. Austin didn’t want to bother her if she was still with her clients, but sunset had long passed. What if they’d had trouble with the helo? He didn’t like that her clients hadn’t told her of their plans to fly her in a helicopter in advance. Something felt off about the situation.

Muttering under his breath, he called Wyatt. Maybe he was being the paranoid boyfriend, but even when Lex had been mad at him yesterday, she’d called him to say goodnight. Deep in his gut, he knew something was wrong.

“Damn it,” he said as Wyatt’s phone rang. Hopefully he’d pick up.

His buddy finally answered, but his next words did nothing to reassure Austin. “Hey. I was just going to call you,” Wyatt said, his voice tense. “Callie hasn’t heard from Alexa since they parted ways at the airport. You haven’t heard from her, have you?”

“No. I spoke with Alexa when she landed at the airport earlier today with Callie,” he said, already standing up. “Something’s wrong. Alexa’s clients sent a helicopter to fly her out to the canyon. She should’ve been back by now.”

“You don’t know the name of her clients, do you?” Wyatt asked.

Austin huffed out a sigh. “No. I think the woman was named Melissa, but that’s all I know. I don’t have last names or the name of her fiancé.”

“Damn it. That’s what Callie said, too. Let’s meet on base. We can hopefully get the flight records from Lihue Airport. We can see what time the helo left and find out who it’s registered to as well.”

“We should see if any mayday calls were made,” Austin said, his voice grim.

“We’ll look into all of that,” Wyatt assured him. “Hopefully she’s fine and just couldn’t get in touch for whatever reason. Maybe her cell battery died.”

A brief spark of hope coursed through him. “I guess that’s possible. They could’ve been running behind, arrived late at the airport, and then Alexa couldn’t contact Callie or me. Except most airports have outlets to charge electronics everywhere.”

A beat passed. “Maybe her phone was damaged or they got stranded at the canyon. We’ll know more once we determine what helicopter she was on and if it ever returned to the airport.”

“Good point,” Austin said as he grabbed his keys. “I’m on my way in to base.”

“Okay. See you there in twenty. I’ll call the other guys.”

***

Frustration wound through him an hour later. Hours had passed since Alexa boarded the helicopter, and according to flight records, it had never returned to Lihue Airport. The flight plans indicated the helo should be back by twenty hundred, but that time had long passed.

“Why the hell don’t we have the correct registration info for the helicopter? It wasn’t a military helo. It’s not classified information,” Austin ground out.

“I don’t think the FAA knows who it actually belongs to,” Sawyer said, scowling. “It was purchased by a shadow company, not an individual. We can search all we want, but there’s nothing to find. It’s nothing but a name.”

“Do they know the identity of the pilot?” Austin asked, his voice rising.

“Working on it,” Aaron assured him, cursing as he got disconnected with the airport. He redialed the number, drumming his fingers on the table, equally agitated.

Austin shook his head. “We’re going to have to scour through hours of flight data. The radar will show the path it took, assuming it left Waimea Canyon. But where the hell would it go?”

“The CO’s on his way,” Wyatt said, poking his head into the conference room.

Austin tried Alexa’s phone again, worry churning through him. He’d even taken to searching the local news to make sure there hadn’t been any helicopter crashes in Kauai. It wasn’t unheard of. Rain or fog could cause confusion. Only recently there’d been a crash on a remote beach, the pilots and passengers injured. Except today was picture-perfect.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but he had a feeling Alexa was in trouble. She wouldn’t just forget to check in with Callie if she was running late. If the helicopter had trouble while at Waimea Canyon, the pilot would’ve radioed for help. Something had happened.

The CO and Wyatt came striding in, a frown on Commander Madden’s face. “I’ve got a contact in Kauai who’s going to help us out and get more details on all helicopter traffic from the Lihue Airport today. Given the timing, we’re assuming we know the exact one Alexa boarded. There’s an issue with the surveillance footage, however, and I’m worried it’s not a coincidence. My contact will cut through the bullshit and get to the bottom of this.”

“Thank God,” Austin said. “The staff we’ve spoken with have been less than helpful.”

“I’ve got other concerning news, too. Duke isn’t in Oahu anymore.”

“What?”

“On a hunch, I checked flight records from Honolulu International Airport this week. Duke flew out two days ago.”

“Where was he going?” Austin asked, already dreading the answer.

“Kauai.”