Chapter 9

chapter

nine

They were running out of room.

Rylan Cross studied the packed community center at Redwood Coast Rescue. In the hours after the quake, he'd helped Zak and Anna set up cots in neat rows and prepared to receive those displaced by the disaster. Now, every inch of the place was filled with a mix of locals and tourists, all seeking shelter, medical aid, or news from loved ones. Men and women with cuts and bruises, some with broken bones wrapped in makeshift casts, huddled together. The air buzzed with low murmurs of conversation, the strain of worry audible in every tone. The hum of anxiety was a living, breathing thing in the crowded space. It was like a war zone.

And there were still more survivors pouring in.

Rylan moved through the center, providing what comfort he could to the injured and scared, directing the flow of traffic to try to keep some semblance of order.

"Over here, folks." He waved the newcomers through the door. Everyone looked exhausted, their faces ashen with dust and shock. Some staggered, relying on the support of friends or strangers to stay upright. "We don't have any cots left, but there is plenty of food and blankets to your right. If you're injured, we have medics set up in the back. If you're missing a loved one, there's a sheriff deputy stationed in the office down the hall taking reports."

He'd given up his office space so Deputy Isabella Delgado had a quiet place to record missing person reports.

He didn't envy her task.

Every hour or so, she emerged, her pretty face grim as she shared the growing list of the missing with her boss. Even from across the room, Rylan could see the deep creases in Sheriff Ash Rawlings' forehead. Ash was a stern, taciturn man, a workaholic who had gotten only slightly better about taking time off after marrying his wife, Rose, last year. Ash was known for his unshakeable stoicism, but even he looked overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster.

Just then, Rylan's cell phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him from his thoughts. Surprised that the cell network was still functional, he dug it out and saw his dad's name. Guilt stabbed through him. He should've known his folks would be worried. He should've tried to contact them before now.

He started to answer, but a soft tug on his prosthetic arm distracted him. Looking down, he saw a small girl, maybe four years old, with tear-stained cheeks. She wore a Disney princess dress and had a grimy teddy bear clutched tight in her tiny fist. She tugged on his arm again, her gaze locked onto his with an intensity that went straight to his heart.

He slid the phone back into his pocket without answering and knelt down to her level. "Hey there, princess. That's a cute teddy bear. What can I do for you?"

"I lost my doggie," she whispered and there was so much fear and sorrow in those four words that his heart ached for her.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. What's your dog's name?"

"Bo. He's really big and fluffy and he's scared of thunder."

"Tell you what— I know just the people to help you find Bo." Rylan scooped the girl up onto his hip and scanned the crowd. He didn't see a frantic mother looking for a child, and dread settled like a rock in his gut. Maybe the girl was missing more than just her dog. He spotted Anna Hendricks' red hair in the crowd and weaved through the rows of cots toward her. As a co-founder of Redwood Coast Rescue and a mother herself, Anna was undoubtedly the best person suited for the task of finding Lily's family.

"Anna," he called, raising his voice above the drone of hushed conversation and the occasional wail of a baby. She and her teenage daughter, Bella, both turned, their faces pale and drawn. But at the sight of the little girl in Rylan's arms, Anna's expression softened, and she moved to their side swiftly.

"We've got a missing pup," Rylan said, shifting the little girl on his hip. "Bo— big, fluffy, scared of thunder. And maybe a missing mom," he added in a lower voice so the girl wouldn't hear.

Anna briefly closed her eyes as if asking for strength from some unseen power. Then she opened them again and smiled at the girl. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

The girl buried her face in Rylan's neck. He felt her hot tears seeping through his shirt collar.

"Lily." Her tiny voice was muffled against his shoulder.

Anna's gaze flicked up to him in silent question. He gave a tiny shake of his head. No, he hadn't seen any other family around her.

"Hi, Lily. I'm Anna and this is my daughter, Bella."

"Hi, Lily," Bella said gently. "Where's your mom?"

Lily sniffled. "She went to get Bo. He ran away when the shaking started."

"All right," Anna said and gently extracted the girl from her death grip on his neck. "We're going to do everything we can to find your Bo, okay? And we're going to help you find your mom, too. Can you go with Bella now?"

Bella held out a hand. "Hey, Lily. Come meet my sister, Poppy, and the other kids. I see you like Disney. We have a movie going in this room over here. Do you like Frozen?"

After a beat of hesitation, Lily nodded and set her tiny hand in Bella's.

Rylan watched them walk away. He only knew some of the teenager's history from what little Zak mentioned of it during the team's therapy sessions. It wasn't pretty. Zak and Anna had adopted her and Poppy out of a horrible situation, but she seemed remarkably well adjusted. "She's good with kids."

"Yes, she is," Anna said with a small smile, watching as Bella introduced Lily to Poppy and the other parent-less kids they'd gathered in a small room off the main lobby. Music from the Frozen soundtrack faintly echoed down the hallway, a surreal counterpoint to the grim reality they were facing.

"She's all set to go to college in the fall?" Rylan asked. Somehow, the small talk seemed important in that moment. Anna just looked like she needed the break.

"Yes, she is. She wants to study special effects makeup."

"That's very cool." Of course he already knew all of this. Zak had told him as much during one of their sessions. He was worried that Bella wasn't ready to leave the only stable home she'd ever had, was worried that she'd chosen such a difficult field to make a living in, but Anna didn't seem to share those reservations.

Anna laughed softly. Pride radiated off her. "She's way cooler than I could have ever hoped to be. Her and Poppy both."

Rylan glanced back at the crowded hallway and then returned his gaze to Anna, "You and Zak… you've done a hell of a job with those girls."

"I wish I could take all the credit, but that's mostly Bella's doing. But thank you." Anna set a hand on his arm. "For the compliment and the moment of distraction."

He set his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze.

Just then, a wail cut through the air. It was a sound Rylan knew too well— the raw, unfiltered scream of someone learning their world had just been torn apart.

Anna withdrew her hand from his arm and inhaled sharply. "I'd better check in with Bella, see if she got a description of Lily's mom, then get it out to Zak and the search teams."

"Is there anything—" Rylan's phone buzzed again in his pocket, and he silently cursed himself as he dug it out. His father's name blinked on the screen, persistent and demanding attention. "Sorry, I have to take this."

He excused himself, stepping down the hallway toward his office, out of the flow of people and noise. Only then did he answer.

"Hey, Pa. I'm okay."

He heard an explosive exhale of relief. "Jesus on a crutch, Ry. Why didn't you call your mama? You scared the shit out of her. The news said the quake was centered right near you."

"The news was right for once." His gaze strayed back to the main room where Anna was directing a fresh wave of newcomers. "We got hit pretty hard."

"You shoulda called sooner, boy." His father's reproach was softened by concern. "Your ma's been worried sick."

Translation: I was worried sick.

Rylan smiled faintly at that. Clayton Cross was a good old southern boy from the top of his receding hairline to the soles of his worn-out work boots, and he wouldn't admit to fear even if a black bear was gnawing on his leg.

"I know, Pa. I'm sorry. It's been chaos here."

"He's okay," Clayton called away from the phone. "Delia, I got through. They're okay."

A second later, his mother's voice, as sweet as a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day, rushed through the line. "Oh, Rylan, thank the Lord you're okay. We saw what happened on the news and I just about died from worry. How are you? Is your sister all right? Let me talk to her."

Rylan pulled the phone away from his ear and frowned.

His sister?

Rhiannon wasn't supposed to be here for another week. He'd cleared a long weekend off from his duties with Redwood Coast Rescue so they could spend time together.

He put the phone back to his ear. "What are you talking about, Ma? Rhia isn't here. She's still in Japan until next week."

Silence echoed through the line for a moment before his mother replied. "What do you mean she's not there? She was coming early to surprise you."

Ice trickled down his spine.

Had Rhiannon been in Steam Valley during the earthquake?

"When?" he demanded, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. "When did she get here?"

"She landed in San Francisco yesterday and rented a car. She was going to take a few days driving up the coast. She should have arrived at your place this afternoon."

Fear clawed its way up his throat, choking off his words for a moment. His little sister, his Rhia, looked at the world with wide green eyes and chose to see the good in it, even when the darkness threatened to swallow her whole.

She could be anywhere. Buried under rubble or trapped, alone and scared. If she lost her hearing aids, she'd be unable to hear rescuers calling out for survivors.

She could be hurt. Worse, she could— No. He wouldn't let his mind go there.

His grip tightened on the phone. "I'll find her," he croaked out, struggling to keep his voice steady.

A muffled sob sounded from his mother on the other end of the line followed by soft, fervent prayer whispered by his father. He wished he could take away their fear. He'd already put them through so much—the endless hospital visits, the worry in their eyes when he spiraled into PTSD and depression, the murmured reassurances that he was okay, even though they all knew it was a lie.

After all that, he couldn't, wouldn't, let them lose Rhiannon.

"Go, son," Clayton said firmly. "We'll be praying for you both."

His parents' faith was unshakeable in moments like these. His? Not so much. He'd been raised a good Southern boy, attending church every Sunday and reciting his prayers dutifully every night. But after that FUBAR mission where he'd lost his arm, most of his team, and his sanity, after all the nights filled with terror and cold sweats, he'd learned that sometimes life kicked you down and kept you there, regardless of how hard you prayed. If there was a God, He didn't give one hot damn about what was happening here on Earth.

But now…

Now, he wished he could borrow a bit of his parents' unwavering belief.

"I will find her," he promised again. "I love you both." He hung up before his parents could say anything else. His world had just narrowed down to one single mission: finding Rhiannon.

As if on autopilot, he barreled toward his office, where Deputy Delgado had just finished with another tearful family.

She looked up as he burst through the door. "Oh. Rylan. Did you need your office—" She broke off, her dark eyes widening when she saw his face. "What's wrong?"

"My sister." Was that his voice, all hollow and broken? He couldn't recognize it. "She was on her way here. She was... she's missing."