HelenKay Dimon - Lawless

Joel leaned in closer instead. “His what?”

She knew there was no way that comment would slide by. “Gun, and I’ll explain later.”

“Yeah, you will,” Joel said.

But not now. Not when all those eyes focused solely on her. “Go on, Lance.”

“That’s it. I figured he was walking it off or getting something to eat. Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal. He got scolded. Get over it.”

Hope didn’t know what to do with any of that information. Mark had gotten angry and stormed off. She knew that before she took off on her search. But maybe she could get an answer to one question. “Were either of you out in the woods this morning?”

She got a lot of head shaking and mumbling but no answers. She scanned the crowd. Only Lance didn’t possess the right body type. He’d joked about gaining more weight than his wife during the pregnancy. Hope doubted that was true, but he was carrying around a few extra pounds that would have made it a bit tough to dodge in and out of the trees.

Still, that didn’t mean none of them had done it. Someone had and the nerves jumping around inside her wouldn’t quiet down until she had answers, the right number of campers and her phone.

“And where were you this morning?” Joel asked the man in front of him.

Charlie didn’t move. “Checking on the food situation.”

From the question Hope guessed Joel wasn’t as willing to believe as easily as she was. Then again, he’d just met the group, and they were down two members.

“Let’s try it this way.” Joel shifted his weight. Not a big move. Barely perceptible but something about it made him appear taller and less willing to play games. “When did you last see Mark?”

Charlie’s gaze bounced from Joel to Cam and back again. “What’s with the weapons? Are you police?”

The look on Joel’s face, the way the corner of his mouth inched up, came close to a smile. “Pretend I am.”

Charlie didn’t share his amusement. “I don’t think I will.”

Much more of this and they’d never get to an answer. As it was, Lance and Jeff stared, watching the verbal volleys with their mouths hanging more open with each sentence.

Hope decided to act like what she was—in charge. “Charlie, help me out here. Mark wandered off and now I don’t know where Perry is.”

“I’m pretty sure Perry is in taking a second run at the chow line.”

This time the relief walloped the air right out of her lungs. “So, you’ve seen him this morning?”

Charlie nodded. “About fifteen minutes ago.”

“That’s a relief,” Lance said.

She saw Joel opening his mouth to say something and jumped in first. “But it doesn’t explain the Mark issue.”

Charlie waved her off. Even threw in a “bah” right before he started talking. “He’s just blowing off steam.”

The men kept saying it, but the explanation wasn’t good enough. “I can’t find him and I need him to check in before we do one more thing.”

Jeff swiped his thermos off the ground. “We need to go out looking for him.”

“How exactly?” Joel asked.

The question caused Jeff to go still. “What?”

Hope knew where this was going. She felt the conversation rolling downhill and couldn’t grab a two-second break to throw her body in front of it.

She couldn’t speak for Cam’s expertise, but she guessed it was off the charts. But Joel knew everything about surviving outdoors. He was the one person in the group better at outdoor activities than she was, and that was saying something.

He thrived in this environment. His father had groomed his kids to fight and shoot, readying them for the domestic civil war he insisted was coming.

Lost in paranoia and reeling from the unexpected loss of his wife, Joel’s dad believed the government had lost its way and only small pockets of freedom-loving people would save the world. He went about it by toughening up his kids, making them sleep outside and denying them an education until the state stepped in.

The upbringing was sick and wrong and it shaped Joel in ways she still hadn’t explored. He liked to joke and act as if certain things didn’t bother him, but she knew. But there were times when his gaze would wander and those dark eyes would glaze. He’d go to whatever place he built in his mind to find normalcy. And he wouldn’t let her in.

“Do you know anything about wilderness survival?” His voice stayed deceptively soft as he aimed the question at Jeff.

The other man held eye contact for a few seconds, then broke it. “We studied up before we came out here.”

“Oh, good.” Joel stared at Cam. “They studied.”

She got the point, but the conversation promised to run them right into a brick wall. “Joel, that’s enough.”

Not that he heard her. He continued to stare at Jeff.

She knew the hard truth. None of the testosterone-jousting did anything to help them locate Mark.

“Which cabin belongs to this guy?” Cam asked.

“That one.” She pointed to the building directly next to where hers sat in the middle of the makeshift line. Because she appreciated the assist, she followed Cam’s lead. “Charlie, can you take the guys and put together some provisions? If we’re going to spread out and search for Mark—”

Joel frowned. “Are we?”

“—they need to be ready.”

Charlie started shaking his head before she finished the sentence. “I’m not convinced this is necessary. He’s probably sulking. Struck me as the type.”

“He’s the vice president of finance,” Jeff said, as if that explained everything.

When Joel finally performed that eye roll it looked like he’d been dying to do since Jeff stood up, it was obvious he wasn’t convinced. “So?”

But she had a plan and it depended on everyone agreeing and moving on. “Charlie, if you could, maybe, keep everyone together, that would be a great help.”

He stared at her, not saying a thing. A gust of wind shook the leaves and the sun beat down on the campground, but the silence stretched out. Finally, Charlie began a slow nod. It picked up in speed as it went and seemed to last for a long time. “Ah, got it.”

She blew out the breath she’d been holding. It scratched her throat as it rushed out. “Thanks.”

“Gentlemen?” Charlie motioned for the managers to follow him. “Let’s go find Perry and get packed.”

Joel didn’t speak until the place cleared out and the voices faded as everyone slipped through the path between the cabins and headed for the kitchen cabin and open seating area about thirty feet away before he faced her. “What’s with the search party talk?”

“Some of this crew think they are mountain men. I was worried they’d run off with butter knives and try to slay bears or something equally stupid.” She’d dealt with the type for a long time and developed some skills, the top one being not to let them rally and slide into attack mode.

Cam nodded. “You wanted Charlie to keep them occupied while we searched.”

She looked at Joel, waited for him to say something. She expected a lecture on knowing the parameters of her job and leaving the investigation to him, the professional.

Instead a smile broke across his lips. “Your dad would be proud of your covert abilities.”

The compliment rushed right to her head, making her as dizzy as drinking the finest wine. “You don’t grow up with a former special ops guy and not learn a few things.”

That smile only widened. “Apparently.”

“Besides, Charlie gets it. He knows the kind of people who come out here,” she said, hoping to focus on all she had to do and drag her mind away from Joel. “He can help.”

Cam chuckled. “If Joel doesn’t tick him off.”