“We gotta go,” one of the EMTs said.
Hannah stepped back.
They whisked him into the ambulance and took off.
Hannah focused on Cici. “He opened his eyes. Did you see that?”
“He did?” Cici asked as she blew out a relieved breath. “Thank God.”
“Are you sure?” Bianca asked.
“Yes.”
Bianca averted her gaze.
What in the hell was wrong with her friend? Everyone else looked relieved to know he’d opened his eyes, and she looked...she wasn’t sure how her friend looked, but she knew it wasn’t relieved. Why not?
ChapterTwelve
Hannah,Bianca, Chief Ricco, Cici, and Cap climbed into the Iron City logoed minivan that Fire Chief Ganea picked them up in. For the first time, since...she swallowed hard...since Alyssa’d been shot, she felt safe. Still, who or where the shooter was, she hadn’t a clue. She inhaled, catching Hunter’s familiar woodsy scent. The pine and cedar notes brought back the pleasant memory of their shared kisses. She turned to look at Cap. Not only did he look like Hunter, he smelled like him, too. The man offered a crooked smile. She returned with one of her own.
Though he smiled, the worry lines did not erase from his face. He reached over and placed his large hand over hers that rested on the armrest of her bucket seat in the middle of the van.
“He’ll be fine. He has to be,” he said.
She nodded, then looked over her shoulder at Cici, who sat in the way back of the van. The woman’s eyes watered. A quick glance at Bianca back there next to Cici offered no empathy or concern. She wore a blank expression, but looked a little pale.
Within ten minutes, Chief Ganea pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital.
Cap climbed out of the van and then motioned for his sister to do the same. “You go in and get things squared away here, and I’ll go back to Yooper Adventures, and get everything and everyone back on track, then I’ll come back here.”
“Okay.”
Cici slid out of the van and disappeared into the hospital.
Once Cap climbed back in, Chief Ganea drove off toward Yooper Adventures.
“What do you think, Chief? Justin texted and said the other two teams of hikers and campers have been pulled back to base and are fine. Luckily, two groups had finished their excursions this morning before this all happened, but we have a couple of additional groups waiting to go out. The ones Cici, and Hunter were going to guide.”
“Until we figure out what is going on, we need to keep everyone out of the woods.”
“What am I going to tell them?”
Chief Ricco thought for a moment. “A version of the truth. I’d be willing to bet by the time we get there, some variation of the truth will have beaten us there. I know this isn’t great for your uncle and Yooper Adventures, but canceling will be best for everyone.”
“I agree,” Cap replied.
“What about Alyssa?” Hannah asked, choking on her friend’s name. Hot tears burned her cheeks. She wanted to know that her friend had been taken care of and wasn’t lying on the unforgiving rock atop Lover’s Leap Falls.
Chief Ricco twisted in his seat to face her. His dark gaze emitted empathy. “She’s been brought back to base camp.”
She swiped the tears from her cheeks.
“How? Who?” was all she could muster.
“Dewey, the officer you met earlier, and three DNR officers took good care in bringing your friend back to camp. Dewey has called her parents, who she listed as her emergency contacts on the form she filled out for Yooper Adventures.”
Hannah’s heart felt like it exploded at the thought of Alyssa’s poor parents getting this call from Dewey.
