Shaking off my resentment, I turned to follow the trail that would hopefully lead to Max. I decided to call out to Max since he might be hiding from River. “Max!” I yelled. “It’s me. It’s Royce.”
Literal crickets.
I yelled a few more times but then focused on following the trail. Max would have had a huge head start. He didn’t have a flashlight though, so he’d have had to move pretty slowly in the dark. The ground was sandy and riddled with small rocks, which made footing unsteady. Hopefully, that and having a flashlight would give me the advantage, and I’d be able to catch up to him.
I could hear River and Lucas moving through the brush a few feet away. At least they hadn’t doubled back to sneak off to one of the cars. I pushed through the thick mesquite and black brush, calling Max’s name every now and then, just in case.
My flashlight had a compass on the end, which came in handy. It was easy to get twisted around outhere in the dark. The last thing we needed was for all of us to get lost out in the desert. Even though it was a cool night, I was working up a sweat. I stopped to wipe perspiration from my brow and then continued on.
I trudged on for what felt like forever. It was fairly straightforward following Max’s footprints in the soft sand, but then I reached an area that was mostly loose shale and rocks. Scowling, I scanned the ground for Max’s shoe prints, but I couldn’t find them. The area was wide and long, and even though I walked the length of the rocky area, I couldn’t seem to pinpoint his prints once the sand started again.
Scowling, I paced the rocky area once more but still didn’t see Max’s trail leading from it. Was he hiding somewhere nearby, thinking I was River, but I just couldn’t see him? “Max?” I yelled. “It’s me, Royce. If you’re hiding, it’s safe to come out.”
Nothing.
Frustration clawed at me. The desert had never felt so big as it did tonight. We’d barely scratched the surface, and without a trail to follow, I wouldn’t be able to locate Max. I’d hoped he wasn’t that far from the house, but I’d obviously been wrong. There was no sign of him now. I’d lost his trail, and that made me sick to my stomach. I’d need to call in SAR. Mobilizing that would take time, but it was the obvious next step. The area surrounding the house River had kept Max in was too huge for me to make a dent. SAR had a wilderness search and rescue division, so they’d find Max way faster.
I could see River and Lucas’s flashlight nearby and heard them softly talking. Were they making a plan of some kind? I got the feeling Lucas would dojust about anything for River. Were they lovers? Were they conspiring right now to jump me? Lose me? Make a break for it? Lucas wanted me to go easy on River, but if it wasn’t for River, Max wouldn’t be lost in the desert right now. Max wouldn’t be in danger. River had done this. River had put Max in this horrible situation. Max would be depending on me to find him, but I’d lost his damn trail somehow.
If anything bad happens to Max…
Lucas and River came out of the brush at that very moment, and at the sight of River, something inside me seemed to snap. My despair and fear for Max exploded out of me like a bomb. Without a word, I charged River like a rhinoceros. When he saw me barreling toward him, he widened his eyes and let out a terrified screech.
I grabbed hold of his suit jacket, and I yanked him against me. Pushing my face to his, I growled, “This is allyourfault. Because of you, Max is lost out there somewhere. You stupid son of a bitch.”
Lucas looked shocked, but he stood frozen.
River struggled in my grip, fear painting his features. “I didn’t mean any harm.”
I shook him hard enough to rattle his teeth. “Didn’t mean anyharm?” I snarled, pushing him so hard he fell backward, flailing wildly on the way down.
He landed on his ass with a loud grunt, and pain flickered through his eyes. He held out a hand as I advanced on him. “Please, Royce. Don’t hurt me.”
“Did you care about hurting Max? Did you show him mercy?” I hissed, grabbing him and yanking him to his feet again. “Huh?” I bared my teeth at him, breathing hard. “You had no right to drug him. Noright to hurt him. I couldkillyou. I could fucking murder you, River.”
“Royce.” Lucas’s voice was harsh as he finally lunged toward us. Grabbing hold of my arm, he said, “Please, Royce. Calm down.”
“I don’t feel like calming down. I’ve been calm enough. I’mdonebeing calm,” I grated out, shaking River again. “I can’t find his trail. Do you understand what that means? He could die, River. Max coulddie.”
“I’m sorry,” River whimpered, slumping like a rag doll.
Lucas tried to pry my grip off River, but I held on tight. I felt powerless to protect Max, and it was driving me nuts. Where the hell could he be? Why wasn’t he responding to my calls? Was he hurt? Was he unconscious somewhere out here?
Was he dead?
“If anything happens to him…” I hissed, letting the threat hang in the air.
“Please, Royce. Let him go.” Lucas’s voice was pleading. “I know you’re upset, but beating River up won’t help anything. Right now, Max needs you to thinklogically. What would you do right now if anyone else was missing? That’s what you need to think about.”
Still glaring at River, I muttered, “He needs to pay for what he’s done to Max.”
“He will pay.” Lucas nodded. “But right now, you need to find Max. That’s the priority, correct? What would you do next if someone else was lost in the desert?”
“Call TEXSAR,” I rumbled, releasing River.
“Good. Yes. We’re never going to find Max just the three of us. We need help. We need more bodies tohelp search. Let’s go back to the house, and you call search and rescue or whoever it is you need to call. Okay?” Lucas patted my shoulder. “You good?”
“Hell no. I’m not even close to good,” I barked, grabbing my hat off the ground. It had fallen off when I’d shaken River. I dusted it off and slapped it on my head, and then I started back in the direction of the house.
