Page 83 of Cops and Robbers

“911, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked.

“Ping this phone. A woman is hurt on the side of the highway. Send an ambulance.” She hung up.

Kate reached the middle-aged, willowy woman sitting on the shoulder, legs out in front of her, dazed eyes staring ahead. Her arm bled from scraping against the pavement.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” Kate asked, squatting down.

Her gaze focused on Kate. “Why…?”

“It’s going to be okay. I called the police. Here is your purse.” Kate handed the item over.

Echoing helicopter blades whooped.

The black mass lowered behind the trees, landing in the clearing. She swallowed, wanting to return to the team. I need to know if Caige is okay.

She rubbed her face to stop the stinging in her eyes and stood. “Stay here. Don’t accept help until the police arrive.”

Kate ran back to the lake. The helicopter hadn’t turned off its engine. Air pushed against her as she arrived. The helicopter faced her, and she lifted her arm to fend off flying limbs and leaves.

In the window, she met Raz’s gaze. His expression was bleak. The link lay silent between them. Iced over.

I’d blame me too, but please don’t leave me here. Don’t give up on me.

Raz said something to Sid and turned aside. The helicopter rose and flew away, ripping her heart out with it.

Please be here…Kate exited her Uber ride and headed for the Dusted Tuck. The link in her mind sat stagnant, dark, and quiet, twisting her heart into a tight mass. The bar’s lights were off, and the sign in the window said, “Closed.” In the middle of the afternoon, it wasn’t surprising for a bar, but it still gave her hope that the team was there.

She pounded her fist against the wooden frame and peeked through the glass. Empty. She hammered again.

“Come on,” she yelled at the door. I just need to know how Caige is doing. Raz wouldn’t answer her calls. All night while she rode a bus back to Chicago from Nebraska, she looked for him in hospital records, but the team hadn’t checked him in. So, she went to the next best place.

She knocked again.

A light flickered in the background. Yes.

Sid walked to the front door, expression remote. He opened the door, cracking it so she could barely see around him. A dark figure stood behind the bar—Lewis, perhaps?

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Is Caige going to be okay?”

His eyes darkened. “Go away, Kate.”

“Just tell me he’s okay.”

“I said, go away. We don’t want you here right now.”

Pain spread across her chest. Why can’t you fucking tell me? “You know I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“But it did.”

Movement over Sid’s left shoulder caught her gaze. Raz stopped walking toward the bar and pivoted away.

“Raz, please…” she said.

He continued walking.

She stumbled away from the door, the wind knocked out of her. “Right. Sorry I bothered.”