Page 80 of Keeping Kara

The good news was that Pyro’s leg had healed enough for him to get back behind the controls of his helicopter. Kara wasn’t sure if he’d been cleared to go on any missions yet or not, but everyone was thrilled that he was back flying, if only on training flights for now. Arrow and his friends lived and breathed flying. It was a huge part of who they were, and it had to have been extremely difficult for Pyro to be grounded for months while his leg healed.

Reaching for her phone that was still sitting next to her laptop on the kitchen table, Kara saw that it wasn’t Arrow calling, but Jen. Just as happy to talk to her friend as she would’ve been to hear from Arrow, she answered with a chirpy hello.

“Kara? I need your help.”

Kara’s smile died immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Fred ran off, and I can’t find him.”

Kara frowned. That didn’t sound like the extremely well-behaved and trained search dog she’d gotten to know. The dog was devoted to Jen, and she couldn’t imagine him running off without a darn good reason. “Oh, of course I’ll help you. Where are you?”

“Can I come pick you up?”

Now confusion filled Kara. Jen sounded…weird. But she chalked it up to the fact that her beloved dog was missing. “Of course. Have you called anyone else? Is Penny home?”

“No, and I don’t know. Fred and I were doing some training in the Stumpy Lake Natural Area south of the city, and he got the scent of something and disappeared. I couldn’t keep up with him and he wasn’t answering my calls. I knew you’d be home and you’re closest, so I called you.”

Jen was speaking really fast, and as soon as she finished, she began to cry.

“It’s okay, Jen. We’ll find him. You need to calm down so you don’t wreck on your way here. I’ll make some calls and by the time you arrive, we can⁠—”

“No! Don’t! I’m going to be there soon, I’m pulling onto your street now. There’s no time to call anyone else. The two of us can find him, I know it! I don’t want to bother anyone else!”

Kara knew exactly how it felt to be panicking, and she could hear in Jen’s voice that’s what was happening. “All right. I’ll go change into some long pants and a long-sleeve shirt, since we’ll be headed into the woods. Drive safe, Jen, I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you. And…I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’m happy to help. We’ll find Fred, I’m sure of it.”

The phone went dead, and Kara stared at it for a moment with a frown before hurrying to the room she shared with Arrow to change. She’d just finished pulling on a long-sleeve T-shirt and a pair of cargo pants—given to her by Laryn, of course—when she heard a honk out in the driveway.

Jen hadn’t lied, she really had been almost to the house. Kara grabbed her phone where she’d left it on the counter and went to the front door. She turned off the security system, then pushed the button that would reset it thirty seconds after the front door closed behind her. She wasn’t convinced the two of them could find the dog without help, and would definitely call Arrow as soon as they were on their way to the natural area.

Jen sat behind the wheel of her PT Cruiser with both hands on the steering wheel and a terrified expression on her face. Kara felt awful for her. It had to be so hard to know that Fred was out there somewhere, lost and probably wondering where the hell his person had gone.

She went to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Her focus was solely on Kara as she sat down, closed the door, and reached out a hand. She patted her friend’s shoulder and said, “We’ll find him. Don’t worry.”

Jen turned her head, and Kara saw her eyes were bloodshot and, weirdly, it looked like she had the beginnings of a black eye.

“I’m sorry,” Jen whispered.

Before Kara could ask her what she was sorry about, or reassure her once more that she never had to be sorry about asking for help, something wrapped around her neck from behind.

Kara’s hands immediately flew to her throat to try to grab whatever was wrapped tightly around it—when she heard a voice she’d hoped never to hear again, whispering in her ear.

“Hello, Kara. You didn’t think you could hide from me forever, did you?”

* * *

Chaos and the rest of his team were in a conference room, knee deep in maps and security reports about the rise in terrorist activity along the border of Oman and the United Arab Emirates that warranted watching, when Pyro’s phone rang. No one thought too much about it. They’d all received calls at one time or another during research sessions. They used to turn off their phones when they were in meetings like this one, but now that most of them had girlfriends and wives, they’d agreed it was a good idea to be available, just in case of emergencies.

And Lord knew they’d all had enough of those to last a lifetime.

“Hey, Penny, what’s up?” Pyro said as he answered.

His brows immediately furrowing was the first sign that something might be wrong.

The other men in the room stopped working and stared at Pyro, as he continued speaking to his wife.