Undine had hoped to get her friend to talk over omelets and hash browns. It wasn’t good to bottle up the pain. Her husband, Luke, had suggested Undine take Audrey out for a meal to try to get her to open up. He knew from experience how gutting it was to have a lover’s betrayal destroy a career. That the lover who betrayed him had been Undine didn’t change how much it had hurt at the time.

So here she was for her friendtervention, but Audrey wasn’t here.

It didn’t make sense.

She texted Audrey again, letting her know she was on her doorstep.

No response. Not even a read receipt, which Audrey’s phone always sent.

She hit the Call button as she spotted a US park ranger law enforcement vehicle turning onto Audrey’s street. Relief fluttered through her, and she tucked the phone away. Audrey was probably getting a ride home from a coworker.

She smiled, thinking maybe Audrey had a date that had extended into the morning. Had she and Jae finally hooked up?

Good for Audrey. She needed some fun after that prick Xavier.

Sure enough, it was Jae in the driver’s seat, but she frowned when she realized the passenger seat was empty.

Jae looked weary as he exited the vehicle. His uniform was rumpled. “Hey, Undine. Good to see you.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You going somewhere with Audrey? I’d like to chat with her before you take off. It’ll only take a minute.”

Her heart sank. “I was hoping she was with you.”

“She’s not here?”

“No. I was supposed to pick her up for a breakfast date”—she checked her watch again—“fifteen minutes ago, but she’s not answering her door. This isn’t like her.”

Jae frowned. “Agreed.”

“Why are you here this morning? You look like you’re just coming off a long shift.”

He nodded. “I am. It went several hours over—multiple mudslides on roads near Forks.” He ran a hand over his tired face. “Before the slides, I was supposed to meet her by the Lake Olympus Road gate. There were issues with the cameras monitoring the village site.” He paused then added “I presume you know about that?”

She nodded. She’d have helped Audrey bury the cable if she wasn’t busy with her own job.

“I was held up by some campers at Mora, and by the time I got to the gate, she wasn’t there. I couldn’t get ahold of her. I left a message for her with the dispatcher to call me when she got home. I was going to check on her last night…but then the mudslides happened. I called her as soon as I remembered this morning, but went straight to voicemail. Thought I’d swing by.”