Even in the gray light, Xavier could see her face blanch. “Two or three days before they even start wondering if something is up?”

He nodded.

She placed her hand on her belly. “I think I might puke again.”

He handed her a helmet to use as a basin.

She held it before her, taking deep breaths as she stared down at the cheap helmet with the broken clip that had saved his life a little less than twenty-four hours ago. After a long silence, she set it aside and met his gaze. “What would the Navy do if I were reported missing? Would they send someone into the park?”

“Is that likely?”

“I don’t know…maybe? I was supposed to meet a friend for breakfast today before I was going to return to the Forks Ranger Station. And my colleagues in Forks were expecting me to return.”

“But it’s not your regular work site. So they might assume you’re at park headquarters in Port Angeles.”

“True. But also, last night, I was supposed to meet Jae at the gate. He might follow up. I never miss work without calling in.”

“ONP has their own search and rescue, right?”

“Yeah. With assistance from the Coast Guard. They’re more active in the summer when hikers go missing, but winter storms bring new dangers.”

“The Navy might balk at sending in a team.” Now it was his turn to feel like he was going to puke, but he had to say it. “And the reason is…they might not be concerned because the missing person is you, and they know you were opposed to the training. They might think—like I did last night—that you entered the park to disrupt the training. For revenge.”

His words made Audrey feel sick again, but she knew he was right. Her motives for entering the park would be suspect. Jae could raise all the alarms, and the Navy could refuse to allow a search party.

“If they won’t come looking for me, then we should hike out. The storm is lighter now—”

“I can’t leave my team, Audrey, and you shouldn’t take on a hike like that by yourself. For starters, we don’t have the right camping equipment—not backpacking gear. What we have is too heavy for one person.”

He was right. She was an avid hiker, but she knew better than to hike alone, especially in winter conditions. One bad step, and a sprained ankle could be her death.

But if she wasn’t alone, it would be worth the risk. “We need to find George.”

“You want to hike out of here with a seventy-two-year-old as your backup?”

“He’s been hiking these woods for seventy of those seventy-two years, so yeah. I do.”

“And how do we find him?”

An idea stirred. “We don’t. We let George find me.”