Identity Withheld

by Sandra Orchard

  “They took him into the forest?” Kara clutched the armrest, staring at the icy sleet replastering the windshield as quickly as the wipers swept it away. “He’ll die of exposure if—” She pressed a fist to her mouth at the thought of Tommy wandering the forest alone.

  “There aren’t any tracks. The sleet is coming down too fast,” another deputy reported in.

  Kara’s mind flashed to the hide-and-seek game Tommy played with Rusty. Did Sam still have the dog with him? She grabbed the radio mic. “Sam, Sam!”

  Lewis grabbed it from her hand. “What are you doing?”

  “I know how they can find Tommy. You’ve got to let me talk to Jake.”

  “Not over the radio.” He hooked it back onto its holder and tossed her his cell phone. “Call him. You’ll find his brother’s cell number in the call history.”

  Deciding she could probably trust Lewis after all, she tapped Sam’s name on the phone. Her pulse throbbed triple time with each unanswered ring.

  “What is it, Lewis?” Sam’s voice finally snapped in her ear.

  “It’s Kara, Sam. Do you have Rusty with you?”

  “No, Sherri took him home. Why?”

  “Ask her to bring him to the park as fast as she can. He can find Tommy. He’s a good tracker. Tommy’s been training him to find him.”

  “Kara—” Sam’s frustration seeped into his voice “—I don’t have time to—”

  “Sam, he can do it. I know he can. Please.”

  His ragged sigh betrayed his doubts. “Yeah, okay. It’s worth a try.” He clicked off before she could say anything more.

  “Take me to the park,” she ordered the deputy marshal.

  “Right,” he scoffed. “Do I look like I want to spend the rest of my life as a shopping mall security guard?”

  “Look, the reason I went to the police in the first place was to save a child’s life. I’m not going to run away now when another boy’s life is at stake!”

  He shot her a glare. “You don’t have a choice.” The car skidded on the slick road and he returned his attention to driving.

  Urgency welled in her chest. “I’m good with dogs. You must have read that in your files. I can find that boy. The dog listens to me.” Silence. She gentled her voice. “Do you have a son, Deputy Marshal?”

  The muscle in his jaw flicked and the car slowed.

  She pressed her advantage. “Time is of the essence. In this sleet, the scent trail won’t last long. And neither will that boy.”

  Lewis cursed and veered left on the next road, which, if her sense of direction was right, would take them toward the state park. “If I lose my job over this, I’ll shoot you myself,” he growled.

  “I’ll find him. You’ll see,” Kara vowed. She’d find him or die trying. No way would she let Jake pay for his kindness to her with his son’s life.

  What seemed like an eternity later, a parking lot full of cruisers came into view and her heart lifted. She clasped the door handle before the marshal hit the brakes. He grabbed her arm.

  “Ah,” she cried out. “That’s my burned arm.”

  He clamped her wrist instead. “You don’t leave this car without a vest.” He slapped the door lock and, releasing her wrist, reached into the backseat. “Here.” He dropped a vest into her lap.

  She quickly shed her coat and struggled not to wince as she fit on the vest. She started to put the coat back on, but he stopped her.

  “Wait a minute. You’ll look like a giant bull’s-eye in that red thing.” He rummaged through a duffel bag in his backseat and shoved a waterproof jacket at her.

  She held up the oversize jacket. “And I won’t look like a bull’s-eye with marshal printed on the back of this one?”

  “Keep up the hood and no one will know you’re not a marshal.”

  At the sight of Jake dejectedly returning to the parking lot with Rusty, Kara jumped out of the car while still yanking on the jacket. “Didn’t he pick up any scent?”

  Jake jumped at her voice, but the shock of seeing her again didn’t eradicate the hollow look in his eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  She grabbed the leash. “I can find him, Jake. Trust me.”

  “No!” He grabbed her wrist, a little of the fire returning to his eyes, as the marshal edged a protective circle around them, scanning the surrounding hills and forest. “It’s a setup. He drove by and tossed the phone, knowing we’d track it.”

  “If he tossed it, he’s been here.” Her gaze drifted past Jake’s shoulder, past Sam and a dozen deputies poring over a map spread out on the hood of a cruiser to the only unfamiliar car in the parking lot. “Whose car is that?”

  “Stolen. Probably abandoned here.”

  “Yeah, maybe by the kidnapper!” Kara tugged the dog’s lead. “C’mon, Rusty.” She sprinted across the parking lot, Jake and the marshal on her heels.

  “I tried the dog there, too,” Jake said. “There weren’t any tracks.”

  “The sleet would’ve covered the tracks by now.” Kara twined Rusty’s lead around her hand and pulled open the passenger door.

  Rusty barked immediately.

  “You smell Tommy, boy?” she asked excitedly. “Seek!”

  The dog’s nose dived to the ground, moving in ever-widening circles.

  Jake’s eyes widened. “Seek? That’s the command?”

  The dog bounded up a grassy hill to a clearing.

  At the sight of a small, red knit mitt, Kara’s hopes soared. She pointed. “Is that Tommy’s?”

  Jake’s face lit. “Yes!”

  She jogged Rusty to it, and his tail wagged excitedly. “Good boy. Seek Tommy. Seek.”

  Rusty let out a bark that sounded an awful lot like a whoop and raced through the clearing with Kara at a full-out sprint, Jake and Lewis trailing. He stopped at a tiny footprint and her heart felt lighter than air.

  “He’s here,” Jake breathed, clutching Tommy’s glove to his chest. “Tommy!”

  Rusty set off again, yanking Kara’s arm with a jolt. She stumbled and lost hold of the leash.

  “I’ve got him.” Jake sprinted past, his longer strides easily overtaking the dog’s, as he shouted his son’s name.

  Lewis pulled Kara to her feet and they raced after them.

  Sheriff’s deputies started up the hill from the parking lot. She hoped they’d called in an ambulance to take care of Tommy. His clothes would’ve soaked through long ago, and in this kind of weather it wouldn’t take long for hypothermia to set in.

  Rusty stopped and nosed the ground in frantic circles.

  “What’s wrong?” Jake blurted.

  Kara’s heart clutched at the panic in his voice. “The kidnapper must’ve picked Tommy up to carry him. Here, let me take over again.” Kara took the leash from Jake and led Rusty back to where he’d last had the scent. “Seek Tommy. You can do it.”

  Rusty veered left, and this time Kara was right with him.

  A single shot split the air. Pain exploded in her shoulder. The leash slipped from her fingers as she sank to her knees.

  “Kara!” Jake’s shout sounded far off as another shot rang out.

  She jolted at a vicious kick to the ribs. A black haze settled over her vision, and she was vaguely aware of being dragged into the trees.

  Jake’s warm fingers closed around her too-cold hand. “Kara, talk to me.”

  “I’m fine,” she choked out, and gritted her teeth against the pain, praying for one more breath. “Jake, go. Find Tommy.”

  “But—”

  “Go.” Tears filled her eyes. “Please.”

  * * *

  Torn by the sight of Kara’s blood staining the sleet-covered ground and the dog tugging at his arm, Jake couldn’t make his legs move.

  Deputies cha
rged up the hill after the sniper. Sam and a pair of paramedics rushed toward Kara, her complexion impossibly pale.

  The marshal gripped Jake’s shoulder and gave him a hard shake. “You heard her. Go. Find your son.”

  Rusty barked his agreement and Jake lurched after him, yelling Tommy’s name. Please, Lord— The prayer lodged in his throat. He had to play the hero. And what good had it done? He’d put his son in this danger.

  Rusty suddenly stopped, his nose sniffing the air instead of the ground.

  Jake’s chest constricted. Oh, God, don’t let him lose the scent. “Tommy! Tommy, where are you?”

  The dog cocked his head as if he heard a response, and plunged into the trees.

  A fire ignited in Jake’s chest. “Tommy?” he shouted with everything in him, welcoming the slap of branches against his face.

  Rusty slowed, began circling, his nose rooting through the decaying leaves.

  “What is it, boy?”

  Rusty whined, retracing the ground he’d just covered.

  Sam crashed through the trees behind them and came up short. “Jake?”

  Fresh fear clawed Jake’s heart at the unbearable empathy in Sam’s voice. “Did you catch the sniper?”

  “Not yet.”

  Jake’s fingers fisted around the dog’s lead as he resisted contemplating what Sam wasn’t saying and what that could mean for Tommy. “Tommy’s here. I can feel it,” Jake insisted. He scanned the woods, his ears pricked for the slightest sound.

  The wind whispered through the leafless trees, their gnarled limbs mocking him. The dog plopped his butt at Jake’s feet and cocked his head as if he, too, heard their taunts.

  “Tommy!” Sam shouted. “It’s your dad and Uncle Sam. If you can hear us, make a noise.”

  Jake held his breath. A lone crow cawed and then exploded from the treetops. “Tommy!” Jake yelled.

  A haunted echo reverberated off the distant cliffs.

  The dog’s head cocked. Then suddenly he surged forward, tail wagging. Entire rear end wagging!

  “He hears him,” Jake said. “Tommy!”

  Rusty raced over dead tree trunks, around boulders and up slick terrain as if there was no tomorrow. Jake had to let go of the leash to keep from slowing him down. Suddenly his barking grew muffled, then abruptly stopped altogether.

  A new chill iced Jake’s veins. He dug his boot toes into the slick mud and charged to the top of the hill. At the sight of a cave, he shot a glance at Sam.

  Sam pulled his gun and motioned Jake aside. “Let me go first.”

  Jake’s heart thundered as he fought the need to rush to his son. Letting himself get ambushed wouldn’t save him.

  “Jake!” Sam shouted an eternity later.

  Jake rushed into the cave. The darkness blinded him.

  Sam’s voice echoed off the walls. “I need a paramedic here, now!”

  Jake’s heart clutched at the urgency in Sam’s tone. Stumbling toward the glow of Sam’s phone, Jake zeroed in on the sound of Rusty’s whimpers. He lay beside his boy, nosing his motionless body.

  Jake skidded to his knees, and for an instant, he couldn’t breathe. Then his first-responder training kicked in as he scarcely resisted the urge to scoop Tommy into his arms. “It’s okay, Tommy. Daddy’s here. You’re going to be okay.”

  Rusty whimpered, pushing closer to Tommy as if he instinctively knew the boy needed his heat. “Good boy, Rusty. Good boy.” Tears blurred Jake’s eyes as he checked Tommy’s airway, his breathing—too shallow, too slow—and his circulation. “He’s like ice.” Jake peeled off his own coat and tucked it around his boy, then scooped him into his arms. “We can’t wait for the paramedics.”

  Sam grabbed Rusty’s leash and used his phone to light the way out. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Outside the cave, Jake paused to drink in the sight of his son. His lips, earlobes, nail beds were all blue, his hands mottled and his cheeks already as white as porcelain, but—Jake clutched him to his chest—he was alive.

  “C’mon,” Sam prodded.

  Jake hurried after Sam as quickly as he dared, not wanting to trip with his precious bundle. Thank You, Lord. Thank You for keeping him alive. Thank You for this goofy dog, as maddening as he sometimes is. Thank You for Kara’s insist— His heart squeezed at the memory of how he’d left her. Oh, God, please let her be okay. He struggled to breathe past the emotion swelling his throat. “Sam,” he gasped, stumbling after his brother, clutching Tommy tighter. “Kara, is she okay?”

  Sam didn’t glance back. His knuckles were white on the hand clamping the dog’s lead. The other hand held his cell phone in a stranglehold. “I don’t know.”

  Jake didn’t believe him. He pressed his cheek to his son’s baby-soft hair and drew in a ragged breath. Oh, God, not again. Please, not again.

  Voices sounded through the trees.

  “Over here,” Sam called, and a pair of paramedics appeared, carrying a scoop stretcher.

  The paramedics set down the stretcher, opened thermal blankets. “It’s about ten minutes to the ambulance. You want to just carry him out?”

  Jake shook his head, clutching his son’s chilled body tighter. “His breathing is too slow.”

  “You an EMT?” the paramedic asked.

  “Firefighter. Jake Steele. This is my son, Tommy.”

  “Okay.” The paramedic spread a blanket over the stretcher. “Set him down here.”

  Jake kneeled beside the stretcher and gently laid Tommy down. The paramedics immediately covered him with the other thermal blanket. “It’s too cold to strip off his wet clothes here,” the second paramedic said as he pulled a needle and tubing from his pocket. “I’ll try to put the IV in his head.”

  Closing his eyes against the sight, Jake squeezed Tommy’s hand. “Hang on, son. You’re going to be okay.”

  The paramedic pulled a saline bag from beneath his armpit and hooked it to the tube. “We’re good.”

  “Good.” The first paramedic quickly intubated him, attached the bag and began squeezing. “Okay, sir—” Jake’s gaze snapped up, but the paramedic was looking to Sam “—I need you to take this end of the stretcher so I can keep bagging him. Dad can stay by his side and hold the dog’s leash.”

  Sam handed Jake back his coat and the dog’s leash.

  “Okay, all together—” the paramedic said, and they hoisted the stretcher.

  Jake walked next to his son’s prone body in a daze. The sound of air being forced into his little boy’s lungs burned Jake’s chest. His eyes stung.

  They cleared the trees, and the wind and sleet bit at their faces. Sam’s foot slipped on the slick grass.

  “Keep a tight grip, men,” the paramedic bagging Tommy shouted.

  They soon neared the place where Kara had been shot, and Rusty dropped to his belly. Jake tugged on the lead, but Rusty crawled toward the bloodstained ground, whimpering.

  Jake blinked back tears, stuffing down emotions he didn’t have time for right now. His son needed him. He wound the lead around his hand and tugged the dog away. “How’s the shooting victim?” Jake managed to choke out, unable to voice her name.

  “On her way to Hadyn Memorial.”

  “But how is she?”

  “Critical.”

  The bottom fell out of Jake’s stomach. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known it. He just hadn’t wanted to believe it. “How long will it take us to get there?”

  “We’ll be taking Tommy to Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

  “Oh.” Resuming his place next to his son, Jake reached down and ruffled Rusty’s head. “She’ll make it,” he whispered, then added, “You’ll see,” as much to convince himself as the dog.

  After the longest ten minutes of his life, they finally reached the ambulance. Sam took the dog to
his car and the paramedics shifted into high gear, cutting away all of Tommy’s clothes, piling on flannel blankets, attaching oxygen to the bagging mask, connecting the cardiac monitor.

  “Heart rate’s dropping,” the paramedic reported.

  Jake’s pulse skyrocketed.

  “Jake, Dad!” The paramedic doing the bagging looked pointedly at Jake. “You said you’re a firefighter, right? Can you take over the bag?”

  Jake looked dumbly from him to his son’s lifeless-looking body.

  “Heart rate’s dropped below sixty,” the other paramedic said urgently. “We need to start compressions.”

  Jake blinked. “No!”

  FIFTEEN

  Kara beamed at Tommy in her arms, happy and unharmed. The next moment Jake swallowed them both in a bear hug. His breath whispered past her ears, “I was afraid I’d never see you again.” She snuggled into his warmth, sliding her arms around him.

  “Ow.” Her eyes jerked open and she stared at the tube running out of her arm.

  “Hey, take it easy” came an amused, familiar male voice. The bed dipped as he reached across her and untangled the tube. “The nurse is getting tired of fixing that.”

  “Jake?” she whispered, straining to turn his way, but managing only to turn her head. She gasped at the stranger smiling down at her.

  “Afraid you’ll have to settle for Wal-Mart’s newest security guard. Or at least I would’ve been if you hadn’t been such a fighter.”

  She blinked and memories crashed over her. The marshal. The accident. Tommy’s kidnapping! “Did—” Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

  The marshal cranked the head of her bed up a few inches, then held out a cup and steered the straw into her mouth. “Here, take a sip.”

  She squinted at the sunlight slanting through the window next to her bed and realized it must already be Tuesday. After wrestling down a couple of swallows, she pushed the water cup away. “Did Jake find Tommy?”

  “Yes, he’s in ICU. It was touch and go. Severe hypothermia.”

  She clutched her blankets and pressed her fists to her thundering heart. “But he’s going to be okay?” He hesitated and her heart skipped over a beat. “Lewis?”