Austin grabbed her hand as she neared the top, tugging her onto a ridge that overlooked the forest. A mountain of foliage shot up to the right. To the left, the ground fell away. A hundred feet below the trees huddled close, their winter-bare branches revealing glimpses of the forest floor.
Not a safe place for a seven-year-old boy, and Eva’s heart jolted with panic.
“What if he fell?” she whispered, the words barely carrying past the lump in her throat.
“He didn’t. Justice is still locked on to his scent. Come on.” Austin let the dog pull ahead again, and they skimmed the edge of the cliff, the slippery leaves and loose dirt slowing their progress.
Eva glanced into the abyss to the left, her head swimming as she imagined Brady falling head over heels.
Please, God. Let him be okay.
A fat branch slapped her cheek, the stinging pain barely registering past the hollow thud of her fear. She felt sick with it, her stomach and chest tight, her breathing labored. Everything she loved was wrapped up in Brady.
Austin stopped short and she ran into his back, her feet slipping on thick leaves as she tried to catch her balance.
He snagged her arm, pulling her forward as he crouched near Justice. The dog whined excitedly, his deep bark breaking the morning stillness.
“Release,” Austin said, and Justice backed away, dropping down beneath a thick-trunked oak and panting heavily.
“Look at this.” Austin pointed to something half-hidden by leaves and dirt. At first Eva couldn’t make out what it was. White and gray and brown fuzz covered by forest debris. A splash of bright blue.
“Is it an animal?” she asked, leaning closer, the truth suddenly right there in front of her face. Blue plastic eyes, a shiny black nose, white fluffy face.
“A stuffed animal,” he responded.
“Snowflake! Brady must have brought it with him.” She reached for it, and he captured her hand, gently pulling it back.
“It’s evidence, Eva. We don’t want it contaminated.” He lifted the stuffed dog with a gloved hand, tucked it into a plastic bag he pulled from his pack.
“He was here! Brady was here!” She stood, whirling around, frantically searching for some other sign that her son was close.
“Yeah. And it looks like he was alone this time. Look.” Austin pointed to a small footprint in the dusty earth. Bare. Every toe clearly defined. Another was just a few inches away. No sign of boot prints like the ones at the creek.
That was good.
Right?
“He must be terrified.” She wanted to cry but couldn’t let the tears come.
“I’m going to radio in and get the other search teams to the area. We’ll do better consolidating our efforts. Drink this while I get people organized.” He handed her an energy drink, poured water into a small dish for Justice.
Maybe Eva should have opened her energy drink, drank it up as quickly as Justice lapped up his water. But she felt too sick, her head throbbing endlessly, her stomach churning. Worry beat a rapid pulse through her blood, and she wanted to sit down and close her eyes. Open them again and find herself back in bed, Brady safe in the room beside hers.
“We’re set.” Austin clipped his radio into place, frowned at Eva’s still-full bottle. “You’re not going to do Brady any good if you’re dehydrated and exhausted.”
He took the bottle from her hand, opened it and handed it back to her, his fingers warm and callused. There was something comforting about that. Something nice and a little too wonderful about the way it felt to look into his face, see his concern and his determination.
She swallowed a few large gulps of the energy drink. Took two more sips for good measure, and then recapped the lid.
“Happy?” she asked, feeling vulnerable beneath his steady scrutiny.
“I’d be happier if you let me call someone to escort you out of the woods, but since I don’t want to waste time arguing, I think it’s best if I just say yes.” He tucked Justice’s empty bowl into his pack, took the energy drink and did the same. “Seek!”
They were off again, and Eva had to swallow hard to keep the drink from coming back up. Her stomach heaved, but Justice was on the trail, lunging against his collar and leash, his orange vest bright in the watery dawn light.
He ran like the best think in the world lay at the end of the scent trail he was following, ran like he couldn’t wait to be united with the boy that he was seeking. Ran like it mattered, and Eva thought that if she ever gave in to Brady’s begging for a puppy, she’d get him a bloodhound. Maybe Austin could give them some tips on how to train a dog. Maybe...
She shoved the thought away.
Thinking ahead, planning for Brady’s return...that was one thing. Planning to include Austin in their lives after Brady was found, that was something she wouldn’t allow herself to do.
Sweat trickled down her face as they raced past trees and headed up a small hill. Sunlight speckled the ground with gold and warmed the winter chill, the world a blur of gold and green and brown, the only sound Justice’s frantic barks and Eva’s panting breath.
Something snapped behind her, the sound so loud and startling she turned, caught a glimpse of a dark figure deep in the woods. There. Gone. There again. Moving away from them, but somehow sinister in the forest stillness.
“You okay?” Austin asked, and she realized she’d stopped, was searching the trees.
“I saw someone.” She pointed to the area where the figure had disappeared.
“Probably search and rescue.”
“He wasn’t wearing an orange vest like yours, and he didn’t have a dog.”
An explosion ripped through the morning quiet. One short sharp report and then another.
A gun!
Austin shouted something, and she was falling, colors swirling around her as she landed hard on the thick pine carpet.
FOUR
“Stay down,” Austin whispered, his breath brushing her ear. Justice nudged her cheek but she didn’t move, barely even jumped as another shot rang out.
Her heart thundered, her body braced for the bullet’s impact. When it didn’t come, she tried to get up and find cover, but Austin’s body pressed over hers, holding her still.
“They’re not shooting at us, but let’s make sure we don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“Brady—” She tried to move, but he was a solid wall of muscle, and she couldn’t budge him.
“Dying isn’t going to help your son, Eva.”
“What if they’re shooting at him?”
He was speaking into his radio and didn’t respond.
She didn’t think he would have, anyway. Whatever was happening, it was out of either of their control. Another shot rang out, and she flinched, her body screaming for her to get up, find Brady and make sure he was safe.
Something crashed in the underbrush to their right, and Eva turned her head, saw the gun in Austin’s hand.
“Stay here.” He left her lying on cold, hard earth, her heart pounding frantically, the thick coppery taste of fear in her mouth.
She lifted her head, watching as he moved away. Crouched low. Silent. If she hadn’t been looking at him, she wouldn’t have known he was there. Leaves rustled in a thicket a hundred yards away, and he froze. Eva froze, too, her muscles taut with fear.
“Police. Come out with your hands where I can see them,” he commanded. More rustling. A soft sigh that might have been a moan. A woman stumbled from the thick tangle of overgrowth, blood streaming down her face. She fell to her knees. Managed to stand up again. Confused. Dazed. Not dangerous. That’s what Eva thought, and Austin must have thought the same. He holstered his gun.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” Austin asked, moving toward her.
“What’s going on? Where am I?” she replied, her gaze darting from Austin to Justice and then settling on Eva.
“The Lost Woods. You’re hurt, and you need to lie down.” Eva took her arm, tried to help her to the ground.
/> “What happened?” She touched her head, frowning at her blood-tinged fingers.
“I was hoping you could tell us.” Austin pulled off his jacket, dropped it onto the woman’s shoulders, his gaze scanning the forest. Danger still lurked there, but Justice lay docile in the shadows of a large oak, his big head resting on his paws.
“I...don’t remember. I think...” Her gaze dropped to his gun holster, her eyes widening. “No!”
“Ma’am, I’m with the Sagebrush Police Department. Just relax, okay?” Austin put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged away, her eyes wild.
“Everything is going to be fine. I’m going to call for a rescue crew to come and transport you out of the forest.”
“No!” she said again, whirling away, Austin’s coat dropping to the ground as she plunged back into the thicket.
Austin started after her, heard the snap of branches and Justice’s quiet bark. Not danger, but someone was coming. He turned, stepping in front of Eva just in case.
“What—”
He put his hand up, cutting off her words as he caught sight of an orange vest. Search and rescue. Hopefully, a police officer. Justice was on Brady’s scent, and Austin didn’t want to stop the search to chase after the injured woman or to find the person who had been firing shots at her.
“Hey! Austin! I heard gunfire and your call for backup. Is everything okay?” Detective Lee Calloway called out as he approached with his border collie, Kip. A fellow member of the Special Operations K-9 Unit, Lee had been a good friend and coworker for years. His dog, Kip, specialized in cadaver detection. Hopefully, Kip wouldn’t have to put those skills to use in their search for Brady.
“We’re fine, but there’s an injured woman heading west. She may know who the shooter was.”
“How bad are the injuries?”
“It was hard to tell. She had a head wound, and she seemed confused. Could be a concussion or a fractured skull.”
“You want me to go after her or the missing boy?” Lee asked.
“Justice already has Brady’s scent. Go after Jane Doe. And watch your back while you’re at it. Someone is wandering around firing shots.”
“Will do. You have a description of the woman for me?”
“Aside from the bleeding head wound?”
“Aside from that.” Lee smiled, but his eyes were shadowed. Yesterday had been long for the entire team. The discovery of Slade’s injured father and the realization that Rio had been taken had hit the unit hard.
“Long blond hair. About five-five. Slim build.”
“Got it. I’ll radio in when I find her.”
After Lee headed west with Kip, Austin shrugged into his coat and backpack. Eva hovered a few feet away, her skin pale, her arms hugging her waist.
He didn’t ask if she was ready.
He knew she would be. Even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t admit it.
“Come on, boy,” he urged, and Justice lumbered to his feet. “Seek!”
Justice took off, barking wildly.
Close.
They were close.
Austin felt it in the tension on the lead, the way Justice’s muscles pulled taut. The bloodhound wanted to get to the end of the trail, wanted to find the person they were seeking, wanted it more than he wanted to sleep or eat or play. That’s what made him a great search-and-rescue dog, his prey drive completely refocused into a stunning display of canine determination.
They crested one more rise, plunged down into a ravine, the ground slick with mud and dead leaves. Justice bayed once and again, frantically clawing at the ground in an effort to move more quickly.
A dozen yards ahead, a rocky outcrop sheltered a small pool of stagnant water. Beyond that, Austin could make out thick foliage partially hiding what looked like the opening of a cave. Six feet high and maybe four feet wide, it was the perfect hiding place for a scared little boy. His heart lurched, and he unhooked Justice. Let him race ahead, his frantic alerts ringing through the cool dawn.
“Is that a cave? He’s there, isn’t he? Brady! Brady!” Eva ran toward the cave, and Austin snagged the back of her coat, pulling her up short.
“Wait here while I check things out.”
“Check what out? He’s there. Justice is going crazy trying to tell us that.”
“I know, but I need to go in first. We heard gunfire earlier, and I don’t want you in the middle of more of it,” he said.
“He’s in there. I know he is.” She tried to twist away, but he kept hold of her coat.
“We don’t know—”
“He’s there.” She looked into his eyes, and he saw hope in the depth of her gaze. Saw it in her face.
He wanted to believe that it was justified, but there was no telling what he’d find in the cave. As much as Austin wanted to think they were running toward a live rescue, things might not turn out that way. He didn’t want Eva to find her son’s lifeless body. Didn’t want her to see what he’d seen too many times.
Maybe she saw that in his face.
She stilled, her green eyes staring into his, her long gold lashes sweeping her cheek and brow. She had eyes like her son’s. He felt the weight of the picture that he’d tucked into his coat pocket. Felt the weight of her dreams and hopes piled on his shoulders.
“You think he might be dead,” she rasped, and he couldn’t deny it.
“Wait here,” he said again, letting go of her coat and running toward the cave.
Thick muck sucked at his boots and splashed up his pant legs, the stagnant pool of water shallow and brown. Eva splashed through it behind him. Obviously unwilling to listen to his request.
He reached the cave a few steps ahead of her, ducked down and moved into dank blackness, following the sound of Justice’s fading barks. A few large rocks butted against the side of the cave, and he skirted around them. From there, the opening narrowed until Austin’s shoulders brushed the walls. Even crouched, his head touched the ceiling. He maneuvered sideways for several minutes, but short of shrinking down to child-size there was no way he could go farther.
“What’s going on? Why are we stopping?” Eva pressed in as if she wanted to shove him out of the way and hunt for Brady herself.
“It’s too narrow. Going farther wouldn’t be safe.”
“I’m smaller than you. Let me go.”
“We’ll both have to back out first. No way can you squeeze past me.”
“Okay.” She backed up and he followed, his headlamp flashing on dark gray rock and moist brown earth. The cave went deeper than he’d expected, curving to the left, whatever lay behind the curve hidden in darkness.
Justice’s long howl echoed against the walls, bouncing through the darkness, and Austin snagged Eva’s hand. “Hold on! Justice is alerting. He’s found something. Try calling your son.”
“Brady? It’s Mom. Are you in there?” Eva called past the lump of terror and hope in her throat. What if he was there, but couldn’t answer? What if he was injured or...
“Momma?” The word was faint, but she heard it. Wanted to climb straight through Austin to follow the sound.
“Yes. It’s me. I have Snowflake, too. I found him out in the woods while I was looking for you. Come on out, and we can all go home together.” She tried to keep her voice steady, but she was so relieved, so thankful, her body felt weak with it.
“I can’t.” He was crying. She could hear the tears in his voice, and if the walls hadn’t been pressing so tight, if Austin hadn’t been wedged so firmly into the opening, she would have gone to her son.
“Ask him if he’s stuck, and ask him if there’s a dog with him,” Austin urged.
“Are you stuck, sweetie?”
“I’m lost. I got inside here, but I can’t get out. It’s too dark.”
“Is there a dog with you, Brady?”
“Yes, but I didn’t pet him.”
“Those are the rules for normal times, but for today, you can pet the dog. He’s special. Like Captain Slade’s dog.”
“Momma, are you still there? Who’s that with you?” The fear in his voice was unmistakable, and her heart ached for everything he’d been through, her arms aching to pull him close, let him know that he was finally safe.
“A police detective. He and his dog have been helping me find you. Are you hurt?”
“No, and I can walk, too. And I petted the dog. He’s soft...and he licked my face.”
“His name is Justice,” Austin said. “Do you feel the harness on his back?”
“Yes.”
“If you hold on to that, Justice will lead you all the way out of the cave.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. Are you holding on?”
“Yes.”
“Justice, come!” Austin ordered, and then nudged Eva. “Let’s head out where there’s more room to maneuver.”
“But—”
“Justice found your son, Eva. Are you really not going to trust him to lead him out of the cave?” he asked as his radio crackled.
No. She wasn’t going to trust him. Not if she had a choice. Trust was something given and then broken. She’d found that out one too many times. She backed up, anyway because the last thing she wanted was for all of them to get stuck in the cave because she’d succumbed to fear.
Austin’s voice rumbled into the darkness as he called in their coordinates and asked for a rescue unit. Eva tried to let his words comfort her. If he was calling for transportation, he must believe that Brady and Justice would make their way out.
Sunlight speckled the dirt floor near her feet, and she stopped, cold, crisp air swirling around her ankles. She pressed a hand to Austin’s back, stopping him before they collided. Firm muscle contracted beneath her palm, and she pulled her hand away, her heart thumping painfully.
Brady. He was all that mattered, and he hadn’t appeared yet. Hadn’t called out again.
“Brady?” she called, but he didn’t answer. “What if—”
“He’s coming.” Austin pulled off his pack, rifled through it and took out a thermal blanket.
Tracking Justice (Texas K-9 Unit) Page 4