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
