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.”
“Are you hurt, Brady? Can you walk?” Austin called out.
“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.
“I don’t hear him or Justice.”
“Justice already found what he was looking for. He’s done alerting, and Brady probably couldn’t hear you calling. The cave is a lot deeper than I anticipated.” He sighed. “I’m glad you were with me. I don’t know if your son would have come out otherwise.”
His words took her by surprise. She’d thought him to be a little arrogant, a lot bossy. Not the kind of guy who would admit that he’d been wrong. Not the kind who she would have expected to give other people credit.
Then again, she’d never been the best judge of character. She certainly hadn’t been when it came to Rick.
“Things always work out the way they’re supposed to.” Her mother used to say that to Eva. It had taken a lot of years for her to believe it.
“True, and this time, they worked out the way that we both wanted them to.” He smiled, and it transformed his face, made him approachable in the easy charming way that would have appealed to her if she ever allowed any man to do that.
“Momma? Where are you?” Brady called, his voice muffled and distant.
Her heart jerked, the need to go to him so strong that she took a step deeper into the cave, peered into its shadowy depths.
“I’m right here, buddy. Are you still with Justice?”
“Yes, but it’s dark, and I’m cold. I want to go home.”
“Just keep walking, then. You’ll be out of there before you know it,” she called, hoping the words would comfort him.
“Use this. Brady might be able to see the light once he gets closer.” Austin handed her his headlamp, and she shone it into the cave. The light bounced off gray walls and brown floors. She wanted it to bounce off Brady’s pale blond hair and freckled face.
She watched the narrow opening, her head pounding in time with her frantic heart. Finally, something moved in the darkness, a shifting of shadows that drew closer and closer, until the shadows had color and shape and form and Brady was in her arms. Clutching him close, she felt him shivering, his skin cold to the touch.
“You’re freezing.” Eva took off her coat and wrapped him in it, alarmed at his paleness. Scratches and dried blood scored his cheek and arms, and his feet were so caked with mud that she could barely see his toes. His pajama bottoms were torn at both knees, the skin peeking from beneath the fabric raw and bleeding.
“That’s because I was cold all night. I was shaking I was so cold.”
“Let’s warm you up, okay?” She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back and trying to will some of her warmth into his cold little body.
“How are you doing, sport?” Austin wrapped the blanket around both of them, then crouched close, Justice panting contentedly near his feet.
“Okay. Are you the police?” Brady’s eyes were wide, his teeth chattering, his lips so pale they faded into his skin.
“Yes. I’m Detective Austin Black. You already met my partner, Justice.”
“He’s a cool dog. I always wanted a dog, but Momma says that we’re too busy to have one.”
“It’s not fair to have a dog if you don’t have time,” Austin responded diplomatically as he tucked the edges of the blanket around Brady’s head.
“If I had a dog, those bad men would have stayed away from me.”
“What bad men?” Austin pulled a juice box from his pack, popped a straw into it and handed it to Brady.
“They’re not nice. They beat mean old Mr. McNeal and they took Rio.”
“You saw the man who did that?” Eva asked, taking the untouched juice box from his hand and looking into his face. His lip trembled, his eyes swimming with tears.
“Yes,” he whispered, looking away, obviously ashamed of something.
