Chapter 39 Dex
DEX
My pulse thrummed in my ears as we drove a good ten miles over the speed limit. Yeti leaned against one of the doors and let out a bark as Brae made a hard turn. Yeti probably thought it was a game.
But all I could hear was Kol. “I need you. It’s Sky.
” His voice cracked on her name as if breaking.
But it was Kol who was breaking. And the rest of us would shatter right along with him if anything had happened to that little princess.
Sometimes, it felt like Skylar was the only light in our worlds.
Brae swerved into the lot, pulling right up into a fire lane but not giving a damn. She threw it in park and leapt out.
“You can’t park there,” a counselor yelled.
I sent the boy no older than twenty a look that likely had him pissing himself.
“N-never mind,” he stammered.
But Brae was already running toward Owen, who stood next to the camp director and a stone-faced Kol. And Owen was crying.
Brae ran faster, spurring me into action. The moment she reached him, she sank to her knees and pulled him to her. “Hey, hey. What’s going on?”
Owen let loose a sob. “Max was picking on me again. He shoved me down and broke my glasses. Sky got real mad and chased him toward the woods, but then they didn’t come back, and I don’t know where they are.”
The words were a jumble of tripping syllables, but I could make out the gist. “How long ago?” I gripped Kol’s shoulder as I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
“Forty minutes,” Kol ground out.
I understood his fury. He’d called me less than ten minutes ago, right after the camp had called him, which meant they had stood around with their thumbs up their asses for half an hour before calling anyone.
I glared at the director. “That was real fuckin’ stupid.”
“Language,” the woman snapped.
“That’s the last thing you should be worried about,” Kol snarled. “Maybe you should be worried about my daughter. Who you lost.”
The woman paled as if finally realizing just how bad this was. “I’ll call the sheriff.”
“You do that,” Kol sneered. The last person he trusted was Sheriff Miller.
Brae pulled back from Owen but kept hold of his shoulders. “It’s going to be okay, O.”
“You gotta find her, Mom!” Owen was frantic now. “She was trying to help me. I got her lost, and now no one can find her. But you can, right? You’ll find her. She’s my best friend.”
I knew Owen’s words had to jab straight into Brae’s heart. She struggled to keep her composure. “We’re gonna find her. Do you think you can be really brave while I help Kol and Dex look?”
Owen sniffed, his cheeks streaked with tears. “I-I can be brave.”
A woman I didn’t recognize stepped forward. “Jude and I can stay with him.” She tried to smile. “I’ve even got some video games for emergencies.”
“Thank you,” Brae whispered, but she didn’t step away from Owen right away. “He’s not allowed to go home with anyone but me.”
The woman nodded, understanding it would be hard to leave your child with anyone when another was missing. “Of course. There are lots of us here, and I’ll look after him like my own.”
Brae swallowed hard. “Thank you.” Standing, she finally released Owen and looked at Kol. “Do you have anything in your SUV of Skylar’s? A sweatshirt? A stuffed animal? Something with her scent.”
Kol’s throat worked as he struggled to swallow. “I’ve got a jacket. She wore it last night when we went to feed the cows.”
“Perfect. You have an evidence bag I can use?” Brae asked.
Kol’s face went white.
She reached out and touched his arm. “I just need a clean bag so my scent doesn’t get mixed with Skylar’s. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I got one.” The words were coated in grit and pain.
My brother never showed emotion. Not like this. And the fact that he was now killed something in me.
“Grab me the bag, but don’t touch the jacket,” Brae ordered, heading to the SUV.
I was fast on her heels as she crossed to the back of the vehicle. “What can I do?”
I heard the emptiness in my voice, the fact that I had turned everything off. But I didn’t have a choice. If I let my emotions take hold now, I’d be useless.
“You can get a first-aid kit from one of the counselors and a few bottles of water.” Brae opened her back hatch. “I should’ve kept a ready pack. We haven’t done any volunteer searches here yet.”
I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “I can get us the supplies.”
“Yeah,” Brae whispered.
“She’s going to be okay. They probably just got turned around.” I said the words as much for myself as for Brae.
Her head lifted, taking in the surrounding forests. “It’d be easy to do.”
“Of course.” I gave her arm one more squeeze and turned to the kid acting as parking officer earlier. “You got a first-aid kit? Water?”
He nodded, going pale again.
“Get me both.”
The kid took off running, and I grabbed the empty backpack from the trunk as Brae let Yeti out of the back seat.
“Au pied,” Brae commanded, and Yeti instantly came to her side, body quivering.
I slammed the hatch closed just as the kid came running back with my requested supplies. “Thanks,” I said, shoving them into my pack. “Ready.”
Brae was already moving, crossing to Kol, who was holding out a plastic bag. As she carefully used it to retrieve the jacket, I slid on the pack. “You want to go with us or split up?” I asked my brother.
Kol looked torn, but his mind found the answer as he glanced out at the forest. “Split up. We’ll cover more ground. Waylon, Mav, and Wylder are on their way. They’ll help.”
And we’d find her. There was no other option.
“Stay in touch,” I ordered, pulling out my phone to make sure I had service. There were plenty of areas around Starlight Grove that were spotty at best, but thankfully, we were close enough to town to have a good number of bars here.
“Got it.” Kol was already off, heading for a break in the trees and looking for clues only he could see.
Brae held the bag open for Yeti, who sniffed eagerly. “Find Skylar. Find.”
Yeti took one more sniff and then bolted toward the playground, circling the swing set with her nose to the ground. Brae gave Owen an encouraging smile as he watched. A second later, Yeti was taking off toward the trees.
“What if Yeti gets lost?” I asked as we picked up to a jog and followed.
“She’s got a GPS tracker on her collar so I can locate her. And she’s pretty good about waiting for me to catch up periodically.”
I held back a branch for Brae to pass. “And you? What if you get turned around?”
“Maps on my phone, and I usually carry a GPS device.”
“Tell me you never do this kind of shit on your own,” I growled.
“I don’t. Not searches. Training, sure.”
The idea of Brae wandering around in the woods with only Yeti for company scared the hell out of me.
We moved deeper into the woods to find Yeti circling an especially thick patch of underbrush. Brae leaned down, studying it. “Look.”
I bent, catching sight of pink fibers that looked like they could’ve come from a T-shirt.
“Mark these coordinates down.” Brae read them off as I typed them into a note on my phone.
“Good girl, Yeti. Find Skylar,” Brae encouraged.
The dog dropped her nose to the ground again. She wove an imperfect pattern that had me wondering just what had happened out in these woods. Then she picked up speed.
“It’s stronger now, the scent.” Hope surged in Brae’s voice. “The way Yeti’s picking up the pace, it’s easier for her to follow now.”
We started jogging, trying to keep up with the dog. The only sounds were the birds overhead and our feet hitting the forest floor.
And then I heard it. A pained yell.
My whole being turned to lead, but I didn’t let that stop me. As Yeti took off, so did I. She raced ahead, able to dodge and weave more quickly than I could. But I had sheer panic on my side.
Yeti let out a couple of sharp barks that I knew had to be an alert.
As I rounded a tight set of trees, I came upon a sight I never would’ve expected. Skylar was atop a much larger boy’s back, her blond pigtails caked with dirt and leaves, more dirt smeared on her cheek, and she had the boy in some sort of chokehold.
“Say you’re sorry,” she demanded, pure fury in her voice.
The boy’s eyes were wide as he caught sight of me. “Help me! She’s crazy!”
“That’s not nice either. Now, you gotta say sorry twice.” Sky gripped him harder, her face stormy.
I felt Brae pull up short next to me and let out a strangled sound of surprise.
I shook my head, scrubbing a hand over my jaw as relief swept through me. “Hey, Little Princess. You wanna let him go?”
“No,” she snarled. “Sometimes, a lesson’s gotta be learned, and I’m gonna be his teacher.”
Brae gripped my arm, pressing her face into it to keep from laughing.
That was a phrase right out of Waylon’s playbook if I’d ever heard one.
“Sky, he’s gonna have consequences, don’t you worry. But you don’t want to get in trouble, too.”
Her hazel gaze flicked up to me, the first sign of uncertainty there. “You promise? He hurt Owen. And we don’t hurt. That’s rule one.”
God, my niece was the best. Pink T-shirt that read Don’t make me get my uncle, combat boots, and rainbow shorts. Pure ferocity adorned her face.
“I promise you’ll have your vengeance, Little Princess.”
With one last squeeze, she leapt off the boy and brushed herself off. Then she went straight for Yeti, giving her all the scratches.
But I didn’t take my eyes off the little pissant who’d hurt Owen and gotten Skylar lost. I stalked toward him, offering him a hand to help him stand. But I didn’t let go when he was on his feet. I gripped his hand firmly and got right in his face.
“If you ever come at Owen again, I’ll let Sky do her worst, and I’ll make sure every secret you have is posted to your Snapchat weekly. I can do it. I used to hack computers for the FBI.”
The boy paled.
“You get me?” I snarled.
He nodded in a staccato beat.
“Good. Now, start walking,” I ordered.
A grin spread across Brae’s face as the terrified bully passed her. “Buttercup, did you just threaten a ten-year-old for my kid?”
I shrugged. “Worth it.”
Her expression went soft around the edges. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”