Chapter 21 #3
Logan craned his neck trying to see out the front of the car, and Oz looked out the back window.
There were at least ten cars trailing them.
He saw Lefty’s truck, and the rest were law enforcement vehicles.
Texas Ranger, Highway Patrol, and Killeen Police Department.
Everyone was there hoping to be able to lend a hand in finding a lost, kidnapped little girl.
“There!” Logan shouted.
The officer immediately slowed further.
“See those trees?” Logan asked, pointing to his right, almost whacking Oz in the face. “That’s where the man wanted me to pee. I stood over there, and Bria ran that way.” He moved his hand to point in the other direction.
Officer Myers cut the engine and got out, immediately opening the back door for Oz and Logan.
Oz stared across the field toward the trees, and his heart sank. The area was huge. Bria could literally be anywhere.
“We’ve got a bird on the way,” Officer Myers said.
“With FLIR?” Oz asked hopefully.
“Yes.”
“What’s fleer?” Logan asked. “Why aren’t we going to find Bree?”
“FLIR stands for forward-looking infrared camera. It’ll spot where your sister is hiding without us having to beat every bush and tree. She’ll show up as bright white, when everything else is black and gray. The guys in the helicopter will guide us right to her, Slugger.”
Logan still looked worried, but the trust he was showing in him humbled Oz.
“What are we waiting for?” Lucky asked as he ran toward them. The area was fast filling with law enforcement personnel, and it was obvious his Delta team was more than ready to head out to find Bria.
“Chopper’s on the way with FLIR,” Oz told Lucky.
“Thank God,” his teammate breathed.
Doc, Grover, and Lefty arrived in time to hear the news about the chopper.
Everyone waited on the side of the road with bated breath to hear from the helicopter camera operator. They heard the rotor blades before they saw the bird, and when they finally did spot the chopper, it was the most beautiful thing Oz had ever seen in his life.
“How long will it take to find her?” Logan asked, shifting impatiently on his feet.
“I don’t know, Slugger. But they’re doin’ their best,” Oz soothed. Truth was, he wanted to ask the same thing. Wanted to whine that it was taking too long, but he remained patient. He felt Grover’s hand land on his shoulder, and it helped to know his friends had his back.
After seven and a half minutes—Oz knew exactly how long it had been, because he was closely watching the time—they heard over the radios the police officers were holding that the FLIR had spotted something they thought might be Bria.
“You all need to stay here,” Officer Myers told them.
Oz was shaking his head before the man had finished his sentence.
“Not happening,” he told him. “I understand that you have a job to do, but I guarantee I’ve seen more in my lifetime than you have. I have to be there when you find her.”
“But does he?” the officer asked, nodding at Logan.
Oz was torn. The last thing he wanted was Logan to see his sister if something bad had happened to her, but he honestly didn’t think anything had.
Bria was smart, even if she was only six and a half.
He had a feeling she’d done exactly what her brother had told her to do.
Ran like hell and hid until he could come get her.
And he knew she’d need Logan to feel safe.
“No, but I have faith in my niece. She’s okay. Scared to death, but waiting for her big brother to make good on his word and come get her.”
The officer sighed, but he finally nodded. “All right, but you all stay behind me. I mean it. I’ll have you locked up so fast your head will spin if you so much as step one inch out of line.”
“Yes, sir,” Oz said immediately. He wasn’t happy to be relegated to the back of the group of officers searching for Bria, but he was being allowed to accompany them. He’d do whatever he was told.
His teammates had also been able to talk their way into entering the field with the search party, and they all jogged across the dry weeds and grass toward the trees.
The officer in the lead was talking to the person in the helicopter running the infrared camera.
He was making a beeline for a particularly thick strand of trees.
“Good girl,” Oz said under his breath.
When they arrived, Oz could hear the officer being directed to a spot right in front of them.
“Stop. She should be right there, a little to your right. She’s lying down.”
Oz couldn’t see anything but scrub brush. He itched to plunge into the undergrowth and find Bree. He understood why she hadn’t immediately shown herself. She was probably scared. And she’d learned the hard way that many adults weren’t trustworthy.
He just prayed that she wasn’t wounded, or worse.
No, she was fine. She had to be. He couldn’t have been lucky enough to have Riley and Logan spared, only to lose her.
Logan had been standing silent next to him, but before Oz could stop him, he slipped away and went up to the officer who’d been calling his sister’s name.
Without asking permission, Logan said, “Bree? It’s me! Logan. It’s okay, you can come out. I brought the Easter Bunny with me, just like I told you I would.”
Oz held his breath—and within seconds, a frightened Bree poked her red head out from the middle of a bunch of sticks and debris. “Logan?”
“Yes!” Logan said excitedly. “You’re okay! I found you!”
Oz went to his knees in relief when Bria bolted out of her hiding place and practically tackled Logan. He watched as brother and sister greeted each other tearfully and with relief.
He felt his teammates slap him on the back in support.
He wanted to thank them for being there for him.
For doing everything possible to get the most precious people in his life back.
But he couldn’t. All he could do was stare at Bria and Logan.
He was crying, but barely felt the tears on his cheeks.
As if knowing what his uncle needed, Logan took Bria by the hand and pulled her over to where Oz was kneeling.
“Look, Oz! I found her!” he said.
“I see, Slugger,” Oz said softly. He barely heard the helicopter flying away or the police officers congratulating each other. He only had eyes and ears for his kids.
“You okay, Bree?” he asked quietly.
She nodded. “I was scared,” she told him. “But I knew Logan would come get me. And he did!”
“Yes, he sure did. He loves you very much, and you’re lucky to have him for an older brother. I love you too. I know I haven’t known about you very long, but I love you, kiddo. So much.”
She dropped her brother’s hand and walked right up to him. She stepped between his knees and wrapped her small arms around his neck and hugged him.
Then she looked into his face and said seriously, “Boys aren’t supposed to cry.”
“Says who?” Oz asked.
Bria looked confused. “I don’t know.”
“Right. Well, boys do cry. There’s nothing wrong with showing your emotions, no matter if you’re a boy or girl, man or woman.”
“Are you sad?” Bria asked as she reached up and wiped his cheek with her dirty hand. Oz knew she was probably smearing dirt across his face, but he didn’t care.
“Not anymore,” Oz told her. “You and your brother are safe. Riley too. The three people I love the most in this world are okay, so I can’t be sad.”
“Oz?” Bria asked.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“I’m hungry. Can we go home?”
Oz chuckled, and he heard others laughing around him. “Yes. Although we might need to make a stop first.” He looked up and back at Grover. “Has someone called Riley? Told her?”
“Yeah, Lucky’s been on the phone with her ever since we stopped.”
Oz nodded in relief. He wasn’t surprised one of his team had made sure Riley was kept up-to-date. He owed them all. Big time. “Has she been discharged yet?”
“I’m not sure the hospital wants to let her go home,” Lefty said.
Oz looked at Doc. “What do you think?”
“I think if she’s not experiencing any complications, it should be safe. She was lucky.”
Oz knew that.
“We’re going to need to talk to the little girl,” one of the officers said from nearby, obviously overhearing his conversation.
Sighing, Oz nodded, then slowly stood. He felt shaky and weak, but knew it was from the adrenaline dump his body had just experienced.
“I’ll get Trigger and Brain to bring Riley to your place,” Lucky said. “I just need to make some calls.”
“Thank you. You’ve been a godsend,” Oz told him. And he had. Oz had no idea how he’d made the kind of connections they’d needed today, but he wouldn’t forget it. Lucky truly was lucky, and he’d take luck over skill any day of the week…not that his teammate didn’t have some amazing skills as well.
Oz felt a tug on his pants and looked down. Bree was standing at his side, and when she saw she had his attention, she held up her arms. Oz bent and picked her up, and Bree’s head immediately went to his shoulder. He closed his eyes in relief.
Logan leaned against his other side, and Oz wrapped his arm around his shoulders. They walked back across the field that way, as a family, very thankful to be together. All that was missing was Riley, and soon enough she’d be with them.
Oz wasn’t a very spiritual man. He’d seen too much hatred and violence to put much stock in a higher power doing what was right for mankind.
But right that minute, he was sure he’d had someone looking over his family.
Logan survived a kidnapping and high-speed chase, Bria had managed to escape a potentially deadly situation and didn’t seem too fazed by the entire thing. And Riley…
Oz swallowed hard, trying to keep from crying—again. She shouldn’t be alive. They both knew it. Miles had done his best to choke the life from her. But somehow he’d managed to screw that up too.
Looking into the bright blue Texas sky, Oz sent a prayer of thanks upward. Thanks to whomever or whatever might’ve been looking after the three people he loved most in this world. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if even one of them hadn’t survived this hellish day.
“We missed the baseball game,” Logan said quietly from next to him.
Oz couldn’t help but smile. “We did,” he agreed. “But the good thing about baseball is that the season is really long, and there will be plenty of games we can go see.”
Logan seemed to perk up at that. “True.”
Oz couldn’t believe he was smiling, but it felt good. Damn good. Now he just needed Riley. They all did.