Chapter Forty-Nine
Lochlan
I ’ve ripped the throttle, speeding down the trails between the enclosures and shouting Emory’s name until my throat’s raw.
Every time I cross paths with someone, they shake their head no because they haven’t seen her.
It doesn’t make sense.
How the hell could she just disappear?
She knows she isn’t allowed to be out here by herself, especially at night.
But I guess she has that mentality in common with Jo, they don’t fucking listen.
I’d give my very last breath for my niece, but I’m holding onto the frustration I have over this situation because I cannot accept that anything worse happened to her than wandering off.
I have a spotlight attached to the handlebars of the four-wheeler, and I use it to scan inside the bear enclosures.
My stomach twists at the prospect of her little body being in the same cage as the bears…
She’s a little girl.
She’s my baby.
If my life hadn’t been such a train wreck, I would have adopted her when she was left at my gates.
But subjecting her to a lifetime of judgment because of my name would have been selfish, and I couldn’t do it to an innocent baby.
Becky knew where my heart was and didn’t hesitate to alter her life to add Emory to the family.
I helped raise her.
Our legacy is her.
The bears haven’t attacked anyone at SCS in over ten years, but that’s because we give them their space, and we respect them.
Their needs are met here, and they’re not usually human aggressive, but they’re apex predators.
They’re wild animals, and intruding into their environment is dangerous.
I take a corner, driving down a new path that no one else has gotten to, and slam on the brakes.
My headlights shine directly on my mud-covered niece, struggling to pull the halter of a stubborn mule.
She’s okay.
Thank fucking God.
“He ran away, Lochy.” Her bottom lip quivers like she’s in trouble, and all of my earlier suffering evaporates as soon as I have my arms around her.
My sweet baby niece is fine.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t worry about him. I’ll have the guys round him up.”
“Well, don’t have that one guy do it. It’s his fault.”
“What one guy?”
“I don’t know. He said he was a new guy. He slapped his butt and it made him take off once the fire started.”
As far as I know, everyone who works for me was inside the bunkhouse at Jo’s grad party…
“We need to go. Leave the mule.”
* * *
I can’t drive as fast back to the barns with Emory riding with me but I haul ass as safely as I can.
I don’t stop until I have to, blocked by all the first responders tackling the blaze of the small barn and the guesthouse.
There are four fire trucks, at least nine cop cars, and what looks like 20 other vehicles scattered about that belong to my family, the sanctuary, and other first responders, if I had to guess.
It’s a fucking mad house.
People are running back and forth, dragging water hoses, and yelling into radios.
I scoop Emory up so she doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and sprint over to the first familiar face.
“Hayes, I got her!” I yell and he spins around, his body deflating in relief.
“Get a hold of everyone else, let them know to stop searching.”
“Got it.”
“Where’s Jo?”
“I don’t know, last I saw, she was with Sheriff Malec.” He nods his head towards the guesthouse fire, and I scan the crowd for Jackson.
He’s taller and easier to spot.
“I think whoever did this is here. Emory saw him.” Hayes’ eyes widen and then darken.
“I need a fucking fortress set up in the bunkhouse. Get my family. Get them guarded by every single one of the guys. I need to tell the Sheriff. Take Emory.” I hand her off, and the normally talkative little girl doesn’t say a word, but I watch tears fill her eyes.
“It’s okay, everything is going to be okay.” I wipe her wet cheek and smile, even when it’s the hardest emotion to pull off at a time like this.
I nod at Hayes, and he takes off to the bunkhouse.
“Jackson!” I yell over the chaos, sprinting towards him.
He whips his head to find me.
“I found Emory. Where’s Jo?”
He relays to his radio that my niece was found, calling off whoever was searching for her on his end.
“I don’t know. She was coordinating with the volunteer firefighters. It turned to chaos, and she took control.”
“He was here, the fucker who started the fire might still be here.”
A roar of frustration rips from his throat before he relays into his radio again.
“Be advised, an arson suspect might be on scene. Keep channels closed.”
He wipes his forehead.
“It has to be one of the volunteers. I swear I vetted all my LEOs, and none of them are involved in illegal activity. The fire chief feels the same about his guys.”
“I need to find Jo. Now.”
“I’ll start looking, too. Listen, Lochlan… If you find this guy first…” He shakes his head.
“Be careful what you ask for, Sheriff. I’m not a man who will be held back by laws if she’s in harm’s way.”
“I’m aware. Find my sister.” He yells over his shoulder, delving back into the shit show around us.