Chapter 12
TWELVE
Allie slapped the freshly printed paper with Scout’s picture on the telephone pole and stapled it down.
She released a shuddery breath. With one hand, she reached for a tissue in her pocket and wiped her nose. But rather than drying up the tears, the farther Allie walked down the sidewalk in town, the worse they got.
Her phone rang. Oh, she was such a fool for hoping it was him. She jammed the papers and stapler in the messenger bag and pulled out her new cell.
Nope. Belle.
Allie cleared her throat and answered it.
“Hey.” Hopefully the false cheer would throw her off the scent.
“Any news about Scout?”
Allie focused on the western-style lettering of the thrift store across the street. “I saw him. He’s alive, but he ran off, and a crazy man named Earl was shooting at us, so?—”
“Say what?!”
She walked to the next pole and stapled another poster while she told Belle everything that had happened in the woods.
Almost everything. No need to share the details about kissing Dakota or her emotional breakdown.
“Allie, what’s wrong?”
Shoot. Shoulda known Belle would pick up on her internal distress.
“I’m fine. Just…worried about Scout.” Hopefully Belle would leave it at that.
But the silence on the line did not bode well. Even from a couple hundred miles away, her best friend was reading her.
“Allison Jane Monroe. What’s going on? What happened with Dakota?”
“Why do you think something happened with Dakota? I lost my dog. I almost drowned. Obviously that’s been very upsetting.” She slammed the palm of her hand against the stapler harder than necessary.
“Because I haven’t heard this kind of heartbreak in your voice since that jerk Christian left you.”
“It’s that obvious, huh?” Her throat tightened, making it hard to swallow.
“We’ve known each other since the church nursery. Spill it. What did he do to you?”
The tears started in earnest. “He didn’t do anything, Belle. It’s me. I’m the problem.” She turned the corner and walked toward her vehicle, keeping her head down.
“You’re not a problem! How can you say that?”
“Because I’m the one doing the leaving this time. Dakota deserves someone better. I should’ve never let it get as far as I did. There was never any future there.”
“Why the heck not? He’s a real-life hero. He saved your life. Twice.”
“I know. That’s why he deserves someone else. No matter how much he thinks he’s falling for me?—”
“He said that?”
Allie sighed. She reached her car and sat behind the wheel. “Yeah. He asked me to give him a chance.”
“Then for goodness’ sake, give the man a chance. What more are you waiting for?”
“I told you. Marriage is not my calling?—”
“You never once told me why though. When we were kids, all we talked about was growing up and getting married. Having our kids in the church nursery together. So you’re gonna tell me that one guy breaks your heart and you’re going to give up on it all?”
“It’s more complicated than that.” Allie traced the stitching on her steering wheel. Too bad her own life wasn’t so nice and neat. Everything lined up the way it should be.
“Then explain it to me. Because I know there was a lot more that went on with Christian than you’re telling me. I’ve never pushed, but maybe I should’ve. Because you’ve never been the same since. What really happened?”
She’d already been through it once. Maybe that was how Belle’s quiet question broke the dam. Or maybe she was simply tired of carrying it all. Either way, Allie allowed the whole story to come out.
And afterwards, she endured the long, painful silence, half expecting Belle to hang up.
Then, “Have you been punishing yourself this whole time? Thinking it was all your fault?”
Allie couldn’t answer. Too much emotion squeezed her throat, cutting off words. Salty tears ran down her face.
“Oh, Allie.” Belle sniffed. “And what? You think God punished you by taking away your ability to have children?”
Well, yeah. That’s exactly what she thought. She’d disobeyed, and sin had consequences.
“By your silence, I guess the answer is yes.” Belle paused. “Allie, I want you to listen to me carefully. We don’t always have answers for the way or why things happen. But know this: God’s forgiveness is complete. He’s not punishing you. Remember that hymn? ‘My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.’”
The melody ran through her mind.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.
It had been a long time since Allie had felt like praising the Lord. Somewhere along the line, she’d stopped going to church. Every time she walked in the doors, she felt like an imposter. She didn’t belong.
Belle’s voice broke through her thoughts. “You’ve carried this burden too long. And you were never meant to.”
“I knew what I was doing, Belle. I lied to you. Lied to my family. How can you even stand to speak to me right now?”
“Mostly, I think you lied to yourself, Al, by thinking you deserve what you got. But there’s grace. Mercy. Loving kindness. Did you forget about those? Did you really think I’d reject you and all our years of friendship because you messed up?”
Maybe. Because those always seemed like things other people deserved. Not her.
“Forgiveness and mercy can never be earned. Because there’s only one person good enough to pay the debt for all our sin. Only one who could bear that burden. I love you, but it’s not you. And if Dakota is someone who has opened up your heart to start living again, if he’s heard all this and still wants a shot, maybe don’t write him off quite yet.”
Maybe she had a point.
“I’ll think about it.” A beep sounded on her phone. “I gotta go. I’m getting another call.”
“Okay, but, Al, I think Dakota is right. I think you should tell your parents. They’ve been worried about you too. You’re long overdue for a visit.”
“I know. I’ll talk to you soon.”
She pressed the icon to answer the other call. It was a local number.
Allie answered it quickly. “Hello?”
“It’s Ray.”
Ray? Why would he be calling her? “Where’s Jen? Are the boys okay?”
“I found your dog.”
“You have Scout?”
“I was driving out by the campground and saw him. He’s here.” His voice sounded different.
“How did you get this number?”
“It’s on his collar. Now, do you want the mutt or not? I don’t have all night.”
“Don’t go anywhere. I’m on my way.”
“You’ll have that reward too?”
“I’m not giving you a cent until I see my dog, and if there’s even a scratch on him, you can forget it.”
“Then you better come get him. I could use the money.”
“I’m on my way.”
He might not be Dixie, but Scout was her dog, and she wanted him back at her side.
“Can’t this go any faster?” Dakota tried to keep the grumble out of his voice. He checked his phone again while they took a short water break from cutting down fuel to help funnel the fire toward the river. Still no reception.
Kane glanced over at him. “Impatient, are we?”
With this feeling in his gut? More like he felt like something had gone very, very wrong. His phone chimed.
He moved uphill and checked again. Finally! A voicemail from Allie.
Hey, if you get this, will you call me back? I need to talk to you. But Ray called. He found Scout out at the campground. I’m not crazy about seeing him out there alone, but I can’t wait. I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you, but could you meet me out there?
Dakota checked the time of the call. Over an hour ago.
“Shoot.”
“What’s wrong?” Kane asked.
“Allie went to meet up with Ray. By herself.”
“Why would she do that?” Hammer asked.
“He says he found Scout out at the campground.” Dakota called her. Maybe she’d waited and he could convince her to hold off until he could go with her. “Hey, Allie.”
“Listen up, hotshot.”
Dakota’s blood ran cold at the unmistakable voice. “Ray.” He didn’t bother masking his own fury. “What are you doing with Allie’s phone? Where is she?”
“So, you do care what happens to the girl. Good.”
Ray was out of jail, and he had Allie. God, don’t let this be what I think it is .
Dakota shushed everyone up and put the call on speaker.
“Listen up,” Ray said. “If you want to see her alive, you’ll come alone to the campground. And before you get any bright ideas, you should know I’ve got friends. One is keeping an eye on the boys. I know they’re with Jen’s sister. If I see you come with anyone else, they know what to do with them, and no one will find their bodies. If you call the cops, I happen to have a friend there too. I’ll know. And Jen will lose them both.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you talk too much. Especially to that sheriff. Earl isn’t someone you want to cross, so if you wanna keep those brats and your girl safe, then you best get here real fast. And come alone.”
The call ended before Dakota could demand more information. A feral growl ripped out of his throat. “He has Allie.”
“Why is he doing this?” Houston asked.
Dakota wanted to drive a fist through something. “He’s gotta have something going on with Earl Blackwell, some kind of deal that would tangle him up in the murder case.”
“You can’t go out there alone. He’s probably bluffing about watching the boys.” Orion wasn’t joking around for once.
“Would you be willing to take that chance?” Dakota stared him down.
Bottom line, Ray wanted out—of Ember and everything else—and he was using Allie as bait.
Kane’s jaw clenched. “Fine. You can use my truck. And we’re putting a tracker of some sort on you. Ham and I can secure and safeguard the boys in town while you get Allie.”
“Thanks.” The word wasn’t sufficient, but it was all he could squeeze out.
Through the rage at the injustice of it all, to have innocent people in the grasp of a man like Ray, it helped to have someone like Kane watching his back. It had been a while since he’d had that. Almost like they were a team again, like his SWAT brothers. If anything, admitting his addiction and his past had gained him the respect he’d been so certain they’d withhold. Instead, it’d fostered trust.
Dakota got in Kane’s truck and drove north out of Ember toward the campground. The dark highway was eerily quiet. He pushed the needle past the speed limit, but the curvy switchbacks slowed him down as he made his way up the incline to the campground.
Lord, You hold not only the past but also the present and the future in Your hands. Guide me now. Protect Allie. Protect those boys. Let Your justice prevail tonight .
He was getting closer now. A billboard advertised the turn for the campgrounds, just a couple miles ahead. His stomach clenched tighter and tighter.
Hold on, Allie .
A pair of glowing green dots appeared in the ditch. Dakota slammed on the brakes, stopping just in time to miss the deer bounding out of the trees and into the road.
He kept his foot on the brake even after the deer crossed. Where there was one, there were often more. He was about to get going again when another pair of eyes on the side of the road reflected in his headlights. This animal was shorter than the deer. With dark fur. Maybe a raccoon?
No. It approached the road and barked.
Dakota pulled the truck off the highway and jumped out. “Scout! Come here, boy.”
The Lab came right to him, bounding around and licking Dakota’s hands.
“What’s going on. Why are you out here?” Ray was supposed to have him.
Scout whined. He barked and took a couple steps toward a trail coming out of the forest. It wasn’t a groomed campground path—more of a deer trail. But he was acting like he wanted Dakota to follow him.
He barked again.
“All right, just a minute boy.” Dakota rushed back to the truck.
Kane had tossed him the keys along with a comment that Dakota could use whatever he could find. Hopefully the guy had a heavy-duty flashlight he could use, maybe some emergency flares or something to use as a distraction.
He rifled through the center console. Nothing there. He flipped the front seat over. A black plastic case took up the width of the cab. Maybe Kane kept some emergency supplies there. Dakota opened it up.
“Whoa.” What was Kane doing with a cache of guns and ammo in his truck?
Scout wiggled his nose between Dakota’s hip and the open door.
Dakota wasn’t sure he wanted to know what the guy was hiding.
For now, he grabbed a Glock 23 and extra clip, hoping the weapons weren’t stolen.
In a duffel, he found a flashlight and a hunting knife in a sheath. He strapped the knife to his ankle and stuffed the light in the pocket of his cargo pants.
GPS on his phone indicated he wasn’t that far from the campground. He’d follow Scout and see where the dog led him first. He shut the truck door. “Scout, find Allie.”
He kept the flashlight off for now, trusting Scout to lead. There was enough moonlight filtering through the trees that it wasn’t quite pitch black as they followed the narrow trail through the forest. His feet quickly climbed the slight incline of a trail winding through the forest.
A mile or so later, they reached the burnt area. Scout set a good trotting pace around the trees and rocks. Dakota jogged to keep up. From this direction, they would be heading in on the west side of the campground.
Dakota’s plan was to take Ray by surprise if he was still there. But he’d still have to keep an eye out for any of Ray’s watchdogs too. He didn’t want to rush in if he was outnumbered, but he was going to save Allie.
God, help me save her .
Muffled voices carried on the wind.
Scout slowed. He whined but didn’t bark. They must be getting close.
Dakota slowed his pace. They reached the top of a ridge, and he looked down. Somewhere in the middle of a stand of stately pines was a bright light—maybe a campfire.
Dakota strained to hear the voices better. Definitely male. His gut said it was Ray. He had to get closer and see what he was walking into. The thick tree trunks grew closer together and blocked his view. He couldn’t see much through the trees.
He rubbed Scout’s thick neck and whispered, “I need you stay here. Okay? Stay.”
Scout whined and pawed at Dakota’s leg.
Dakota raised his voice enough to let the Lab know he was serious. “Stay.”
Scout hung his head and lay down.
The dog didn’t have to like it, but Allie had already lost Dixie. He’d do all he could to keep her partner safe. He waited to make sure Scout stayed in the down position, then Dakota crouched low and moved toward the light in the forest.
As he got closer, he had to belly crawl through the ash and dirt to stay out of the light’s reach. Finally he spotted Ray, pacing in front of a lantern while he grumbled into his phone.
Just Ray, not an army. He walked in a flat clearing, his shadow from the LED lantern following him and bouncing off the stand of trees that surrounded the campfire ring in the middle.
But where was Allie?
Dakota moved slowly in a circle around the lit area. He stuck to Ray’s back, but a couple of thick tree trunks blocked his view. Still no sign of Allie. He continued his crawl. His forearm landed on a thick branch, sending a loud crack into the air. Ray paused. Dakota froze.
He held his breath until Ray moved again. “I already told ya. I’m takin’ care of it.”
Was he talking to Earl? Maybe Dakota had been right that the two were connected—and now Ray was supposed to kill Allie and Dakota so Earl could get away with murder.
Not on my watch .
Dakota crawled to the closest rock outcropping. He stuck to the shadows and looped around to the other side of Ray’s little camp. Then he saw her.
Allie sat on the ground, tied up and leaning against one of the big trees. But her eyes were closed, her head slumped down so her chin almost touched her shoulder. Dried blood trickled down her forehead.
The familiar rage boiled inside Dakota. But he needed to keep his wits about him and be smart.
Lord, help me to use my skills for good here. Help me save her .
Dakota took a full minute to study the area. Allie didn’t stir. Her breathing seemed shallow. He pulled out the Glock and waited for Ray to make another pass and turn.
Go time.
He just prayed it wasn’t too late.