Chapter 5 #2
“It is.” She flipped up her hood, and he did the same. “SAR cases often overlap with my work for NPS. Lost or injured hikers or skiers form the basis of much of my work in the park, and my boss saw the advantage of having me on the SAR team, especially with a K9 trained on my own dime.”
Her wry smile made him miss his footing and stumble slightly.
“Federal funding of the National Park Service is not what it used to be”—she arched a brow—“unlike the FBI.”
It wasn’t as if he were in control of the budget. “Well, you’re not in the park now.”
She gave a soft laugh he could barely hear over the growing wind. Her cheeks were pink with cold. “You got me there. Out of my jurisdiction.”
He sighed. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
She grinned. “I know. I do actually have a sense of humor.” She sobered. “Just not when a little girl has been kidnapped.”
The reminder of the stakes and the fact that Summer was still out in this storm was sobering. “We’ll find her. As soon as this blizzard stops.”
“We have to.” She hunched her shoulders and put her head down. He moved ahead to act as a windbreak.
The dog gave him a look as Sebastian took the lead, used to being the alpha of the pack.
He reached out and stroked him on the head as he passed by, and the dog gave him a reserved look that suggested Sebastian had some work to do to win his trust—same applied to his handler.
Not that Sebastian had any desire to gain Nora Deacon’s trust when they were simply professionals who would work together for a brief time.
But it didn’t hurt to get people on your side.
Yeah, it had nothing to do with pretty violet eyes or pink lips, or that core competence that was a big turn-on—not that he had any intention of acting on any of that. He was man enough to admit when he liked what he saw—even if only to himself.
Snow that had been soft and fluffy a few minutes ago now turned into tiny bullets of ice. He held his arm up to shield his eyes. Visibility was down to twenty feet.
“Hold onto my jacket,” he ordered.
He expected her to argue, but he felt her firm grip bunch the material on his back and realized he liked the connection—and the knowledge he wasn’t going to lose her along the way.
It was faster going downhill but harder on the knees, and riskier when it came to falling.
The wind whipped, frigid and ferocious, and made it difficult to catch a breath.
The snow on the ground was getting deeper.
He forged his way through drifts, and Nora trudged behind him.
He could tell she was exhausted as she stumbled occasionally.
They shouldn’t have stayed out so long. Not that she’d given him much choice, he acknowledged wryly. He wasn’t used to people challenging his orders—except for his colleagues who had the same elite training and skill sets he did, not to mention healthy egos.
Too healthy, perhaps. But on an op, they respected both rank and experience. In this arena of K9 searches, Nora Deacon and Chance were the ones with the most experience.
Her gloved fingers hung onto his jacket with grim determination, probably because of her drive to see her dog safely back to the vehicles. But thanks to this strongminded NPS Ranger and her talented K9 partner, they now had a specific area to concentrate on and a firm direction of travel.
Eastman could be tricking them, could have come off the mountain at some other point, stolen a car, driven to Mexico, and let the FBI waste their time and resources here.
But Sebastian didn’t think so.
He squinted at the snow-covered range. Eastman felt secure here. He felt in control here. Control was important to a man like that.
National Park Service Law Enforcement Ranger Nora Deacon and her dog had been the Black Swan in this terrible scenario. The X-factor Eastman hadn’t anticipated. The good luck for the good guys. An advantage Eastman didn’t know they had.
Sebastian was grateful as hell she hadn’t bumped into the guy on the trail yesterday, or they might have a third victim they probably wouldn’t even know about yet.
He flinched away from that idea. She seemed too hard-headed and too determined to be taken by surprise. But she wasn’t bulletproof, and she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. Eastman struck him as the sort of man to happily shoot someone in the back if it served his purpose.
The question that pressed against Sebastian’s mind constantly was whether or not Eastman would tolerate someone holding him back. What would he do if Summer became an inconvenience?
His experience as a cop, a Federal Agent, a boy, suggested it wouldn’t be pretty.
If Eastman hurt Summer, Sebastian vowed he and his teammates would find the sonofabitch. Track him down and make him face justice. She might be the man’s flesh and blood, but that was no excuse for abuse. Another personal experience he had zero tolerance for.
You protected those weaker than you. Especially women and children.
We’re coming for you, Summer. Stay strong. Stay alive.
The scene they stumbled into was transformed from how they’d left it a few short hours ago. Nora let go of Sebastian’s jacket, and he moved to one side so they walked into the parking lot side-by-side. Her limbs trembled with fatigue.
A police cruiser blocked the main entrance.
Yellow crime tape struggled against the powerful gusts of wind.
A row of police officers and sheriff’s deputies walked a grid through the trees off to their left.
How they hoped to spot any evidence, she didn’t know.
By now, it had probably blown away or been buried by snow.
An icy shiver of despondency worked its way down her spine. They might have found Summer’s scent, but they hadn’t traced it to the source, and the fact that a little girl remained out in this weather filled her with a sense of abject failure.
Chance whined pitifully, reflecting her own feelings. Did he miss the buzz of a successful find? Or was he simply cold, tired, and hungry?
Probably all of the above.
Cas Demarco ran up to meet them and gave Chance’s head a quick stroke. He had to raise his voice against the wind. “Any sign?”
Sebastian nodded. “No physical signs except for the occasional footprint, but we tracked the girl’s scent to a specific point on the trail. By ‘we,’ I mean Nora and her dog.”
She was a little surprised by his use of her first name and by the praise, but her knees were almost too wobbly to hold her so she didn’t really care. “I’m heading back to my cabin—”
“Wait.” Those heavy brows lowered over Sebastian Black’s dark eyes. “We need you to come back for a debrief.”
“Sorry. My dog needs a rest, and so do I.” Worry for Chance and an overwhelming exhaustion stripped her of the little tact and diplomacy she possessed. Adrenaline and determination had kept her going, but now she was wrung out. “You know everything I know, and Chance is useless at debriefs.”
She opened the rear door on the Jeep remotely and removed Chance’s work vest and protective booties.
Normally at the end of a search, he’d go explore the edge of the lot or say “hi” to all the people, but this time he struggled even to jump inside the Jeep.
She ducked into the cargo space and grabbed a towel to dry off his fur.
When she was finished, Chance lay down with his head on his paws.
Whimpered just a little. Shame filled her that she’d pushed him to his limit.
What had she been thinking? Without Sebastian Black telling her to stop, she might have kept going.
Chance might have collapsed. She’d have struggled to carry him all the way back here, and no way would she have left him.
They could have both died up there on the mountain, and Summer would be no closer to being rescued than before. Emotion welled up inside her.
She was usually more careful than this.
She’d been desperate to save the little girl and allowed herself to ignore her own warning signs.
Chance had wanted to keep going, but that was the trick—knowing when it was time to turn back so you arrived home with some gas in the tank.
As a SAR volunteer, she never wanted to be the one who needed rescuing.
She’d failed to prioritize her dog’s welfare today and the realization tasted bitter on her tongue.
There was no excuse even though the thought of that little girl being out in the mountains in these conditions clawed at her insides.
She filled the water bowl in Chance’s crate from a thermos and gave him some kibble, which he ate lying down. She placed a wool blanket over him and closed the door, remotely starting the engine to warm up the interior.
“I’m headed to my cabin, which is a couple of miles north of here. Max Pasdeckie, the SAR coordinator, has all my contact details. I’ll call and tell him what I know. He’ll figure out the next steps.”
She expected Sebastian to argue with her, but instead, he opened her driver’s door. “We’ll follow you to your cabin before we head to base.”
“There’s no need.” Her head was starting to throb. Fatigue and dehydration reminding her she needed to take better care of herself as well as her dog. “I drive it every day.”
She swayed slightly and dropped the keys.
Sebastian scooped them up.
“Cas. Follow me. We’ll escort Ranger Deacon home. She’s in no condition to drive.”
Her lower jaw dropped. “I am perfectly capable of driving.”
He angled himself to protect her from the wind and moved close enough so only she could hear him. “You’ve been up for well over twenty-four hours. You’re dead on your feet, Nora. Let me help.”
The saliva in her mouth dried up. When was the last time she’d let anyone help her? “Fine.”
“Uh-oh. We all know what ‘fine’ means.” But he smiled, a kindness in his eyes she hadn’t expected.