Chapter 21
Twenty-One
“Jackson!” Dylan’s voice whisper-shouted again.
Instead of yelling back, Jackson grabbed Mia’s hand and tugged. “Follow me. I think I know where he is.”
She nodded. He didn’t drop her hand, whether because he didn’t want to lose sight of her or because he was so close to emotionally losing control, he wasn’t quite sure.
All he knew was that if she hadn’t been here, acting like she’d heard the voice as well, he would have thought his imagination was playing tricks on him.
Because he knew in his gut that the kids were imprisoned in that facility they’d just spied on.
So how was he hearing Dylan’s voice all the way up here?
Mia’s firm grip helped him keep himself in check.
“It’s not far.”
“Where are we going?” she breathed, her head swiveling around, scanning the area. The man with the gun didn’t return though. From where they were, Jackson could hear police radios squawking.
Two instincts warred inside his head. One faction cheered that they were out of danger now that the police were on scene. The other side declared they weren’t free yet. He chose to go with caution.
Up ahead, there was a small cave.
Mia groaned. “Oh no. Not another cave.”
He bit back a grin. “No bats in this one. Dylan and I explored it last year. We always talked about coming back. We just haven’t found the time yet.”
A familiar head peeked out.
Jackson dropped Mia’s hand and ran the rest of the way. “Dylan!”
He pounded toward the cave, aware of Mia running behind him. After ducking inside, it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. He inhaled a lungful of dank air. “Dylan.”
Jackson collapsed to his knees beside Dylan. The boy’s left arm hung at an odd angle. He was bruised, and there was a bump on his head, but he was alive. Jackson carefully embraced him, mindful of his injured arm.
The moment his arms touched Dylan, the boy broke down. Huge gulping sobs shook his body, and he buried his head in Jackson’s shoulder.
“I’ve got you, Dylan. It’s all right.” He rubbed his brother’s back, concerned that Dylan seemed to have lost weight in the past week.
“I knew you’d come for me,” Dylan started, then stopped as a new fit of tears took over.
“I would never have stopped searching.” Jackson waited until the tears stopped flowing. Then he moved back. “Let me look at that arm.”
Jackson had dealt with people’s injuries and pain for a long time, ever since he was a medic in the Army.
He’d learned to steel himself in order to focus and ignore their pain without faltering.
But his resolve had never been shaken like it was now, listening to his kid brother groan in agony as Jackson inspected the limb.
“It’s not broken. You’ve dislocated your shoulder.” Jackson looked straight into his brother’s eyes.
Dylan paled. Sweat beaded his upper lip. “Do you need to slam it against something, knock it back into place?”
Jackson almost smiled. “You’ve seen too much TV. I don’t want to damage it more. You’ve still got good sensation.”
Jackson took off the flannel shirt he’d worn over his T-shirt and turned it into a makeshift sling. “This will have to do for now. When we get you to the hospital, they can take care of it.”
“Dylan.” Mia stepped up to Jackson’s side. “Can you tell us about the other kids?”
“Miss Turner!” Dylan exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Jackson grinned at Dylan. “She’s been helping me.”
Something rustled in the dimness behind them. Jackson and Mia whirled. Jackson placed himself in front of Dylan. Any danger would have to go through him first.
“You can come out!” Dylan called softly. “They’re safe.”
A young girl around Dylan’s age moved from behind an outcropping of natural rocks where she’d been hiding. She moved toward them, as skittish as a deer. Jackson had the impression that if he moved too fast, she’d bolt.
“This is Wynne. She’s one of the girls who was being held.”
“Dylan, how did you get away? I’m glad you did, but those guys are professional trackers.” It seemed unreal they’d allow two—three, if you counted Reggie—teens to escape.
“They were loading us all in a truck. Two of the men got into a fight while we were being loaded.”
Jackson shuddered. His brother had come so close to being herded into a truck. He would have never seen him again if that truck had left with Dylan on it.
“They were fighting? Why?” It seemed like a poor time to pick an argument.
“Apparently, they weren’t paid the same. Or one of them got a bonus. I’m not sure. It was over money.”
“When one of them pulled out a gun and shot the other, things got chaotic,” Wynne added.
Dylan nodded. “I knew where we were. We came here last year, remember, Jack?”
Jackson nodded. “I do.”
“We tried to convince another girl to come with us, but she was too scared.”
Tears leaked from Dylan’s eyes, but he appeared unaware of them. “We left them, Jack. I feel so guilty! But they wouldn’t come, and I couldn’t stay. We only had a minute to make our move.”
Jackson reached out. What a thing to have to live with. “You did good, kid. What if I hadn’t figured out where you were? You got away and gave yourself a chance to find help for everyone else.”
“You were brave and resourceful, Dylan,” Mia added.
“Are you hurt anywhere besides your shoulder?” Jackson scanned the two of them for further injuries.
“No.”
Jackson quickly hugged his brother again. He couldn’t help himself.
“Dylan, do you have any idea how many others were there?” Mia whispered.
Jackson wiped his arm across his face. He wasn’t ashamed of his tears. Much. But he needed to keep his head about him.
“There were nine of us. Only eight once Reggie got away.” His head whipped to Jackson, eyes panicked. “Reggie—”
“Is fine,” Jackson hastened to reassure him. “He’s in the hospital. Thanks to him, we were able to pinpoint the place they’d kept you.”
“I hope the police found them,” Wynne said. “We heard shooting and then sirens.”
Jackson grimaced. “Someone discovered us. Those were the shots you heard. I had called the police before that happened.”
“Can we leave this cave?” Wynne asked, her voice quivering.
“Wynne has claustrophobia.” Dylan went to the girl and took her hand. Jackson nodded, trying to assess her as she took two steps toward them. She didn’t appear injured. Merely spooked.
“Stay between me and Mia,” Jackson ordered. “I’ll go first.”
The teenagers both agreed. Jackson caught Mia’s glance.
He pulled out his phone and sent a simple text to Mark.
Mia moved to the back of the line, effectively sandwiching the teens between them.
It made him nervous. He knew she didn’t have her gun with her.
They hadn’t exactly planned this when they went to the hospital. Which reminded him…
Jackson hesitated. There was something he needed to know. “You knew Reggie was dealing drugs?”
“I tried to talk him out of it.” Dylan hobbled after them.
“His coach forced him into it. But while we were being held, I heard the men talking about someone named Roger being the leader. And something about having several people with influence on the payroll. Including a judge and some hoity-toity guy trying to get into politics.”
Jackson winced. That would be Blaine.
“Jack.”
“Yeah?”
“Mr. Reese was there.”
Jackson expelled a harsh breath. He had been suspicious when he’d heard how the foster parent had pushed Dylan to go to the camp. He’d hoped he was wrong.
“What about Mrs. Reese?”
“I don’t think she knew. But she should have. One of the guys asked him if the old lady had asked him any questions. He said she turned a blind eye as long as the money kept coming in.”
She’d never foster again if Jackson had anything to say about it. And her husband was going away for the rest of his life, hopefully.
“The police will want to talk with you both. You’re heroes.”
Jackson’s phone rang, and he glanced at it. Relief filled him at the familiar number. He swiped his finger across the screen to answer the call. “Mark—”
“Jackson! We found six captives, most of them teenagers. Your brother—”
“He’s with me. He and a girl named Wynne escaped this morning when their captors started fighting.”
“Good. Watch out, will you? We have two of the men in cuffs. A third is down—he’d been shot before we arrived. At least two more are on the loose.”
Jackson relayed what Dylan had said about the leaders.
“We know about Roger. He’s going down. I’ll send someone to arrest Reese. We’ve called for ambulances. They’ll be here in a few. You’ll have to bring the kids to us. The paramedics can’t drive into the woods. Come meet us, and we’ll get the kids to the hospital to get checked out.”
Jackson met Mia’s gaze. She nodded.
“On our way.”
Mia followed Jackson’s lead back toward where the police were helping the captives. The cover of trees that hid them from view slowly thinned, and the shadows lightened.
Up ahead, the sky opened up. They were coming to a clearing.
Mia’s skin itched. As much as she loved the sunlight, heading toward the opening unsettled her.
It made her feel vulnerable, like anyone could get to them.
The closer they got, the louder the voices grew.
The higher-pitched tones of frightened teenagers registered.
She also heard a couple of adults murmuring comforting words.
Dylan seemed to be limping. She suspected he was hurt more than he’d let on. He’ll be on his way to the hospital soon.
Jackson kept giving her glances. At first, she didn’t get it, then it finally dawned on her. He was worried that if he went to help, she’d think he was abandoning her.
She smiled at him. “As soon as we get these two to safety, you should join the search. After all, that’s one of your gifts.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly. She’d misunderstood him so much. There was nothing selfish about Jackson Stewart. The man was strong, courageous, and had a keen sense of integrity.
It took them another fifteen minutes, but soon they saw police cars and several ambulances. She sighed in relief.