Chapter 35
Sarah came back into the bullpen.
Hudson got there first. He lifted her jacket from its hook.
“You don’t have to keep doing that.”
He halted right beside her. “Doing what?”
“Looking after me.”
“I know.” He held the jacket open.
She sighed softly. “You’re impossible.”
He gave a rumbling chuckle that went straight to her belly. “So I’ve been told.”
She turned her back to him so he could help her with the jacket.
Instead of trying to force her injured arm through the sleeve, he eased it onto that side first before guiding the fabric across her back. He settled the jacket across her shoulders, then smoothed the sleeves as though making sure nothing pulled against her bruises.
Then he lifted the ballistic vest and settled it over her jacket, fastening the straps. He checked the fit at her sides, making sure it sat snug without pressing against her bruised ribs.
His hands lingered for the briefest second at her elbows. Those hands had carried her to bed yesterday and held her face this morning as though she was something precious enough to protect and strong enough to choose.
Her lips still remembered the kiss.
She turned and flattened the collar of his shirt where it had folded beneath his jacket.
Her fingers brushed warm skin at the base of his throat. His eyes lifted to hers. Neither of them moved.
“There,” she said.
For a second he looked surprised she’d touched him at all. Then the corners of his eyes softened.
She dropped her hand before she could think too hard about why she’d done it. She handed him the cruiser keys. “You ready?”
“No.”
She shook her head, smiling. “Me neither.”
Walter’s voice carried from outside. “Search and Rescue’s here.”
Reality came back all at once. Sarah drew a slow breath, planted her hat on her head and opened the door.
Hudson waited for her to go first, then followed her out.
Sarah sat in the passenger seat while Hudson pulled the cruiser onto the snow-covered road. Cord sat handcuffed in the rear, staring through the side window as though he could somehow will the miles to disappear. Walter drove behind with Statton and Miller.
The cruiser sluiced through puddles of snowmelt that would refreeze by nightfall. The spruce drew closer as the road narrowed into little more than twin tracks winding through the forest. The deeper they drove, the more the world seemed to muffle itself.
Sarah studied the map spread across her knee. Cord had given them a location. Now she prayed they weren’t too late.
Walter’s voice crackled through the radio. “Alaska State Troopers are en route. A couple of hours out.”
Sarah lifted the handset. “If Nora’s alive, she doesn’t have two hours.”
Walter didn’t argue. “Search and Rescue is staging with EMS a mile back.”
“Good.”
Hudson glanced sideways.
“I’m fine, Hudson.”
He reached across and squeezed her knee, never looking away from the road. His touch was brief, but warmth lingered where his hand had been.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
Hudson’s hands rested lightly on the wheel, shoulders loose, breathing slow, his expression giving nothing away. But she sensed the change. His focus. The man who’d smiled against her mouth had stepped aside for the operator beneath.
Cord leaned forward from the back seat. “Here. Slow.”
Hudson eased off the accelerator.
Sarah looked across at him. “You trust Cord?”
“I trust useful information.”
Ignoring them, Cord pointed through the windshield. “The cabin’s over the rise.”
It came into view between the trees, the clearing unnaturally still. No woodsmoke curled from the chimney. No ravens scattered at their approach. Just the cabin sitting in the silence.
Cord’s face was rigid, his cuffed hands fisted in his lap. “If she’s in there...” His voice caught. “Just bring her home.”
Sarah met his eyes. “We’ll do everything we can.”
Hudson brought the car to a stop a hundred yards short, the cruiser concealed by the curve of the track. The instant the engine died, something shifted in him.
He was examining the ground around the cabin before his boots hit the snow. Every movement was economical, every glance deliberate.
He wasn’t looking at the cabin. He was taking it apart.
Sarah had known Hudson was dangerous. Until now she’d thought it was because he carried a gun. But standing beside him in the snow, the gun was the least dangerous thing about him.
The wind cut through her jacket as she got out, finding every gap at her collar and cuffs. The air smelled of spruce and the icy bite of clean snow.
Walter pulled in behind them, his cruiser crunching to a halt. Walter and the two deputies climbed out, rifles already slung, breath steaming.
Sarah moved to Hudson’s side. “Assessment?”
Hudson didn’t look away from the cabin. “Somebody’s been here recently.”
Walter and Statton joined them. Hudson took a knee, his fingers skimming across the snow. She followed the direction of his gaze.
Broken pine needles. Someone had pushed through low branches without bothering to hide it. Hudson’s gaze kept moving, searching for details her eyes hadn’t reached yet.
Walter broke the hush, looking between them. “How do you want us moving?”
Sarah looked at Hudson. “Talk to me.”
“One approach in. Trees are too dense on either side to move quietly, so if anyone’s watching, they’ll have this road covered.” Hudson scanned the cabin's roofline. “No smoke. Windows are curtained from the inside.”
Sarah raised her binoculars, studying the cabin for a moment. “Padlock’s been forced.”
Walter looked across. “Recently?”
“Yeah. Bright metal. Whoever broke it didn’t do it months ago.”
Hudson touched the churned snow. “Two people went in. Only one came back out.”
“Can you tell how recently?” Sarah asked.
“Hard to tell. Wind’s started filling them.” He studied them for another second.
Sarah frowned. “Nora?”
“Mmm.” He looked toward the cabin. “Maybe.”
Walter shifted his rifle. “So we split?”
Hudson shook his head. “No. If there’s a shooter inside, splitting gives him angles.” His attention flicked to the trees, then back to the cabin. “We stay together. Clear the structure. Get Nora out.”
Sarah followed his logic. “And if the cabin’s empty?”
“Then whoever took her already knows we’re looking.”
She blew out a slow breath. “Okay.” She looked at Walter. “You, me, and Hudson clear the cabin. Miller, cover the rear exit. Nobody comes out behind us. Statton stays with Cord. If anyone approaches from the road, you call it in.”
The deputies moved without hesitation.
Hudson caught her hand before she could step away. “You should stay with Statton.”
She looked down at his hand, then back at him. “You promised.”
His mouth flattened. “I know what I promised.”
“So keep it.”
A long beat passed between them, and everything else fell away.
“I need you to trust me, Hudson.”
His eyes searched hers. For a second she thought he might throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to the cruiser.
He dragged a hand across his mouth. “Fine, but you stay behind me.” The line of his shoulders was set. “And Walter.”
He was trying. That was all she’d asked.
She turned her hand beneath his until their fingers met for the briefest second. “Deal.”
He let go. “I’m serious.”
“I know.” She held his gaze. “I’m coming home with you.”
The hard line of his mouth softened. “See that you do.”