An Accidental Family

As he listened to the crunch of boots on the wall of rock above, a new sound demanded his attention. Someone down the slope, gasping for breath. He spotted the flare of another flashlight ricocheting off the rocks below, as a female voice—high-pitched, hysterical—called out, “Dillon! Is that you up there? Dillon! I see your flashlight! Answer me!”

Great. Now the little counselor, or social worker, or whatever she was, shows up. Seth focused on the flare of the light as it grew brighter, closer. She was on the ledge now.

He eased himself around a boulder and in the next instant she “turned into his hand,” as bull riders liked to say. Before she could lurch away, he’d clamped her firmly in the vise of his arms. With one hand clasped across her mouth, he dragged her backward into the small hole in the wall.

She flailed wildly, skinny arms and legs and the flashlight dangling from its wrist strap all whacking him in the arm, in the head and certain other places that made a man grit his teeth. When he removed the hand from her mouth long enough to wrest the flashlight out of her grip, she screamed, “Boys! Help!”

He flicked off the light, tossed it on the ground.

“Let me go!” she howled.

“Shh,” he hissed as he clamped the hand back over her mouth. With the shotgun pressed across her middle like a crowbar, he forced her to be still against him. She was so small that he could have broken her in half if he had a mind to, which only galvanized his urge to protect her.

“It’s okay,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m a cop.” He folded his arms tighter around her and was relieved when her struggling ceased. He held her backside pressed against his trunk in that fetal embrace for a few endless, tense seconds while he listened to Lonnie and Nelson above, yelling curses and scrambling away, back up the cliff. Then came the sound of a rattletrap engine firing to life, tires spinning away on a gravel road.

When at last there were no more sounds, Seth maneuvered his foot to scrape her flashlight within reach. He bent to snatch it up, switched it on and twisted the ray around so he could get a good look at her.

He raked the beam up and down her slender form. She was fully clothed—jean shorts, baggy white T-shirt, running shoes. No visible blood. But she was covered in dirt, and every inch of her was trembling. Her long blond hair was a tangled mess. She wasn’t wearing any makeup or jewelry, as far as he could see. Except for some scrapes and the dirt, she looked like a woman who’d just climbed out of bed. Even with terror contorting her features, he could see she was a genuine beauty.

And she was strong, too. She managed to wrench one hand free, tearing at his fingers on the shotgun.

“Woman!” He thrust the gun up high, out of her reach. “This thing’s loaded.” He flicked the safety on. “Listen to me,” he demanded, but held his voice to a harsh whisper. “I said I’m the law. And those weren’t your boys up there. Those are dangerous men who’ll likely kill us if they find us in here.” He turned her jaw toward the glint of his badge in the oblique light. “I am not gonna hurt you.”

“Mmmfp!” Her eyes bugged at the badge. She twisted her face against his hand and looked into his eyes, trying to speak.

“Okay. But keep your voice down. They could circle back.”

She nodded and he slid his hand away.

“A c-cop?” she coughed out. Her face was flushed and her full lips looked parched from thirst.

“Yes.”

“Well, you scared the hell out of me!” For a second Seth thought she might hit him, but instead she whirled to face him, and clutched the bulletproof vest in both fists. He reared back. He wasn’t used to people messing with his person, at least while he was on duty. “Lady—”

But she only yanked him harder. “You have got to help me…the boys… I can’t find them!”

She started babbling ninety miles a minute about the three boys, how she’d found their beds empty again, how they couldn’t be far. About pennies on the railroad track. About getting lost in the caves. The woman was near hysteria. For one irrational second a shot of adrenaline hit Seth as he wondered if the Slaughter brothers had harmed her. Harmed her the way they’d harmed KayAnn Rawls.

“Did they hurt you?” He shone the light up and down her body again. No welts. No cuts and bruises from a beating.

“Who?” She winced as he shoved her hair back to get a better look at a scrape on her forehead.

“Those men.”

“No!” She batted his hand away, seeming annoyed by his examination. “No one’s hurt me. You’re not listening!” Her voice rose. “Some little boys are missing!”

He lowered the flashlight. “Keep your voice down. The boys are fine.”

Her jaw dropped. “The boys—”

Seth pressed the switch on his shoulder mike. “Jake. Come in.”

Instantly, his partner’s voice crackled in response. “Where are you, buddy?”

“In a cave. I’ve got the counselor. I’m bringing her down. But the Slaughters got away. Call for some backup to intercept them. Probably coming down Purney’s Road.”

“Got it. I haven’t gotten much out of the kids. The talkative one clammed up. And I don’t know sign language.”

Rainey Chapman seemed to be still recovering from her shock. “The boys are…? You’re…? You mean you found them already?”

“Yes. They’re in an ambulance, at the base of this mountain.”

“Oh, thank God!” She pressed a palm over her heart, wilting with relief. He steadied her with a light hand to her back. She was shaking worse than his aunt Junie’s nervous poodle. The counselor looked up at him and her eyes grew wide as something hit her with such impact that he could see, even in the oblique light, their unique green shade. “Did you say they’re in an ambulance?”

“One of the boys got a bump on the head. Nothing serious. One’s got some cuts on his hands. They’re more scared than hurt. They’ll be okay.”

Her lips trembled as if she were struggling not to cry. “No, they won’t. You don’t know these children. They shouldn’t have been running around in these woods. I should have called—” Her eyes grew wide. “Who called the police?”

“Nobody. We were up here on a manhunt and came upon the boys by accident.”

“A manhunt? After those men?”

“I was hoping to apprehend them. Unfortunately, I didn’t get them before they tied up your boys.”

She gasped. “Tied them up?”

“With duct tape. Luckily, the kids escaped. Like I told you, those men are dangerous.”

“But why would they tie up the boys?” She stared at him with a look of wild-eyed horror.

“Because the kids saw some things they shouldn’t have seen, some things those men have been hiding for a very long time, I’m afraid.”

“Hiding something? What?”

“I’ll explain once we’re safely out of here.” Once he decided how much she needed to know. He pulled on her arm.

But she resisted, pressing a shaky hand to her temple. “Oh, this is all my fault. Those kids have suffered enough trauma without this.”

Seth frowned. A little on the dramatic side, wasn’t she? She was the boys’ counselor, not some savior, and certainly not the one who’d caused the trauma that had put the boys in her care in the first place. “Aren’t you being a little hard on yourself?”

“No. I should never have tried to find them by myself.” She started to tremble so hard he feared she’d collapse.

He slid an arm around her shoulders. Not the most professional thing to do, maybe, but he wasn’t inclined to let the poor little thing shake her teeth out without offering some support. His days as a cop were about done, anyway.

“I’m sorry.” She yielded in his arms as she reflexively turned to his chest.

He reached around and pressed the arm that held the shotgun to her back. He could feel her pliant softness even through his bulletproof vest. The rest of her felt as delicate as a bird. Suddenly the air inside the small cave felt too close. Suddenly Seth’s skin grew prickly with sweat.