A Cry In The Night

None of them had ever been her child.

The thought sent a spike of fear straight through her heart to coil in her gut like a reptile whipping its spindly tail. “He’s going to be all right,” she whispered fiercely. “He’s going to be okay.”

Kelly knew the value of remaining calm and rational—even if the situation had already spiraled out of control. But the side of her that was a mother first scoffed at the idea.

Her child was missing.

It was her fault.

And there was only one man in the world she trusted to find him and bring him back. A man she’d once loved with all her heart. A man she’d hurt terribly. A man whose life she was about to change forever.

A fresh wave of terror slashed her, choking her, bleeding the last vestiges of calm from her veins. Adrenaline sparked like fire and zipped along her nerve endings like a lit fuse. Hysteria beckoned, but she knew once she entered that shadowy place, she’d never climb out.

The headlights sliced through the blackest night she’d ever seen, but Kelly didn’t slow down. Driven by the primal instinct to protect what was precious, she drove like a madwoman through the inky darkness, her single-minded determination slapping down any notion of her own safety. Though the night was mild—even in July, temperatures in the Colorado Rockies could vary wildly—she felt cold, chilled from the inside out, as if her blood had been replaced with ice.

She would never forgive herself if something terrible happened to her little boy.

The wind tore at her car, shoving it from side to side like a child’s toy, but she didn’t slow down. Her tires protested with a squeal as she skidded around a dangerous curve she knew better than to take at such a high rate of speed. To the west, lightning split the sky, shattering it like crystal, illuminating bony trees and rocks the size of dinosaurs.

Kelly withheld a sob at the thought of her child huddled and alone on a night like this. Eddie had never been afraid of the dark, but thunder had always scared him. It tore her up inside knowing he was out there, alone and frightened and cold. The thought reached into her, a fist breaking through her ribs, gripping her heart and squeezing it so brutally she couldn’t breathe.

She nearly missed the narrow lane cut into the forest. Her foot punched down hard on the brake. The car fishtailed, but she cut the steering wheel hard to the right and forced it back under control. Gravel spewed high in the air as she pointed the vehicle toward the cabin and gunned the engine.

She wasn’t even sure if this was the right place. It had been almost five years since she’d been here. She’d heard from the friend of a friend that he’d taken the old cabin and fixed it up. Five years ago, it had been uninhabitable.

The porch light loomed into view like a buoy in a raging sea. The place looked different, but she recognized the old SUV. A sound of relief escaped her, a strange and animal-like sound in the silence of her car. She brought the vehicle to a sliding stop a few yards from the front porch and jammed it into Park. Flinging open the door, she hit the ground running.

Above her the sky exploded, lightning spreading like white capillaries. She smelled rain, but the sky wasn’t relinquishing the water the forest had been crying out for since spring. The wind kicked dust into her eyes as she ran toward the cabin.

Please, God, let him be home.

The frantic thought pounded her brain. She crossed the porch in two strides, then slapped her palms hard against the wooden door. Once. Twice. “Buzz! Help me! Buzz, please!” She barely recognized her own voice.

A light flicked on at the rear of the cabin. Kelly waited eternal seconds, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she thought it would explode.

An instant later the door swung open.

She saw slate-gray eyes, a wide chest covered with a sprinkling of dark hair and faded jeans that hugged lean hips and muscular thighs. Even lost and drowning in terror, she felt the impact of him, like a punch between the eyes that dazed the unwary.

Kelly wasn’t unwary when it came to Buzz Malone.

She pushed by him. Her entire body vibrated as she walked into the foyer. She felt wild and out of control standing there inside his tidy cabin. She could only wonder how she must look to this man who never lost control.

Taking a calming breath, she spun to face him, sought his gaze. Six feet two inches of male pride and ego and one of the most complex—and difficult—personalities she’d ever encountered stared back at her. His gray eyes held a hint of ice, but his expression was etched with equal parts surprise and concern and that iron restraint that had cost them both so much when they were married.

“I’m in trouble. I…I need your help.” The words tumbled from her brokenly, breathlessly. “Please, you’ve got to help me.”

Brows drawn together as if he’d just been posed an impossible question, Buzz Malone stepped closer, but he didn’t touch her. “You’re bleeding. Are you hurt?”

She’d forgotten about the cut on her temple and shook her head. “I’m fine. There’s a…lost child. Eddie. W-we were at the campground for my family reunion. We were hiking and I fell….”

“Calm down, Kelly. Just tell me what happened.” With the impersonal touch of the cop he’d once been, Buzz took her arm and guided her over to the kitchen table. “Who’s Eddie?”

Kelly melted into a chair. Because her hands were shaking uncontrollably, she put them flat on the table in front of her. “Eddie….” She closed her eyes, uttered a silent, heartfelt prayer. “He’s my son. He’s lost in the woods. The park rangers are looking. They notified a Search and Rescue outfit out of Boulder, but four hours have passed and they haven’t found him. I want you there. I know if anyone can find him, you can.”

If he hadn’t known she had a son, he gave her no indication. “Where is he lost?”

“The eastern trail. When I slipped, I hit my head and must have passed out. I don’t know how long I was out, but when I woke up, he was…gone. I called out to him, covered the area on foot, but….” The horror of that moment rushed over her, shaking her so hard she saw stars. “He’s such a brave little guy, he probably went for help.”

“How long were you out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes.”

“Did you look for him right then and there? He couldn’t have gotten far in ten minutes.”

“I searched the entire area, calling his name. I called the ranger station immediately from my cell phone. I stayed near the spot where I fell and looked for about an hour. When the park ranger arrived, I went back to the campground and told my sister and her husband’s family. They started looking, too. I went to the ranger station, and they called in Boulder One Search and Rescue.”

“Boulder One is good.”

“Not as good as you.”

Buzz sighed, understanding. “They’re a relatively new outfit. They don’t have night vision equipment.”

“You do.”

“How old is he?”

Kelly closed her eyes tightly, then met his gaze. “He’s four years old.”

It was the first time she’d ever seen Buzz pale. Not Buzz Malone, the cool-eyed ex-cop who’d seen it all and never showed emotion. This time, however, he paled all the way down to his chiseled mouth. He recoiled, his gaze sharpening on hers. In the depths of his eyes she saw the questions, the hot spark of suspicion, dawning realization.

Kelly wished she hadn’t had to witness it.

Buzz wasn’t an emotional man. That had always driven her crazy back when they were married. The man had distant down to an art form. Cold was his middle name. If Kelly hadn’t known him so well, she wouldn’t have noticed the clenching of those granite jaws. The flash of shock in his steely eyes. But because she knew him, because she’d once loved him, she saw all those things, and the sense of dread that dropped over her was nearly enough to send her to her knees.

“What the holy hell are you telling me?” he snapped.

Kelly’s pulse pounded like a freight train. The roar of blood through her veins mingled with the rumble of thunder outside until she couldn’t hear. It was a struggle to hold his gaze, but she managed, if only by a thread. “He’s your son, Buzz.”

Buzz Malone stared hard at her. “I don’t have a son.”

Kelly stared back at him, a hundred words tumbling through her mind, a thousand emotions ripping through her heart. I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you. I reached for the phone a hundred times. You never wanted either of us.

None of the words were adequate. It was too late. The damage was done, but she knew the hurt wasn’t over.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Incredulity filled his gaze followed by a flash of pain so clear it hurt her just to look at him.