Page 35 of Enduring Promise

Russ shook his head. “He ran off,” he said grimly. “But he’s not done. He knows what’s at stake, and he’s looking for vengeance. No one is safe until we find him.”

The men exchanged uneasy glances before one of them nodded. “We’ll get her back to the house,” he said, his voice steady. “You two keep searching. We’ll make sure Claire’s safe.”

CHAPTER 34

Russ wiped a hand across his sweat-dampened face, the heavy air of the woods clinging to him like a second skin. Every muscle in his body ached, but he kept moving, the beam of his flashlight slicing through the oppressive darkness. Hillary groaned with some pain. The blood from the small cut on her cheek had started to drip, dark streaks marring the front of her torn dress.

“We’re not finding him out here,” Russ muttered, his voice tight with frustration. “These woods are too thick, and he could be anywhere by now.”

The distant hum of the helicopter continued overhead, its spotlight visible through the canopy in brief flashes. The barking of search dogs punctuated the night air, a constant reminder of the hunt. But out here, it felt like they were chasing ghosts.

Hillary didn’t respond. Her face was pale, her jaw set as she pushed forward, her flashlight trembling slightly in her hand. Russ stepped closer, reaching out to stop her.

“Hillary,” he said gently, his voice cutting through her dogged determination. “Come here.”

She froze, the flashlight beam wavering, before finally turning to face him. Her expression was simply stubborn resolve, but when he pulled her into his arms, she didn’t resist.

Russ held her tightly, feeling the tension in her body slowly ease as she rested against him. “We need to head back,” he said, his voice low but firm. “The police are out here now. They’ve got the helicopter, the dogs. It’s safer for us to be at the house with everyone else.”

Hillary pulled back slightly, looking up at him with weary eyes. “Safer,” she repeated, her tone bitter. “It’s funny. When we first got here, we thought this would be easy. A quiet place to regroup, maybe even breathe for a minute.” She let out a hollow laugh. “Now we’ve got another person who’d love to see us dead. The list isn’t supposed to be growing, Russ.”

He didn’t say anything, letting her words hang in the air between them. She shook her head, brushing at the blood on her cheek as if it were an annoyance. “I just... I don’t know if we’ll ever have clarity. On any of it. What’s coming next, what we’re even supposed to do.”

Russ exhaled slowly, stepping back and adjusting the grip on his flashlight. “I do,” he said quietly.

Hillary frowned, turning to face him fully. “What do you mean?”

“Next week,” Russ began, his voice steady, “I’ll go back to Texas. They’ve made seven arrests. It’s time to help make the case strong enough to hold people accountable.”

Hillary stared at him for a long moment, the beam of her flashlight pointing absently at the ground. “And what about Topeka?” she asked finally.

Russ hesitated, his jaw tightening. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I only know I’ll be heading there. It’s time.”

The silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sounds of the search party. Hillary glanced down, her fingers tightening around the flashlight. Then she looked back up at him, her eyes blazing with determination. “Then I’m goingtoo,” she said firmly. “I’m your legal counsel, Russ. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Russ shook his head, an apologetic smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite the heaviness of the moment. “No, you’re not,” he said simply. “After this week, you’re fired.”

Hillary blinked, her mouth opening slightly in protest, but Russ held up a hand to stop her.

“Hillary, listen to me,” he said, his voice resolute. “I don’t want you in Texas. I don’t want you anywhere near it. I’ll be under tight security, under great threat. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, and I can’t drag you into that. You’ve done enough.”

Her jaw clenched, but she didn’t interrupt, so he continued.

“It’s time for you to go home,” Russ said, his gaze steady. “Talk to your sister. Be safe. And maybe... maybe you can help Claire through this. She’s going to have a bumpy ride ahead of her, and she’ll need someone like you. Someone who can help her make sense of all this.”

Hillary stared at him, her face blank in the dim light. For a moment, Russ thought she might argue, that she might fight him on this the way she always did when she thought he was being overly protective. But she didn’t.

She turned away, her flashlight beam cutting through the darkness once more. “Let’s just get back to the house,” she said quietly, her voice devoid of emotion.

Russ watched her for a moment, his chest tightening with a mixture of relief and regret. Then he fell into step beside her, his flashlight illuminating the rough path ahead as they began the slow trek back to Willowbrooke.

The woods seemed quieter now, the distant hum of the helicopter and the occasional bark of the dogs fading into the background. Russ stayed alert, his ears straining for any sound that might indicate Michael was nearby. But all he could hearwas the crunch of leaves beneath their feet and the consistent rustle of the trees in the breeze.

They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. The tension between them was palpable, but Russ didn’t push. He knew Hillary well enough to know she needed time to process, to sort through the storm of emotions she kept locked behind her stoic exterior.

As the glow of the house came into view through the trees, Russ felt a small wave of relief wash over him.

But as they stepped into the clearing and the sounds of the partygoers and searchers reached their ears, Russ couldn’t shake the lingering unease that settled in his chest. Michael was still out there, and the night was far from over.

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