Page 50 of Jagger

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Shephard barked at me, as if it meant anything at this point. I noticed he had three walkie-talkies in his hand.

My hard stop was followed by the kind of sound most people should be terrified of. “To find the little girl.” I didn’t wait for any replies. I didn’t care nor did I need them. After shoving my gloves back onto my hands, I took long strides toward the door, slamming my hand against it. The cold air was refreshing at this point and nothing was going to stop me.

“You’re not doing this,” Hunter said from behind me.

“Like fucking hell I’m not.”

“Not without us.”

Hearing Shephard’s determined voice brought a glitch to my system and a moment of grateful relief. “Fine. Then get the fuck in. We need to do this.”

“Together,” Hunter said as he threw open the passenger door.

Together. Other than running the resort, we hadn’t done anything together in one hell of a long time.

With the engine running, I barely waited until the two doors were closed before taking off. At least we had a basic location of where the girl had gone. How she’d managed to get up the slope was beyond me, but at this point, it just didn’t matter.

Her life depended on our combined skills.

Nothing was said as I drove, skidding a few times, but correcting the wheel and the tires easily. At least I knew the strengths of my vehicle. The moment we were in position, I cut the engine and jumped out.

Shep and Hunter followed, but I was at the point of not caring. A walkie-talkie was forced into my hand that I immediately clipped to my belt.

“Where was the shoe found?” Hunter called from behind me.

I turned on the flashlight, scanning the area before I answered. “Four hundred yards up to the left.”

“Come on,” Shep told us both. “We fan out in a proximity, only staying a hundred yards away from each other. Talk, gentlemen. We need to do a uniformed search just like we were trained to do.”

I managed to nod to both of them and took off, trying to jog and bogged down every step of the way. At least the snow had stopped falling, but an ice fog had formed. All the odds were against us.

Steps were taken, even long strides, but with every length advanced, it felt as if I was being pushed back from the wind. I wiped my eyes more than once, but kept going even though the ice crystals on my beard became a tough reminder I was losing the battle.

I kept going, searching every bank of fallen limbs and any cover that Cally might think of to protect herself with. What went on in a four-year-old’s mind? I had no idea, but the instinct of survival was innate in all of us. I had to believe that.

“I got nothing,” Hunter said into the walkie-talkie.

I didn’t answer him, choosing to call out Cally’s name instead. “Cally. Where are you? Come on, honey.”

Only the wind howled.

Another ten steps were taken and I tried it again. “Cally! Cally!” I could swear I heard my brothers from the short distance calling her name as well.

Yet there was nothing.

Then…

Woof. Woof. Woof.

What the hell? A coyote?

“Cally?”

Woof.

No, it was a dog. A dog was barking. “Come on, buddy. Where are you? Talk to me.” There was no way of knowing if the dog could understand, but I’ll be damned if he didn’t continue barking.

The dog’s constant barking became a beacon of hope and a guidepost allowing me to follow his cry. “Come this way. I may have found her.” There was way too much excitement in my voice even if the chances of finding her alive were slim to nil. Too much time had passed.

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