Page 10 of Searching for Valor

Mom’s erratic behavior. The hurried packing. That desperate look in her eyes as she’d practically shoved them out the door…

Then, the fog-shrouded road. The strange figure that darted in front of the car. The scarred man who’d given them directions.

All of it added up to a gnawing unease in the pit of her stomach, but she pushed the feeling aside. They were safe here, she told herself. Everything would be fine.

A loud thud from outside made her jump, the pot clattering in the sink. She froze, straining to hear over the pounding of her heart.

“Noah?” she called. “Did you knock something over?”

No response.

Frowning, she dried her hands and walked back to the living room. “Did you hear me? I—” The words died in her throat.

The living room was empty. Noah’s mug lay tipped over on the coffee table, a dark stain spreading across the worn wood. The front door hung wide open.

Grace’s heart leaped into her throat as she rushed to the door. “Noah!” The fog had thickened, swirling around her ankles as she stepped onto the porch. “Noah, where are you?”

Silence answered her, broken only by the soft rustling of leaves in the night breeze. She squinted into the darkness, trying to make out any sign of movement among the shadowy trees.

“This isn’t funny!” Her voice cracked with panic. “Come back inside right now!”

A twig snapped somewhere in the forest, and Grace whirled toward the sound. Was that a figure moving between the trees, or just her imagination playing tricks on her?

She took a hesitant step off the porch, then another. The damp grass soaked through her socks as she moved closer to the tree line. “Noah, please. Where are you?”

Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth from behind. Grace tried to scream, but the sound was muffled against the rough palm. An arm snaked around her waist, lifting her off her feet. She kicked and thrashed, but her attacker was impossibly strong.

Then she saw Noah hanging limply over another shadow’s shoulder, and tears flooded her eyes.

What had they done to him?

This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a nightmare. Any moment now, she would wake up safe in the cabin, Noah snoring softly beside her.

Grace fought wildly, clawing at the hand over her mouth, but it was like iron. She couldn’t breathe. Spots danced in her vision as her captor dragged her into the forest, dead leaves and twigs crunching underfoot.

Who were these men? What did they want?

The pieces started to click into place with sickening clarity: Mom’s strange behavior, her insistence that they go on this trip, and the remote location.

Oh, God. Had Mom known this would happen?

chapter

three

Izzy Delgado staredat her laptop screen, the cursor blinking mockingly as if daring her to absorb the wall of text in front of her. Another module in the online private investigator’s course she’d been chipping away at for weeks, and she hadn’t retained a single word. The faint hum of the ceiling fan in her father’s cluttered office barely cut through the stuffy air, thick with the faint smell of oil and grease from the adjoining garage.

The old leather chair creaked as she leaned back and ran a hand over her face. The words blurred together, a jumble of legal jargon and investigative techniques she knew she should master if she ever wanted to make this career change stick. But her thoughts were miles away, circling a familiar spiral of guilt and regret.

Rylan.

His crooked half-smile, like he had a naughty secret.

His compassion and unwavering dedication to helping others heal.

His hard body, covered in all those delicious tattoos.

His mouth, the way it had felt against hers, igniting a fire inside her that had never truly gone out...

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