Page 17 of Searching for Valor

But he didn’t like her. Not anymore.

“Which is why I need you to talk to them about it,” she said. “It will go over better coming from you.”

When he didn’t respond, she pressed on.

“Ry, please. I know what I did. And I know what it cost. But this isn’t about us. It’s about Grace and Noah. They’re out there somewhere, maybe lost, possibly in danger, and they need all the help they can get. You think I’m happy about standing here, begging for your help right now? I wouldn’t be here if I had any other options.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything more. The old attraction simmered beneath the surface, just as hot and dangerous as the anger. He hated that it was still there. Hated that she could still get to him. Everything in him wanted to tell her to go to hell, that she’d burned this bridge and had no right to ask him for a damn thing.

But she wasn’t wrong. This wasn’t about them.

Rylan clenched his jaw, staring at her, searching her face for any sign that she was the woman he used to think she was. The woman who, at one point, he thought he could have something real with. The woman he’d once wanted to explore a future with.

He saw too much of that woman now. More than he wanted to. It would be easier to keep her at a distance if he could just see her as the manipulative liar he had convinced himself she was. But the Izzy he’d started falling for— the fierce, determined woman who cared too much—was still there. He saw nothing but sincerity and desperation in her eyes now, the same eyes that used to look at him with such warmth and affection. The same eyes that had once made his heart race and his blood heat. Now,they just made his chest ache with the echo of what could have been.

Goddammit. He was going to regret this.

With a muttered curse, he relented. “I’ll talk to the team. See if they’re willing to help.”

They would be. Despite his words to the contrary, there was no way Zak and the others wouldn’t turn the mountain upside down for a pair of lost kids.

Izzy blinked at him, her expression cycling through surprise, relief, and then landing on gratitude. She opened her mouth as if to thank him, but he cut her off with a sharp gesture.

“Don’t. I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for those kids.” He pushed himself to his feet, unable to entirely hide the grimace of pain as he put weight on his bad knee. “Give me an hour to get myself together and talk to the guys. I’ll meet you at Whispering Pines.”

chapter

five

There were alwaysdogs barking at Redwood Coast Rescue.

The sharp noise drilled straight into Rylan’s skull as he parked in the lot, each bark magnified by the hangover pounding relentlessly at his temples. The sour taste of bourbon still clung to the back of his throat, and he swallowed hard against the nausea threatening to rise.

Focus, Rylan. They can’t know you spent the night trying to drown in a bottle.

Jesus. This was not how he’d planned to start his day. He’d planned to sleep off the worst of the hangover before dragging his sorry ass out of bed and coming into work.

But those plans had been shot to hell the minute Izzy showed up on his doorstep.

Izzy. Fuck. Even after three months of trying to put that woman out of his mind, she still had a way of turning his life upside down with one visit. She’d looked at him with those dark, almond-shaped eyes, a mix of guilt and determination swirling in their depths, and he hadn’t stood a chance. Even disheveled and desperate, Isabella Delgado was a sight that could steal a man’s breath.

“I need your help.”

Four little words, and he was right back in her orbit, pulled by a force he couldn’t seem to resist no matter how hard he tried.

The bright morning sunlight wasn’t doing him any favors, and he kept his sunglasses firmly in place as he stepped out of the truck and scanned the compound. The familiar activity helped ground him, though the sounds and smells—pine and earth, underscored by the occasional whiff of wet dog—seemed sharper, harsher than usual. Zak was working with Ranger in the agility yard, Anna sat on the porch steps with her tablet, and Donovan stood in the yard with Hudson balanced in one arm as Spirit bounded happily across the grass.

He could do this.

He had to do this.

Rylan adjusted his University of Kentucky ball cap lower on his head and squared his shoulders. The last thing he needed was anyone noticing how bad he looked. He headed toward the main building, hoping to slip in unnoticed. He needed a few more minutes to pull himself together before facing the team.

“Rylan!” Zak called.

Fuck.Of all the people he didn’t want to face right now, Zak was number one on the list. The man had the uncanny ability to see right through bullshit, and Rylan wasn’t sure he could handle that level of scrutiny in his current state. But there was no avoiding it now.

He turned slowly, plastering what he hoped was a casual smile on his face as Zak jogged over, Ranger trotting obediently at his side.

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