Page 21 of Searching for Valor

“And maybe this Monica woman does, too.” Donovan looked over at Sawyer. “Anything on her?”

“Nah, she’s clean.” Sawyer sent the results of his search to one of the big screens on the wall. Monica Holt’s driver’s license filled the screen, showing a blonde woman in her early thirties with weary eyes. Next to her photo, a list of facts appeared—address, phone number, and employer information. “Nothing other than a couple of parking tickets. Lives in Sacramento, works for the California Attorney General’s office.”

“She’s a lawyer?” Ellie Summers spoke up from her seat cross-legged on the floor next to her SAR dog in training, Puzzle. She was half-heartedly trying to tug an old sock from his mouth. “Maybe she’s made enemies through her work. I know Cal has had clients threaten him in the past.” She finally pried the sock from her puppy’s mouth and winced. “He says it’s a hazard of the job because not everyone likes lawyers.”

“He’s the only lawyer I like,” Zak said. “And even then, I only like him about fifty percent of the time.”

“I won’t tell him you said that. It’ll hurt his feelings.”

“Doubt it has anything to do with her job,” Sawyer said, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand. “She’s a paralegal, and she isn’t involved in any high-profile criminal cases or anything like that. She’s employed by the Tort and Condemnation Section, handling civil cases. The kids are squeaky clean, too. Honor roll, sports, no juvenile records. They look like your typical all-American family.”

Before anyone else could speak, Shane shifted in his chair. “I saw them,” he said, his deep voice cutting through the room.

Everyone turned to him.

“Last night,” Shane continued. “I was on the road, heading home from here. Their car pulled over, and I stopped to check on them.”

“You’re sure it was them?” Rylan asked, motioning to the pictures of the kids on the screen.

“Yeah. They asked for directions to Whispering Pines. They looked scared.”

“Did they say what spooked them?”

Shane’s lips twisted into a self-deprecating smile as he motioned to his scarred face. “Pretty sure I did. If I was a teenager, I’d be pretty fucking freaked out if someone with Freddy Krueger’s face popped out of the woods on a dark road.”

“What time was this?” Zak asked.

“Around 10:30 last night. They were in an older model blue Honda Civic, headed north on Bear Gulch Road. They were spooked, so I followed at a distance to make sure they got to the resort. Once I knew they were safely in their cabin, I went home.”

“All right, so we have two missing kids who were last seen heading to a remote cabin in the woods, a mother who refuses to go to the cops, and Izzy convinced they’ve been abducted.” Zak ticked off the points on his fingers. “Not exactly a lot to go on.”

“But enough to know something isn’t right,” Anna said. “Those kids could be in real trouble.”

Zak sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t like this. Going behind Ash’s back…”

Anna poked him in the ribs. “Since when do you care about pissing my brother off?”

“Pissing him off is my favorite hobby,” Zak said with a smirk that faded fast. “But this feels wrong. If we’re seriously considering taking this on, he needs to be looped in.”

Rylan understood Zak’s reservations. Hell, he shared them. But...

“We may not have that luxury. Izzy was adamant about keeping this quiet because the mother was so terrified about involving the cops. If we go to Ash, and he launches an official investigation, it could spook whoever has the kids.Ifsomeone has the kids. They could just be lost in the woods near the cabin, but do we want to take that risk?”

“And if we don’t go to Ash and something happens to those kids on our watch? While we’re operating in his jurisdiction without his knowledge or approval?” Zak shook his head. “I don’t like those odds either.”

Rylan scrubbed a hand over his face, the pressure in his head reaching a crescendo. He understood Zak’s point, he really did. Ash was the sheriff and a good man. Going behind his back felt all kinds of wrong.

But those kids... If Izzy was right and they’d been taken, every second counted. They couldn’t afford to waste time navigating jurisdictional red tape or Ash’s suspicions about Izzy’s motives. Not when Grace and Noah’s lives could be on the line.

“Look,” he said finally, meeting Zak’s conflicted gaze. “I hear you. I don’t like keeping Ash in the dark, either. And if we had more to go on, I’d be the first one in his office. But right now, all we’ve got is a hunch and a ticking clock. We’re the only ones who even know they’re missing. If we don’t act now, we could lose precious time. Time they might not have.”

Zak’s jaw clenched as he stared Rylan down, a battle raging behind his dark eyes. Finally, he blew out a harsh breath. “Fuck. I don’t like this. At all. But you’re right. If those kids are in trouble, we can’t sit on our hands and wait for official channels to do their thing.” He pushed to his feet, his expression hardening with resolve. “Sawyer, keep digging into the Holts. I want to know everything about them— their routines, their friends, any potential enemies. The rest of you, gear up. We’re heading out to Whispering Pines.”

chapter

seven

The airaround the cabin was unnaturally still, as though even the wind didn’t dare disturb the grim silence. Izzy shifted on her feet and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the Redwood Coast Rescue team pull up in three red trucks marked with their logo.

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