Page 78 of Searching for Valor

“Good point.” She swiped to answer, putting it on speakerphone. “Ash?”

“Is Rylan with you?” Typical Ash. He was never one for small talk.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he called and got out of bed to dress. “What’s going on?”

“Noah Holt’s been found.”

Rylan’s heart leaped, then sank just as fast.Founddidn’t mean safe. Or alive. One glance at Izzy told him she’d had the same thought. Her face had gone white, and the hand holding the phone shook.

“Alive?” he asked so she didn’t have to.

“Yes,” Ash replied. “Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that first thing. He’s being evaluated at the hospital, but so far, other than dehydration, he looks healthy.”

Izzy exhaled softly. “And Grace?”

“No sign of her yet. You two need to get here now. He’s asking for you.”

“Okay, I’ll be there?—“

“Not you,” Ash interrupted, and for the first time, he sounded like something other than his usual grumpy self. He sounded perplexed. “Rylan.”

Rylan froze with his jeans halfway up his legs. “Me?”

“Yeah, you,” Ash said with a slight undercurrent of accusation. “The boy’s worked up and says he’ll only talk to you. So care to explain how a kid you’ve never met knows your name, Cross?”

“I have no idea.” But that was a lie. He knew. He didn’t have all the pieces yet, but he had enough to see the big picture. He pulled his jeans the rest of the way up and fastened them with a trembling hand. “We’ll be there in fifteen.”

Izzy ended the call before Ash could say anything more and turned to him, her eyes huge, brimming with concern and unspoken questions. “Youdidmeet them.”

chapter

twenty-seven

Ash was waitingfor them in the hospital corridor, looking like a man that hadn’t slept in years. His auburn hair stood up from too many passes of an agitated hand and his beard needed a comb to control the flyaways.

“What the hell’s going on, Cross?” Ash demanded the moment they were in earshot. He planted his hands on his duty belt, right beside his holstered gun. A not-so-subtle threat or warning. “Because I’ve got a traumatized kid in there”—her jerked his chin toward a closed door down the hall, where a deputy stood guard—”who won’t talk to anyone but you. A stranger.”

Rylan met the sheriff’s accusing glare head-on. They’d never really been friends—Ash could be a hard man to like—but they’d always shared a mutual respect. Until now, apparently.

“I’m not a stranger.”

Ash’s eyebrows shot up. “So you’ve met?”

“I...” Rylan dragged a hand through his hair.

Christ, he didn’t have a good explanation, not without sounding certifiable. “I think so. It’s… complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry. I need to talk to Noah first.”

Ash crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. “Now I’m thinking it’s not a good idea.”

Izzy stepped forward, angling herself slightly between them. “Sheriff, please. Trust us on this. Let Rylan see Noah. It’s important.”

Ash’s gaze flicked to her, and if Rylan wasn’t mistaken, those hard eyes softened for just an instant. “I wish I could, Delgado, but I trusted you once before and got burned.”

Izzy flinched as if Ash had slapped her. Rylan saw the flash of hurt and regret in her eyes before she blinked it away. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, meeting Ash’s glare with a steady one of her own.

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