Page 66 of No Man Left Behind

When they reached the next post, they were deep in the woods, and the trees were showing off all their glory. They took a break while Piper shuffled through her cards, looking for a good one.

Owen sat on the ground with the dogs. “Okay, Flups, let’s show Finch how to follow the signals. Ready?”

Owen held his hand out, palm facing down and parallel to the ground. Flups flopped to his belly, and Owen rubbed his head. “Good boy, Flups. Good job. Finch, you try it. This means to lie down. Can you do it? Finch. Lie down.”

His voice was soft but firm. Kimi had probably been teaching him how to train the puppy. Finch looked from Owen to the other dog. Then, he checked in with Marcus and Elina before turning back to the boy.

Owen repeated the command and the motion. Finch took another moment, and then he lay down beside his new buddy. Owen praised him, and rubbed him down. Rachel was right. The kid was great with animals.

“Found a good one.” Piper’s voice had them all turning to her. Troy helped her slide the card under the glass and then waved Owen over.

The boy read it aloud. “I’m light as a feather, but you can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?” He frowned for a moment, then shrugged. Marcus didn’t know the answer immediately, either.

When no one said the answer, Owen nodded. “That’s a good one, Piper. What’s the answer?”

Piper laughed. “Not a chance, kiddo. The riddles are there to puzzle over. I won’t reveal the answer until the next riddle goes up.”

He grinned. “Waiting is hard. I want to know now.”

She tapped his nose. “Then you’d better think hard.”

Owen nodded and tugged the dogs into moving to toward the next post. “What do you think, guys? What’s light a feather? Maybe a hummingbird. I don’t think he’d like me to hold him, so I don’t think that’s the answer.”

The boy continued to talk to the dogs as they moved down the path toward the next curve. The Great Dane puppy stood almost at Owen’s shoulder, and his King Charles Cavalier dog wasn’t much taller than his knees. They were a cute trio as they sauntered toward the next bend in the trail.

How would Elina feel about having kids at some point? They hadn’t discussed it. Hell, he hadn’t thought about it much, but the look they shared earlier had him imagining it now. A little girl climbing all over the dog and letting the kittens climb all over her. A fierce girl who would help the world with one random act of kindness after the other. A girl who might grow up to be an artist or a cop. Or something completely different.

He could see it as clearly as he could hear the wind through the leaves.

Danger rippled through those leaves, and he could feel a person watching them. Not just any person. The asshole.

Shit.

One second, everything had been normal. He pulled his weapon while he ran. “Owen. Come back.”

Before he even finished the first syllable, he knew it was too late.

Owen screamed.

Finch barked.

And Elina, who’d been ahead of him by a few steps, took off running toward the boy.

Shit.

The creepy feeling came out of nowhere, and Elina was running before she heard Owen scream. Marcus shouted behind her, and Finch barked ahead.

This area of the woods was a mix of trees, with plenty of spruce trees blocking the view around the corner. She poured her energy into her limbs, needing to get to Owen and the dogs. If this was the man after her or Marcus, the boy didn’t deserve to be caught in the mess.

Flashes of that day back in Suraih flashed through her head. The shouts and the rifle shots. The fear as she tried to decide whether to hide the children or get them to run. Relief when Marcus and Scooby arrived with Shaggy. The pure panic when she realized Damsa was still in the school.

Shaggy finding the little girl. Scooby scooping her up. Marcus and Shaggy ushering them out. Then the explosion and the school collapsing on Marcus.

Elina forced away the memories and the panic as she ran. Maybe it was a bear that scared Owen. The dogs would keep him safe.

But she knew it wasn’t a bear.

Behind her, Marcus called her to stop, but she couldn’t. Owen couldn’t get caught in this mess.

---