Page 59 of Scent of Peril

And she would have taken the bullet herself rather than risk Teddy.

Enough. He pushed the negativity away and focused on the positive. Jess was smart and so was her dog. They’d find a way to survive until help could arrive.

Up ahead, he caught a flash of light that gave him pause. The gunman and Jess? If so, why couldn’t he hear anything?

Logan quickened his pace, ducking when he hit a low section of the tunnel. Within a few feet, he was able to stand upright again. The light brightened as he drew closer.

Then he stepped into what looked to be a storage room. He frowned, taking note of the stacked boxes along the far wall. Edging closer, he wasn’t surprised to realize they weren’t marked in any way with labels.

But the size and shape were very similar to the box Craig Benton had stored behind his seat on the plane. Had the rest of the alleged camping gear contained the same items? Eyeing them now, he realized they must have been stored in the camping equipment because it was clear these boxes hadn’t been processed through the post office or any other official transportation service.

He’d done this. Granted, without his knowledge, but still. He felt like an idiot for not realizing his plane was being used to transport drugs. If that was what was contained in the box. Which the more he thought about Teddy’s alert in his plane, the more he leaned toward believing that’s exactly what was going on here.

But uncovering the exact items stored inside the boxes was a problem for later. Right now, he would continue to follow the light.

Accepting the very real possibility that doing so would take him straight toward the gunman.

He hadn’t attended church since he was a child, and he’d known even then that his mother had taken them primarily to get a free meal. He hadn’t minded. The pastor’s message had gone over his head, but he vaguely remembered a few lines from the Lord’s Prayer. Not the whole thing, but the beginning.

He silently recited the words now.Our Father, whom art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

That was all he knew, but repeating the opening of the prayer over and over in the back of his mind helped calm his raggednerves. He wasn’t entirely sure what the prayer meant, but he knew that with God’s strength he’d get through this.

And so would Jess.

After going another fifty feet, he caught sight of a shadow.

Not a shadow. Teddy! The dog’s eyes gleamed in the darkness as the dog bounded toward him. The animal’s paws were surprisingly quiet against the tunnel floor.

Dropping to one knee, Logan wrapped his arm around the dog’s torso. “Good boy,” he whispered near the K9’s ear. He didn’t dare speak any louder. “Good boy,” he repeated, imagining the dog’s fur carried the scent of Jess’s shampoo.

He took a minute to pocket his weapon. Then he spent another few minutes to double-check that the animal wasn’t injured. Beneath his fingers, Teddy’s vest felt intact, and he didn’t find anything alarming as he ran his fingers up and down the dog’s limbs.

Relieved, he hugged the dog again. Then he stood and pulled his gun from his pocket.

There was no sign of Jess, which was concerning. It wasn’t normal for Teddy and Jess to be separated. He stared down the tunnel, his mind wrestling with possibilities.

Had the dog sneaked past the gunman?

Or had the guy simply let Teddy go because he’d already silenced Jessica? It made sense to a point. The dog wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t as if Teddy could tell the police or other law enforcement officials what had transpired.

Logan stayed where he was, debating his next move. There was still nothing but silence from up ahead. And nothing to indicate Doug or Shane or anyone else had come into the cave to back them up.

Glancing down at Teddy, he realized the dog had turned so that his nose was facing the faint light at the end of the tunnel.Teddy moved forward, then turned to look back at Logan as if to askAren’t you coming?

The dog’s pleading gaze was enough to cement his decision. Logan stepped forward too. He would follow Teddy back to where Jess was being held.

He wasn’t leaving this cave without her.

14

Jess stumbled forward when the masked man pressed the muzzle of his gun into her back. A second man had come from the opposite direction, leaving her nowhere to run or hide. The newcomer, who was shorter than the man behind her, was also armed and wore a black ski mask. The first gunman had tied her wrists together with rope, but he hadn’t searched her pockets for a weapon.

She was ashamed to admit she’d forgotten about the gun Doug had provided. Stupid move on her part. Now that she was dealing with two gunmen, she thought it was best to wait until she had a better opportunity to use it.

The one bright spot in this mess was that she’d given Teddy the command to get help. Her K9 had managed to slip away, his black coat hiding him in the darkness.

“You better hope that dog of yours doesn’t come back,” the guy behind her said in a harsh voice. “Because next time, I won’t hesitate to shoot him.”

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