Page 46 of Scent of Evil
“Of course.” She tugged the shirt down from her mouth. “I’ll gladly ride with Stone.” She was about to step past him when Justin quickly caught her in a warm embrace.
She hugged him back, fresh tears pricking her eyes. Or maybe it was the smoke. Her throat was choked too. She knew it was thanks to God’s grace that they were alive.
“I’m glad we made it.” His husky whisper near her ear sent tingles down her spine. “It was touch and go for a while there.”
“I know.” She forced herself to release him. She looked up, trying to put her feelings into words when Justin surprised her by brushing her mouth with a quick kiss. The sweet kiss was over before her brain had a chance to register what had happened. Then Justin was moving away to help his brother with the horses.
For a long moment, she just stood there, wishing things were different. Then she stepped up to the passenger side of the SUV. She slid inside, leaving the door open despite the smoke.
The dogs played for a few minutes, as if sensing they were safe. The SUV rocked a bit as the horses climbed into the trailer. Then the back hatch opened.
“Get in, Archie!” She turned to see the beautiful red lab jump into the crate area. “Here, boy.” Trevor filled a bowl with water for his K9, then offered a second bowl for Stone. When the dogs were finished, Trevor handed Justin a couple of water bottles. “For you and Raine.”
“Thanks.” Justin went around to hand her one as Stone joined her in the back seat.
She drank gratefully, the cool water a balm against her scratchy throat. The damp shirt they’d used to cover their nose and mouth had helped tremendously. Without that, they would have been worse off. Smoke inhalation was nothing to take lightly. Even now, her chest still felt a little tight.
Moments later, the Sullivan brothers were seated, and Trevor was pulling the horse trailer away from the curb. For long seconds, nobody spoke.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Justin finally said. He’d downed more than half his water bottle too. “I was starting to think we’d never reach the road, much less in time to find you waiting.”
The possibility that Trevor may have left hadn’t occurred to her. Although it should have. No sane person would sit at the side of the road as a fire swept through the forest. Yet even as that thought crossed her mind, Raine knew Trevor wouldn’t have left the area, or his brother behind, until the last possible second.
“Thank you.” She took another sip of her water to soothe her throat and reached over to pet Stone. The dog had curled up in a ball and fallen asleep. The K9 deserved to rest after their harrowing escape. “We’re grateful you waited for us.”
“Always.” Trevor met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry to hear Decker escaped.”
She nodded glumly. “Yeah. As if being a creepy pedophile isn’t enough, now he’s an arsonist too.” She paused, then added, “I’m sorry I put us in danger. I didn’t appreciate the possibility of a full-blown forest fire.”
“I went along with the plan.” Justin shrugged as if it was no big deal. “I understand why you wanted to find him.”
“Not at your expense.” She was irritated that he was letting her off the hook so easily. “I never wanted you and Stone in danger.”
“You were in danger, too, remember?” Justin turned in his seat to face her. “Maybe Decker didn’t escape. Maybe he’s caught in the fire. Yet if he did get away, it’s going to be a while before we can head out to track him again. We may want to bring my sister Alexis and her cadaver K9, Denali, along for the search. Hopefully, we’ll know more when we get a chance to talk to Logan.”
“Logan had to turn back, the smoke became too thick for him to keep an eye on Decker,” Trevor explained. “The last Logan had eyes on him, the guy was alive and still riding the four-wheeler.”
The news of Logan having to abandon the search shouldn’t have been a surprise. She could only imagine how hard it had been to fly above a raging fire.
“Maybe it will rain,” Justin said. “There were clouds rolling in earlier.”
“There is a thunderstorm in the forecast for early this afternoon,” Trevor agreed. “Hopefully, the rain will come sooner than later.”
“Amen,” Justin muttered.
She turned to check the fire’s progress but couldn’t see much beyond the large horse trailer. The black smoke still clouded the sky, though, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine the fire feeding off the trees and other brush.
As if on cue, fat rain drops splattered against the windshield. Lightly at first, then with more force. The rain was a blessing from God, and she was grateful to know the fire would be brought under control soon.
With a sigh, she sat back against the cushion. Now that they were relatively safe, the SUV putting miles between them and what remained of the forest fire, she was keenly aware of her headache and sore muscles. Everything hurt from her head to her toes.
Yet as badly as she wanted to sleep for the next twenty-four hours or so, Decker was still out there. The rain was a blessing, yet she also knew she couldn’t abandon the search in hopes that he’d been swallowed by the fire.
The devil takes care of his own.
She still needed to find Decker.
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