Page 15 of Scent of Evil
Raine crossed to Justin, listening intently to his part of the conversation.
“Here’s our coordinates.” He listed them off, then added, “Decker is armed and has fired on us several times, which has hampered our progress. Can you patch me through to Logan? He’s above us and can probably give us a better idea of where Decker is located now.”
After devouring the protein bar in a matter of seconds without even realizing it, Raine wiped her hands on her jeans and gazed up at the sky. She was impressed that the sat phone had gotten a signal at all with the dark clouds overhead, although they were lighter in a few spots. She didn’t see the plane, though, and hoped Logan hadn’t lost sight of Decker and Ginny.
“Yeah, okay. I understand. I’m glad he was able to get eyes on them.” Justin’s gaze locked on hers for a moment, and her stomach sank when she saw the disappointment there. “I’m glad to hear Trevor and Archie are out here with the police too.”
There was a pause. Then Justin frowned. “Griff? I didn’t hear that. What did you say?” More silence followed, then Justin lowered the handset. “We lost the connection.”
“I heard the part about your brother Trevor and the cops, but what did I miss?”
“Logan had eyes on Decker and Ginny and radioed those coordinates to Griff.” He stood and opened his protein bar. “Unfortunately, Logan had to turn back as he was running low on fuel.”
“Turn back?” She looked up at the sky again. “What about other planes and choppers?”
“Griff was working on it. He’s been in touch with your boss too. Griff is on his way to Buffalo.” Justin ate his protein bar, then carried the wrapper and the sat phone back to stuff them into the saddle bag. After securing the strap, he turned back to face her. “All we can do is keep pushing forward. We’re on the right path, Raine. That’s what counts.”
Did it really? A wave of disappointment crashed over her. What if their best wasn’t good enough?
What if they didn’t catch up to Ginny and Decker in time?
Justin surprised her by grasping her hand. “Let’s pray.” She was so surprised she didn’t protest. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for guiding us this far. We ask that You continue to give us the strength and wisdom to find Ginny. Please keep her in Your loving arms. Amen.”
“Amen.” Raine blinked back sudden tears. A strange sense of peace had cut through her disappointment. Maybe God was listening.
If so, she desperately needed Him to protect Ginny.
* * *
Justin could tellhis decision to pray for them had caught Raine off guard. Yet rather than pull away, she’d joined him in prayer.
He wanted her to know Ginny wasn’t alone. That no matter what the little girl endured, God was there to help her through it.
“Time to go.” He glanced down at Stone, who was sleeping. His K9 had put a lot of miles on already, and he debated carrying him for a while or letting him lead the way. “What do you think, Stone? Are you ready to go?”
At the sound of his name, the yellow lab lifted his head and thumped his tail. Justin noticed the dogs often took advantage of rest breaks by falling instantly to sleep. He and his siblings had marveled at their ability, wishing they could do the same.
Stone rose and stretched, then trotted toward him. Since his K9 appeared eager to go, he filled a collapsible bowl with water and offered it to the dog. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”
The lab slurped the water, then lifted his nose to the air. The recent rain had likely helped to enhance his ability to capture Decker’s scent. Stone wheeled and headed across the rocks toward an opening in the trees.
He turned to help Raine up on Timber. He wanted to reassure her everything would be fine.
As if reading his mind, she reached up to give him a brief hug. “Thanks, Justin. For everything.” Then before he could respond, she placed her foot in his linked hands and vaulted onto Timber’s back.
A low groan escaped as her butt hit the saddle, but she managed a grim smile. “Let’s do this.”
Justin quickly mounted Blaze and urged the horse forward to follow his K9. He’d put hours of riding in, but even his muscles were growing sore from the ride. He glanced back at Raine. She was hunched forward, the rain poncho billowing out behind her.
That’s when he realized the wind had shifted again so that it was coming toward them now. He frowned, listening intently. With the wind in their face, the sound of the ATV should be easy to hear.
But there was nothing but silence.
His gut clenched in a mixture of fear and dread. Had Decker stopped? Scanning the mountainside, he searched for a location where Decker might have pulled off intending to fire at them again. The guy hadn’t proven himself to be an expert marksman, but at some point, he was likely to hit one of them.
Hopefully not one of his horses.
Justin reined Blaze toward the cover of trees, knowing Timber would follow. The more cover, the better.
