Page 134 of Caveman (Wild Men 1)

They are his kids, for God’s sake. He’s already lost his wife, and now this.

I’m scared for them, and I’m scared for him. I hold his hand and fight the urge to trace the scar inside his wrist, the scar that says he already almost lost the battle against his demons once.

Behind the beard and the tousled, overlong hair, despite the broad shoulders and powerful body, there’s a guy who has been through a lot, who has found love and lost it, who is at the end of his tether and teetering.

I hope he’ll let me catch him if he starts to slip, before he falls all the way.

I hope we’ll find the kids, that they’re okay, before I lose both them and him forever.

Shivering despite the warm morning, I tug Matt back toward the house where the cops seem to be having an impromptu meeting, heads bent together.

“What’s going on?” I call out. “John?”

He gestures for us to approach and we start to run.

“What happened?” Matt calls, his voice a rasp, and I think he’ll wrench his hand away from mine, but he only tightens his grip, hauling me along. “Found anything? Talk to me.”

“One of your neighbors says he saw a guy with two children pass by earlier. A Mrs. Garcia. She says she knows you. She always greets you when she walks her dog past your house in the mornings.”

Matt’s mouth curls into a snarl. He reaches out and grabs the front of John’s shirt, twisting his hand in the fabric. “Where are

they, dammit? Where are my kids?”

“It’s okay.” John nods at the other cops whose expressions have darkened and who seem about to grab Matt and throw him behind bars until he cools down.

“Hey.” I tug on the hand I’m still holding. “Matt. Breathe.”

He gives a slow blink, his gaze sliding to me. I stroke my thumb over his hand, waiting until his gaze clears.

John removes Matt’s hand from his shirt and takes a step back. He’s composed but his face is a bit pale. “Great. Now let’s see what we know so far.” He pats the front of his shirt. “Mrs. Garcia saw this person with the children walk that way.” He points to a side street. “The children seemed to be going with him willingly, so there is the possibility it was someone they know. However, the time frame fits.”

“And it’s the only lead we have,” another cop says, some anger lingering in the gaze she directs at Matt.

The anger is lost on him.

“So let’s go.” Matt pulls on my hand and starts the way John indicated.

“We’ve sent Jamie that way to ask more neighbors. Meanwhile, we continue searching the area around the house, in case they—”

Matt drags me back to John and gets in his face. Since he’s a head taller and double the width of John, this is kinda funny.

Would have been, under any other circumstances.

“My kids were taken,” Matt growls, his face tight with fury, his eyes blazing. “I bet your ass Cole was taken that first time, too, but you didn’t put two and two together. Get your men moving, Johnny boy, or I’ll fuck up that pretty face of yours.”

John’s face goes red. “Watch yourself, Hansen.”

I tug again on Matt’s hand, hoping to get through, but he turns around again and starts in the direction of our first lead, dragging me along.

I’m glad he is. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even if he does end up in jail for insulting and manhandling an officer of the law.

Behind us John is shouting orders and radios crackle. I don’t know where we’re heading or what we’re looking for. I’m glad when John catches up with us, despite his dark scowl.

“Jamie says he found something.” He stares straight ahead as he says, “It’s a stuffed animal. A rabbit.”

“Hook,” I say. “Cole’s rabbit.”

Matt suddenly stops in his tracks, and I stumble to a halt beside him. “What aren’t you saying? Spit it out.”

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