Page 67 of Sean

THIRTY-FIVE

Julia’s heart was thudding in her chest. She was the first one out of the house, followed by the others. Sean, Ethan, Owen, and Joe had been on the front porch and had charged around the side of the house, so they all met up in the yard closest to the woods.

“Stop,” Sean’s voice rolled across the open space as everyone clustered together.

It took a moment for Julia to realize that his command was meant for Emmy. She’d been ahead of the others, dashing toward the woods that were already dark with shadows.

“The kids,” Emmy said, pointing toward the trees. “I saw them run into the woods.” She was breathing hard and had a death grip on Alice’s hand. “There was a man between me and the kids when I came back outside.”

“What did he look like?” Sean demanded, his voice calm. “I know the light is dim but think. You’ve seen a picture of Wilson. Was it him or someone else?”

Julia noticed that Joe and Ethan split off and went into the house.

“It was him. Right hair color, right height, and right build,” Emmy answered.

“Why are we standing here?” Tara’s words were sharp, and Julia understood why. Two of her girls were in the woods running from Wilson with Julia’s niece and nephew.

“Because we need a plan. Running off without direction will just cause more problems,” Sean said as Joe and Ethan came from the house, each carrying a black duffel bag. “Mom, go back in the house with Helen, Charlotte, and Alice. Lock it down—every window and door. Then, call my FBI contact. Sending you the number now.” Sean tapped buttons on his phone and kept talking. “Tell him Wilson’s here and we’re going after him. Have him send agents and the sheriff. Go.”

“Got the weapons,” Ethan said as he unzipped a bag. “Everyone know how to shoot?”

“Not me,” Julia said.

“Take this.” Ethan handed her a heavy flashlight and a can of pepper spray. He distributed guns to Tara, Emmy, and Sophie along with smaller mag lights.

Julia’s hands were shaking as she held the weapons. Everything in her wanted to run after the kids, but Sean was right, and the SEALs were all reacting appropriately.

“Emmy, you go with dad. Julia, Tara, and Sophie—the three of you stick together. Your objective is to get the kids.” They were walking rapidly to the edge of the woods as he talked. He indicated where they were supposed to search. Julia noticed that the SEALs were going into the woods solo but in between the other searchers, so they’d be within range of their voices. “We won’t be able to see each other, so listen and yell like hell if you come across Wilson. Don’t confront him if you can help it. Let’s roll.”

After that, Julia went into the trees with Tara and Sophie on either side of her. She was terrified, scared out of her wits, but not for herself. Her fear was all for the kids and all these other people that were threatened by Wilson’s actions. She forced herself to calm down, look and listen. To her untrained ear, though the only sound she noticed was the crunch of their shoes on the forest floor.

The visual, though, was her world, so she focused on that as she swept her flashlight around. Fifty yards into the woods she noticed a broken twig and then another. Tara and Sophie were farther away from her now, but she kept tracking what seemed like a trail to her. Sean had taught the kids to pay attention to those small indicators when he gave them a kid-friendly crash course in wilderness survival after the encounter with the coyote.

She picked up her pace as the path became clearer to her. She was so focused on watching the trail that she didn’t notice when a sharp drop off occurred until she went slipping and sliding down a steep embankment, struggling to find purchase on the muddy ground. She landed on her butt at the bottom of a hill, startled and a little sore but not injured, thankfully. Part of her wanted to call out to Tara and Sophie, but they’d established that they were all supposed to yell when they found Wilson. She didn’t want to draw everyone away from their searches just to let them know she’d fallen on her butt.

She got to her feet and trained the flashlight on her surroundings. A creek ran through the gully she was in just feet away, and the underbrush was thick. Her heart lightened when she saw a kid-sized footprint in the mud. That was why following the trail had led her to fall—she’d taken the same path as the kids. The exact same path. They were down here, too. She listened, stilling her breathing, to hear better. The tiniest whimper filled her with joy. That was Amos trying very hard not to be scared. She was sure of it.

“Amos? Lucy?” she called softly.

“Aunt Julia. Over here.” That was Lucy. Julia jumped over the creek and followed the sounds. The kids were hunkered down, trying to conceal themselves behind fallen trees. As soon as she reached them, she hugged them all close.

“Everyone okay?”

“Just scared.” Eden answered for everyone. “That man tried to grab Lucy and take her.”

“Running and screaming was the right thing to do, and I’m glad you found a hiding place. Now, we need to get back out of this gully. Ready to hike?” She could stay here with them, but she’d feel so much safer with another adult, and she sent a text to the searchers letting them know the kids were safe. Yelling might accomplish that, but she feared alerting Wilson to their location. “Let’s go.”

She herded the kids across the stream back to the point where she’d tumbled down the hill. Just as they were starting to scramble back up, a dark shadow stepped out from behind a tree.

“Got ya,” Wilson growled, and he lunged toward them. Flight was Julia’s first instinct, but when Wilson reached for Amos, she knew she had to stand her ground and fight. Julia slammed the heavy flashlight into his arm, forcing him to fall back a step.

The kids retreated behind her, and Eden let out a yell that could have been heard for miles. The girl could scream. Good girl. Julia followed her lead and started yelling, too. Seconds later, a male voice shouted back. “Where are you?”

“Down the hill by the stream,” Julia screamed at the top of her lungs. “Wilson’s here.”

He was coming at her again, and she thought about the advice that Sean had given the kids about defending themselves from coyotes. Maybe it would work on evil snakes like Wilson, too. She started throwing everything she had. The walking stick she’d picked up went first, hitting Wilson with a satisfying thump. She turned the bright beam of the flashlight on him, blinding him, and shot him with the pepper spray next.

“Goddamn it,” he screeched when pepper spray got in his eyes. Not a direct hit to the face, but close.

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