Page 57 of Too Late

He struck his knife against a rock he’d found.

Her stick started to smoke though. “I got it.”

“Excellent.” Josh bent over and blew on it and got some dry leaves burning. In about five minutes they had a real fire going. Josh piled on some wet wood and leaves, and smoke billowed into the air. If anyone was looking, they’d see the smoke.

Josh put his arm around her and drew her against his chest.

She felt safe in his arms and somehow knew they’d be okay now.

Josh whispered in her ear, “Listen.”

It was hard to hear anything over the roar of the waterfall and the crackle of the fire. But she closed her eyes and focused for another sound.

Woosh. Woosh. Woosh.

“A helicopter?”

“There’s something else too.”

She listened more.

A dog barked.

“Poirot!”

Chloe jumped to her feet, legs forgetting that they didn’t want to work.

She whistled as loudly as she could.

He barked again.

She ran, half-limping, toward the sound and into the woods.

From between the trees, the four-legged creature dashed out.

Chloe knelt, and Poirot hit her full force and knocked her to the ground, licking her face like it was covered in peanut butter.

He jumped off and ran back the direction he’d come from.

Josh helped her off the ground before Poirot came bounding back.

“You found me. Good boy!”

The dog bounced all over the place as if he were a puppy again. She’d never seen the normally subdued dog so ecstatic.

Gabe appeared with a county deputy and a short, dark-haired woman—Amelia.

Chloe ran to her brother, and Amelia ran to Josh.

Gabe embraced her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I climbed a rock face.”

“No way!”

Josh released his sister. “She did, to save my life. By the way, Kristinn Bortsov took a nasty tumble off a cliff, pretty sure she didn’t survive.”

The deputy asked, “Can you show me where?”

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