Time stopped as Catherine stood frozen in shock. She wanted to scream at Stone and Antonia, but they continued their mad sprint, disappearing into the trees, and all she could think about was Garrett and Pinky. She lurched forward, falling, rocks biting into her knees before she regained her balance. When she skidded to the edge of the gorge, the ground crumbled under her boots. She flopped to her stomach. Her hair had come loose from the twist and she shoved it back, desperate to spot them.
Moisture thrown up from the river blinded her and she dashed a sleeve over her eyes. “Garrett!” There was no answer but the pounding water.
Stephanie and Chase arrived. She screamed out an update.
Chase immediately ordered Tank and Chloe to sit far enough away from the edge and crawled on hands and knees, passing her and easing over the side amid a cascade of rubble.
“Chase...” Stephanie yelled, to no effect. Catherine tried to keep him in view but the spray was impenetrable.
After an eternity, Chase popped back up. “I see him and Pinky. At my one o’clock. Ropes.”
Catherine grabbed the end of the coil Stephanie tossed her. “Wrap it around that tree,” Stephanie commanded.
She did so, heart thundering. The trees here were scrawny—small specimens, willowy from the lack of sunlight. Would they hold? Stephanie encircled the only other nearby pine. Double protection. Catherine’s lungs felt close to exploding. She shot a look to the far grove, praying she’d see her sister returning, unharmed, but no one appeared. Just hold on to the rope. Get Garrett and Pinky to safety. Then worry about Antonia.
Chase wrapped a harness around his waist and when Stephanie gave him the thumbs-up, he walked backward over the rocky lip, debris sliding down with him.
The rope tugged sharply under Chase’s weight and she steadied herself, the tree at her back. A sharp crack split the air. The rope slithered in her palms.
She whipped around. The tree trunk where Stephanie was anchored had buckled. Stephanie struggled, but the rope slid loose, spraying bits of wood.
Stephanie grimaced. “I’m losing it—hold on, Catherine.”
Catherine threw herself forward and strained against the rope, looping a section around her waist. The tree trunk trembled under the load, bending until it broke with an audible snap.
Stephanie yelled something and lunged for the rope but there wasn’t enough time.
When the slack played out, Catherine was hauled toward the gorge along with the splintered branches. She sought something, anything, to stop her progress. Chase, Garrett and Pinky would have no chance and she would join them as they plummeted onto the sharp rocks. With all her strength she dug her heels into the ground. She skidded helplessly, her boots plowing through the loose detritus until she slammed up against a strong shelf of granite.
The strain intense, she planted her body. The rope dug into her sides as it worked to pull her over the edge. Was Stephanie close? She couldn’t tell. There was only the pain and her desperate need to save Garrett, Pinky and Chase. When she thought she could withstand the weight no longer, the pressure suddenly eased. Stephanie was at her shoulder with Hagerty. Their combined effort was enough for Stephanie to catch a spire of granite with the rope. Catherine and Hagerty kept the tension until Stephanie could tie it off.
The three of them ran to the edge of the gorge.
Water billowed up from below and blurred her vision. Garrett? Pinky? She searched for Garrett’s jacket amid the torrent or a glimpse of Pinky’s harness. Chase? With each passing second her nerves knotted tighter. Where were they?
“There.” Stephanie pointed to a position to her right. “Chase is waving like he’s a rock star, the dork,” she said, half-bending in relief. “Haul you out when you give us a signal,” she shouted.
Chase offered a thumbs-up and turned his back to them. Catherine finally spotted Garrett’s dark hair, soaked and dripping, over Chase’s shoulder. He was tucked onto a ledge with Pinky clutched to his side like an overgrown toddler. The dog appeared to be alert. The relief made her sag. Garrett was alive. Pinky was too. Thank You, God.
But what else had transpired while she’d been frantic to secure Garrett? The ring of the gunshots and Antonia’s stark expression as she’d run by clutching the gun flooded back. Tony was as reckless as she’d feared in her desire to capture Stone. Why had it seemed to her sister like a good idea to pursue a murderer instead of waiting for help?
Her stomach twisted. Because of what she’d discovered in the cabin? Catherine shut down the thought immediately. Her energy was focused on getting Garrett out before he became hypothermic. The water tossed up from the river at Chase and Garrett was frigid, no matter the season. And hypothermia attacked quickly.
When Chase finally gave them the thumbs-up, Stephanie, Catherine and Hagerty used a winch on the front of Hagerty’s vehicle and a sturdy nylon rope to hoist them clear. Chase unclipped immediately, seemingly no worse for wear as he untied Garrett.
“Let go of the pooch, bro,” he told Garrett. “Pinky’s fine.”
It looked like a physical effort for Garrett to release his dog. Pinky shook his coat, spraying them all with moisture. Stephanie called Pinky but he would not come. Instead, the dog licked the water from Garrett’s face.
Garrett sat up, blinking. “That was worse than the flash-bang grenade.” He sought Catherine out first. “Anyone hurt?”
She allowed herself to breathe finally. “I—I don’t think so. Tony ran after Stone and...” She couldn’t help her gaze from going to the cabin. Uncle Orson was the unknown.
“I’ve got a helicopter launching to track Stone and Antonia,” Hagerty said. “I’ll go...”
But the words didn’t impact Catherine as she stood. Garrett was okay. Chase and Pinky were too. But what was waiting for her in that cabin? She flashed on the doctor who’d delivered the report that her father had indeed died on that dreadful day ten years before. His expression, the pity, the horrible facts that once said could never be forgotten. Her future and her sister’s hung on every syllable.
She would not, could not, wait again for news to be delivered to her while she sat passively, torturously wondering. Not this time.
She rose, turned, walked...and then she was sprinting, ignoring the calls from the people behind her. Slipping once on the damp flagstones took her to a knee, but she was up again in an instant. Through the open door, into a musty living room covered in wood paneling and a kitchen with crumpled fast-food bags and empty soda cans.
She wanted to shout for her uncle, but her terror would not allow the words to pass her throat. Please, please, please... One empty bedroom, a bare mattress, past a tiny bathroom with a rust-stained toilet bowl, toward one closed door at the end of the hallway.
Please...
Hand shaking, she turned the knob.
The inside was dark, the window shade closed. It took her eyes a moment to clear.
Orson was lying on the bed, blindfolded, his wrists and ankles fastened to the bed posts with dirty loops of rope. There were several candy bar wrappers on the floor and a half-empty gallon-size bottle of water. His clothes were rumpled, and smelled of sweat, and his mouth was slack. He jerked toward the sound of her approach.
Gratitude flooded her soul. He was alive. Tears welled and her limbs quivered. “Uncle Orson.” She collapsed next to the bed.
“Cathy?” His voice was a croak.
“Yes. It’s me.” Tears trickled unchecked down her cheeks as she patted his chest. “You’re okay. We’ll get you to a hospital.” She was fumbling to undo the knot around his wrist when Hagerty, Stephanie and Chase entered, and with them Garrett, who was holding Pinky and clutching a silver emergency blanket around them both. Stephanie gently pushed Catherine aside.
“Let me.” She pulled a folding knife from her pocket and sawed at the restraints while Catherine eased off the blindfold.
Uncle Orson blinked and knuckled his eyes with his free hand. “Didn’t think I was going to see you again, Cathy.”
“I never doubted for a moment,” she said, unable to stop her tears.
Garrett’s knees knocked with relief and the trauma of his recent fall. He was banged and bruised, freezing in spite of the blanket, but finding Orson alive overrode his discomfort.
Catherine hugged her uncle fiercely, helping him to sit up. Hagerty handed him a bottle of water, urging him to drink. He was clumsy, weak, and he dropped the bottle, splashing the mattress. “Where’s Tony?”
Catherine was trying to control her emotions so Garrett answered for her. “She ran out. After Stone.”
Orson groaned. “He kept me locked inside the SUV for I don’t know how long with my hands and feet tied up and a blanket over me. It was so hot in there and I was tumbled like laundry in the dryer. He let me out every so often to give me water and food and let me relieve myself. Left me in the woods somewhere too, tied to a tree. I’m not sure what day he brought me here but the whole time he ranted about her. Said he’d do whatever it took, abduct you even, if it meant he could get to her. He’s obsessed. I wondered if I was hallucinating when I heard her voice through the door. I hoped I was anyway. She’s no match for Stone. It was pure folly of her to come after him in the first place.”
Garrett leaned forward. “What did they say while they were arguing, Mr. Hart? Could you understand any of it?”
He shook his head. “I couldn’t hear many of the words, only the tone of voice. They were angry, shouting at each other. I heard him say ‘make you pay’ and then there was a gunshot.” Orson blanched. “He didn’t...?”
Catherine hastened to reassure him. “No, Antonia had the gun. She was the shooter. They both ran into the woods.”
“And she missed him? All her bragging about being a crack shot.” He rolled a shoulder and Catherine actually smiled.
“Tony’s always been high on confidence, Uncle Orson.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Hagerty pulled out a map. “Stone’s on foot now, so we’re at an advantage. Three trails from here and one’s pretty well-traveled. I’ll send my officers and the park ranger to canvass,” Hagerty said. “Chopper will be our eyes in the sky.”
Garrett shivered in spite of himself. “I’m going too as soon as I get into dry clothes. I’ve got a change in my car.”
“No.” Hagerty spoke calmly. “Civilians will muddy up the works.”
Garrett’s chin went up. “I still have some of my cop instincts. I’m not going to get in your way.”
Hagerty’s eyes narrowed. Whatever rapport they’d had was gone. “Negative. Lesson learned. Bad enough this all went down without us. I won’t risk my cops by including outsiders again.”
He bit back a hard remark. Outsiders, him in particular. Hagerty was right. Garrett would never escape the stain on his reputation. He’d paid for what happened with Stone and he was still paying for it.
Chase shook water from his hair. “Suggestion. How about Steph and Chloe? They’re dry and she’s former law enforcement, retired only recently. Consulted on cases with your partner, right? So you know she’s sharp on the skills.”
Garrett kept the mortification from his expression. If Security Hounds could be involved in any way, render some aid in catching Stone or retrieving Antonia, then he’d take it without argument.
Hagerty frowned. “We—”
“Won’t be able to track nearly as well as a bloodhound,” Steph interjected. She picked up a man’s sweat sock. “Stone’s, I take it. Chase can track Antonia once he’s clear here and I’ll go after Stone. How are your cops at following scent cones?”
Hagerty scowled and snagged his radio. “Come with me and we’ll find a staging area.”
Garrett watched them go without comment as they waited for an ambulance. Catherine hovered by her uncle’s side, talking quietly, smoothing his hair, urging him to sip water. Garrett kept an arm around Pinky.
“How’s my sweet boy?” he murmured. “You okay?” The dog shoved his unwieldy torso closer to Garrett. “You didn’t have to dive in after me. Next time run for help or something, okay?” He kissed Pinky’s damp brow and snuggled him closer.
When the medics arrived, Catherine stepped away and moved to Garrett. Pinky lathered her wrist with his tongue.
She stroked his ears. “Are you both warmed up?”
He smiled. “Toasty.”
“Feel okay?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t I?” He caught her frown and took a breath that hurt his ribs. “Wait. That was the court jester thing. Actually, I’m...”
She waited while he searched for the words.
“Grateful that Pinky didn’t get hurt diving in for me. Or Chase. Frustrated that we didn’t get to Stone and your sister. Sad,” he said finally, “not to be helping with the search.” And humiliated. He left that one out.
“I can’t believe it worked out like that either but I know Steph and Chloe will track them.” She held out her hand. “And I’m so relieved that you two aren’t hurt.”
He allowed himself to rest his cold cheek against her palm, feeling the scratches where the rope had burned her. She’d done everything she could to help rescue them, him. It pumped a strange warm adrenaline through his veins. “I know Steph and Chloe will come through. I just... I can’t help thinking if I’d done things differently...”
She stroked his cheek, leaning close enough that he could barely resist the urge to kiss her. While he hesitated, she startled him by inching forward and kissing him, her lips light as a breeze on his.
“I thank God that you and Pinky aren’t hurt,” she whispered. “For now I’m going to be grateful for that.”
And all he could do was look into the dark sea of her eyes as his own heart bumped and pitched in his chest.
“We’re ready to transport,” a medic called.
She squeezed his shoulder and returned to her uncle.
Garrett intentionally did not make eye contact with Chase, whom he knew had witnessed the kiss and was no doubt ready to tease him mercilessly. At least Stephanie had gone outside to talk things over with Hagerty. Garrett wasn’t sure why the friendly kiss had made everything go shaky inside, but he wasn’t about to dissect it with his older brother.
Nonetheless, when Chase walked by Garrett caught an elbow to the side. “’Bout time you got yourself a nice girl,” Chase teased. “Mom will be thrilled.”
Garrett groaned, but Steph called to Chase, cutting off Garret’s denial.
How could he ignore that she was in his every thought? That she was the only one on the planet who made him want to stop hiding behind Mr. Charming? Refute the notion that anything happening to her shot a quiver of terror right to his soul? What was he feeling about Catherine Hart exactly? He was still mulling that over as they loaded Orson into a rescue vehicle.
A medic looked Garrett over. “How about we transport you too?”
“No, thank you.” As long as his dog was okay, he could warm up on his own. He checked Pinky again, and offered treats, delighted when the dog slurped them up. “You’re Daddy’s brave boy, aren’t you?”
Chase looked over, his disgust clear. “He’s a working dog. Quit talking to him like a toddler.” His dog, Tank, observed in that standoffish way from his spot in the sun.
Garrett continued to fondle Pinky’s ears. “This is why Pinky and I are bonded and you and Tank are surly acquaintances.” Not exactly the truth. Tank was the kind of dog that didn’t crave the love and affection Pinky did, but it was tit for tat with Chase.
“Whatever. We get the job done with our self-respect intact.”
“You do you,” Garrett said, but the tease fell flat. He was worried about Stone and Antonia. And his mother. Worry was not his go-to, so he wasn’t quite sure why the feelings weighed on him like paving stones.
A cop delivered his go bag from the car and he changed in a back room of the cabin. He removed Pinky’s wet harness and rubbed him down one more time to be sure he was completely dry before they rejoined the others. Catherine accepted his offer of a ride to the hospital.
Kara’s text came just as he loaded Pinky into the car.
Mom’s groggy but stable. She asked about the search.
Garrett let out a whoosh of air and texted back. I’ll be there tonight to relieve you. But as he started the engine, he already knew he was going to work a deal with Chase to split the time with whatever sibling was available. Stone was still at large.
He’d be there for his mom and for the Hart sisters.
Somehow.