Page 51 of Flashback

Every breath we take is a gift from God.

Her father’s words, not hers. But why did He keep saving her? She didn’t deserve this gift. She didn’t deserve any of it. She’d lost—wait!Scout.

Allie twisted around to scan the cliff. “I saw him. I saw Scout. Where is he?”

“I heard him, but I can’t see him anywhere.” Dakota stood up. “I don’t know how far the river carried us, but that guy is still out there. Do you think you can stand?”

She nodded. He helped her to her feet, not letting go of her hands. Everything tilted around her. Allie leaned too far over, trying to compensate. Dakota wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Whoa, there. Take your time.” Once she stopped swaying, he moved to hold her arms. He steadied her with his solid strength.

She shook water out of her ears and was able to catch her balance. “I think I’ve got it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” She took a few shaky steps.

Dakota held her hand. “Good, cuz we need to get out of here.”

Allie stopped, squeezed the hand he gave her. “We can’t go yet. We have to find Scout.”

“The shooter is after us. We can’t go back.”

“We can’t leave my dog out here on his own.”

“Allie, I know we need to find him, but we’ll have to come back later. Besides, this is good news. We saw him. We know he’s okay. And we already know that he can find us. But right now, we have to keep going.”

But they were so close. He was here, somewhere in the forest. Lost and alone. “How can I leave him?” Her voice cracked. She couldn’t turn her back on him when she’d promised herself. “I can’t do it. You can go on.”

“Allie.” Dakota shook her gently, his bright blue eyes intense, worried as he stared at her. “We have to get back and show the sheriff who this guy is. If he’s the guy Ethan and Nolan saw, then he’s killed an Army Ranger. He knows we saw him. He’ll be coming after us, and he might be after the boys. We have to go. Do you understand?”

She tried spinning around, desperate for any glimpse of the dark black fur. “I already lost a baby. I can’t walk away. Not when he’s so close. Scout needs me.” Dizziness stole all balance. Allie fell against Dakota.

“Baby? You mean, Dixie? Like a fur baby?”

She’d saidbaby? She hadn’t meant?—

She pushed Dakota away and stood straight, bracing herself as she fought the dizziness. “Nothing. I—it was nothing. You’re right. We have to go.” The seal was breaking. She’d escaped one near drowning. This wasn’t the time for another. Because as soon as the dam holding back the past broke, there would be no coming up to the surface for breath. She wouldn’t make it.

“Are you sure you?—”

“I’m okay, Dakota. Let’s go.” She swallowed down the sob trying to choke her.

The sopping wet clothes and shoes weighed on her body, but as they picked their way around the rocks along the river, she slowly gained her strength back. She stopped to cough a few times, but they would wait until she caught her breath, then push on. Always pushing on. The farther they went, the deeper she pushed back the memories.

Dakota’s gaze drifted to her constantly. She tried to pick up the pace, convince him that she wasn’t about to fall apart.

“Hey, what’s that?” Allie spotted purple fabric up ahead along the water. “My backpack!” It was there, caught in the branches of an overturned tree. Nothing edible remained, but the water bottles were salvageable, and it still had Scout’s favorite toy and some gear that she would’ve had to replace had it been lost.

She pulled out the baggie. “We still have the bandana.”

Dakota nodded. “All we need now is a way out.”

“Right. Let’s keep going.” Everything was wet and smelly. But that man, the shooter, was out there in the forest, and so was her dog. And somehow, she needed to come back here and find Scout and then leave. Quickly.

Kinda the story of her life. Always running. Never finding that haven she searched for.

Either way, there was nothing else here for her but to keep moving.

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