Page 163 of Chasing Shelter

At the sound of Gabriel’s voice, I pulled myself from Anson’s hug, trying to read my best friend’s face. “Tell me you have a lead.”

Gabriel looked between Anson and me, uncertainty written all over his face.

“Tell him,” Anson said. “You keep something from him now, and your friendship will never recover.”

A muscle fluttered in Gabriel’s jaw. “I need to know you can keep your head.”

I shoved every ugly, roiling thing I was feeling down and locked it away so it couldn’t see the light of day. “Under control.”

“Ben Vera called dispatch. Someone tripped the camera at his hunting cabin. Feed’s black now, but they probably didn’t expect it to have a motion-detection trigger.”

It was rare for hunters to have any kind of security up there, and if they did, it generally wasn’t hooked up to notify at motion becausethere was too much wildlife that could trigger it. But that cabin was Ben’s pride and joy, and he wasn’t about to let anyone break into it.

I struggled to swallow, needing to clear the dryness from my throat. “Did he get a visual?”

“It’s Jasper. He’s got Ellie at gunpoint.”

Law enforcement personnelgathered at a tactical point down the gravel road that led up one of the Monarch peaks. It was an area known best for hiking, camping, and fishing. But seeing as the temperatures had dropped lower, and we could be getting snow at any time, those pursuits had waned for the season.

Still, seeing men and women don Kevlar and check a variety of guns felt more than wrong. But I was grateful, nonetheless. Each of these people was putting their life on the line for Ellie. Some knew her. Some didn’t. But to them, it didn’t matter.

Beth and Gabriel pored over a map, plotting out the different approaches we would make. Laney, Frank, and Allen talked to the deputies who’d volunteered from the next county over. The only person I expected to see but didn’t was Fletcher. I started to search him out, but a hand clamped on my shoulder.

I turned to see Gabriel, a worried expression on his face. “Trace, are you sure you can do this?”

I appreciated that he wasn’t trying to argue the validity of my being there. It was a conflict of interest, at the very least. But in small communities, emergencies meant all hands on deck.

“I’ll keep my head,” I promised.

“And we’ve got his back,” Anson said, stepping forward with Dex at his side. Both were kitted out in tactical gear, surprising me again when it came to Dex.

Gabriel’s expression hardened. “You swear he knows how to handle himself?”

Anson scoffed. “Hates firearms but knows his way around them better than anyone I know. Best shot I know at the bureau, too.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how that mix of things came to be, but for now, I was just grateful he was here.

“All right,” Gabriel said begrudgingly, then turned to face the crowd. “You all know your groups and your routes. Move quietly and quickly. Only use the radio when absolutely necessary.”

Everyone began moving. My group was comprised of Anson, Dex, and Beth. We took a game trail that wove up the eastern side of the mountain, none of us saying a word as we walked. We moved quickly, but at a pace we could all keep. There wasn’t time to stop for breaks.

A twig snapped off to the right, and all of us moved into instant formation, guns at the ready. My pulse thrummed as I forced myself to keep breathing. Jasper? Ellie? Both? Three elk appeared through the trees.

Beth muttered a curse, and we all lowered our weapons.

“Come on,” Anson said. “We’re getting close. Heads on a swivel.”

We started up again, the path winding through the thick trees. And then it happened. A flicker of color appeared on the forest floor. My heart hammered in my ears as I picked up my pace.

What had Ellie been wearing this morning? I struggled to remember. A deep orange sweater, maybe? Or was that yesterday?

I pushed into a run when I saw that the form was human. Sprawled across the path, unmoving.

But it was too big to be Ellie. I said the words to myself over and over until we reached the fallen figure. The moment we did, I sucked in a breath. The person’s chest had three holes in a tight grouping that spoke of training. And the face was one that had haunted my nightmares.

Jasper lay there, blood seeping into the earth, a cell phone at his side. One Ellie would’ve grabbed to call for help, even if she was scared out of her mind.Ifshe wasn’t under duress.

I struggled to keep breathing as my gaze found Anson’s. “If Jasper’s dead, who the hell has Ellie?”

---