“Come in, Jake,” she yelled from far back in the house. “In the kitchen.”

Relief swept through him, and he confidently pushed the door open the rest of the way. He stepped into the entryway and headed toward the kitchen. He stepped into the cheery room—

Jake froze.

“Hello Jake,” said a man to his right.

Jake’s hands turned to ice and his heart skipped several beats. The silver-haired man had McKenzie tied to a kitchen chair in front of him and was holding a knife at her neck. McKenzie had a gag in her mouth, and her eyes pleaded with him as her chest heaved up and down. The man held McKenzie’s cell phone in his other hand.

“I have a deal to offer you, Jake,” the man said pleasantly. “You do what I say, and I won’t slice your girlfriend’s neck open. How’s that sound?”

Jake stared at the man, unable to speak. The man looked like anyone’s grandfather.

“Are you wondering if I’d really kill her?” The man arched a brow at him. “Do you want to try me and see? Maybe you should consider what I did to your little sister.”

Jake clenched his hands into fists.

Ava pushed through the brush, trying to keep up with Brynn’s long stride. The dog galloped ahead of them, constantly stopping and then starting, trying to get them to follow. She’d heard Mason gasp as he’d gotten a good look at the dog. They’d all been shocked to see the domestic animal in the woods. Especially a dog who’d tried so hard to get their attention.

But what was it leading them to?

Please let Henley be alive!

Surely the dog was taking them to the little girl and not to some friendly campers.

“Over there!” Brynn shouted and broke into a jog. Ava could see the little girl at the base of a fir tree. A dark hat covered her bright hair. She didn’t get up or move as they approached.

Please.

The rest of the group started to run toward the girl. Brynn knelt by her, lifted her head, and felt for a pulse. “She’s alive!” The child was tied to the tree with several lengths of rope around her chest. Brynn pulled a knife out of her pocket and thrust it at an agent. “Cut the ropes,” she ordered. He fell to his knees and started sawing at the rope. Two others produced knives and did the same.

“Henley,” Mason said over Ava’s shoulder as she kneeled beside Brynn. “Can you hear me, honey?” The girl moved her head and made a feeble attempt to open her eyes.

“She’s freezing,” Brynn stated. She pulled off her daypack and started rummaging through it. She pulled out several small hand warmers and a microthin blanket. “Let’s get some warm liquids in her.” The ropes broke away from the tree, and the girl fell forward into Ava’s arms. Brynn reached under the oversized brown jacket the girl was wearing and tucked the hand warmers into her armpits. Henley’s eyelashes fluttered as she tried to open her eyes.

“Good girl,” Brynn said. “Open your eyes. We’re going to get you warmed up.”

Ava brushed something black on the girl’s coat. Dog fur. She looked at the dog, who sat nearby, watching their every movement with careful eyes. Had the dog stayed close to share its body heat? Dog fur covered Henley’s mittened hands as if she’d been clutching the dog.

Ava’s eyes watered. “Good dog,” she whispered.

Mason stepped over to the dog and patted its head. “Good boy.” The dog rubbed its shoulder against Mason’s leg, and Ava sat up straighter.

“Mason, is that your dog?” Ava asked.

Brynn stopped her ministrations on Henley to glance back at the dog and Mason.

“Damn right, it’s my dog,” he whispered. He thumped the dog’s sides with both hands, and Ava could have sworn the dog smiled.

The dog pranced between Mason and Henley on the hike out of the forest. The men took turns carrying Henley, using their body heat and Brynn’s thermos of hot water to get the girl warmed up. Mason had tried to call Robin but couldn’t get cell reception in the ravine.

“That’s why we use radios,” said Brynn. She’d notified the other teams that Henley had been found. Mason noticed she kept a careful eye on Henley, monitoring her breathing and doing everything possible to get warm fluids into the girl.

“Are you a nurse?” Mason asked after watching her peer under Henley’s eyelids.

“Yes,” Brynn answered. “But I volunteer for the SAR team.”

“She gonna be okay?” he asked in a low voice, and the woman gave him a warm smile.

“I think so. She’s got good circulation going to her fingers and toes, and her pupils are responding to the light. She’s not dehydrated, just cold. She was bundled up pretty warmly, and that made all the difference. And it looks like the dog stuck close, sharing his body heat.”

“Thank you, Lord,” Mason said.

“How did your dog get out here?” Brynn asked. She gave the dog a pat as he darted by to get closer to Henley.

“Looks like the same guy who took Henley took my dog. I’d suspected as much.”

Brynn screwed up her brows, trying to make his statement add up. “But why?”

“Good question. But I want to know why he made us haul ass all the way out here to find Henley. Why’d he go to all that trouble?” Mason asked.

Ava spoke up from behind him. “I don’t like this. He clearly didn’t hurt Henley, but she could have easily died out here. He left her warmly dressed, but what if we couldn’t get to her in time? Why orchestrate this search?”