Page 37 of The Search

Then she skidded to a halt.

Logan froze in place as she motioned him to stop. Monty was silent but pulled eagerly, frantically, at the leash. Sarah put her hand on his head, and he instantly quieted. Then she turned and strode back to Logan. “There’s something up ahead. I think he’s found the source.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know, dammit.” She glared at him. “And I’m not going to take Monty any farther and chance having some guard shoot him.”

“No one’s asking you to.” He took off his backpack and set it on the ground. “I’ll go ahead and make sure before I radio Galen.”

“And probably get shot yourself.” She scowled. “You don’t have to check for yourself just because I don’t have any proof that the camp’s up ahead. I tell you, Monty knows.”

“And you know what Monty knows.” He opened his backpack. “I believe you. I have a great respect for instinct. Just stay here.”

“Of course we’ll stay here. Why should I—” She stopped as she saw the assault weapon he pulled out of his backpack. “Shit. No wonder you had room for only a couple bottles of water.” She moistened her lips. “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

He smiled. “Oh, yes, I know how to use it. I took lessons at the country club.”

Thirty minutes passed.

Then fifteen minutes.

Why the hell wasn’t he back? Sarah wondered. He’d probably been caught or killed. Just because she hadn’t heard anything didn’t mean anything. Not all weapons were as loud as that gun Logan had handled with suspicious familiarity. It was clear his time with Galen had been spent in more deadly pursuits than recovering from grief over his wife’s death.

Monty whimpered, his gaze on the dense foliage where Logan had disappeared. He wanted to go too. His search had been cut short and he didn’t understand why he couldn’t bring it to a satisfactory end.

Find?

“No, it will be okay. We don’t have to go after him. Logan will do it.”

But where was Logan?

Why was she so worried? She and Monty could find their way out of this jungle. She didn’t care about Logan. He had caused her nothing but trouble.

But he didn’t deserve to die when he was trying to save a life. He might be totally relentless, but he wasn’t a murderer like those men in the camp.

No sound but the shrill sound of birds.

Then Monty’s tail started to wag and he rose to his feet.

Relief surged through her. He was coming. She couldn’t hear him or smell him, but Monty could.

It was another five minutes before Logan appeared through the leaves. “The camp’s there.” He moved toward his backpack as Monty ran to him, whimpering in an ecstasy of greeting. “About a mile ahead.”

“I told you. What took so long?”

He knelt down and gave Monty an affectionate pat, then reached into his backpack for his radio. “I don’t flatter myself that you were worried about me.”

“No,” she said coolly. “Monty was worried. I was just curious. Could you tell if Bassett was there?”

He gave Monty a hug and then pushed him away. “There’s a tent with a guard posted out in front. I’m assuming Bassett’s inside. The camp’s small. Six tents and the numbers Sanchez gave us seem accurate.”

“Did you run into anyone patrolling the area?”

“One man. I managed to avoid him.”

“Obviously, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“Not so obviously. Another pinprick at my ego. But if I’d taken him out, it might have triggered an alert.”