by Terri Reed
“If it helps, you can lean back against me.” His voice rumbled from his chest, making his invitation inviting.
When was the last time she’d ever leaned on someone else? For anything? She couldn’t remember.
Slowly, she eased back until he took her weight against his chest, reducing the pressure from her bad arm and shoulder. Tiny shivers of shock and adrenaline slid through her. She took deep, calming breaths. Alex’s warmth enveloped her but did nothing to ease the boulder-size fear for her brother sitting in the pit of her stomach.
They headed down the trail until they reached the trail kiosk. She squinted against the flashing lights of the ambulance and the sheriff’s department vehicles.
Two paramedics rushed forward. With Alex’s help, she was taken from the back of Truman and laid on a gurney. The jostling sent streaks of fiery pain through her shoulder.
As the EMTs carried her to the ambulance, Maya nodded at Riley and his son and was grateful to see her friend Leslie Quinn.
The other woman stepped close and grasped her hand. “We’ve all been so worried about you.”
“Brady?” Maya hoped her friend would have good news.
Leslie shook her head.
Disappointment and fear clogged her chest. A crowd had gathered, and Deputy Daniel Rawlings was keeping the townsfolk back. She searched the throng, praying she’d see Brady’s sweet round face. But he wasn’t there.
“Stop,” she told the paramedics. Biting her lip against the aching in her shoulder, she propped herself up on her good arm. “Alex!”
He stood a few feet away and turned at the sound of his name. He handed Truman’s reins to Chase and strode to her side.
“We have to find Brady. I’m not leaving here until we do,” she told him as she swung her legs over the side of the gurney and attempted to stand. The whole world tilted on its axis and a fresh wave of agony from her shoulder crashed through her but she gritted her teeth and rode it out.
Alex held up a hand. “No. You need to let Jake and Gabby see to your injury,” he said, pointing at the two paramedics.
Fighting through the dizziness, she protested, “It’s getting dark. He’ll be frantic. He doesn’t do well in the dark.” Hysteria bubbled within her. She fought for composure. “I’m going back out there. He’s my responsibility.”
She steadied her feet under her and stood. “You coming with me or not?” She turned to the paramedics. “You can put me in a sling or something but I’m going back up the trail.”
The EMTs looked at Alex whose gaze shot to the sheriff before settling back on her. “I’ll go. But you need to stay here.”
“No, I’m going with you.” Her baby brother needed her.
Alex’s strong jaw set in a determined line. “We can stand here and argue about it some more. But the best thing for Brady is for you to let me do my job and let Jake and Gabby do theirs.”
His chastisement stung, but she understood. If she went up the trail, she’d only slow Alex down. And if she stumbled or fell in the dark, she’d do more damage to her shoulder.
Though it grated on her nerves and her pride, she acquiesced. “Fine.” She sat back on the gurney. A leaf dislodged from somewhere on her and landed in her lap. She slapped it away with her uninjured hand. “Only I’m not going anywhere until you return with Brady.”
She could only hope her trust in Alex was well placed because she didn’t know what she’d do if something happened to her brother.
* * *
Alex shook his head, half exasperated and half admiring. Maya was a fiercely loyal, protective and loving sister. She was also determined and stubborn and so pretty, even with sticks and leaves clinging to her long wavy dark hair and her big brown eyes a little wild with worry. He could only imagine what it would be like to have someone care about him with such devotion. A strange yearning clamored for his attention. He ignored it.
“Chase, find a couple of headlamps,” he called to the other deputy while he led Truman back into the trailer. It was too dark for the horse to attempt the trail.
Within a few moments, Alex and Chase moved to the trailhead. Alex paused. “You go up Pine Ridge Trail. Keep your wits about you.”
“Yes, boss.” Chase saluted and hurried up the trail to the left.
Shaking his head at Chase’s insistence on calling him that, Alex took the Aspen Creek Trail at a fast clip. His headlamp provided a large circle of light on the path. He swung the light into the forest on both sides of the trail, hoping Brady would see the glow and seek the source.
“Brady!” Alex called as he went. He was near the summit when the sound of pounding feet coming at him jackknifed his heart. He sent up a quick prayer that he’d found Brady as he stepped to the side of the path, keeping the glow of his headlamp focused in the direction of the person racing toward him. He rested his hand on his gun.
A man came into view, shielding his face from the light trained on him. “Help,” the man said. “We have an injured hiker.”
Alex moved the headlamp enough to keep the man in the glow but not blinding him. “I’m Deputy Trevino. Your name?”
The man held up his hands. “Roger. Roger Dempsey.” He lowered his hands. “I’m with a group of hikers and we found an injured teenager. He’d fallen down a ravine and twisted his ankle.”
It had to be Brady. Relief and worry mingled, tightening Alex’s chest.
“The others are trying to make a sled or something to get him back up the hill,” the man continued. “But it’s not going so well. There’s no cell service up here. I was going for help. What are you doing out here?”
Ignoring the question, Alex thumbed the radio’s mic on his shoulder and quickly called in the situation. The sheriff promised to send up the EMTs, and Chase responded he was on his way.
“Show me where.” Alex gestured for Roger to take the lead. No way would Alex turn his back on a stranger.
“Right.” Roger retraced his steps.
“Do you know if the teen you found is named Brady?”
Roger drew up short, forcing Alex to step to the side. “Yeah, that’s his name. How did you know?”
“We’ve been looking for him. He didn’t return home when he was supposed to.”
Roger nodded. “That makes sense, considering...”
Alex understood what the man wasn’t saying about Brady’s Down syndrome. It was a part of Brady, but it wasn’t who he was. Alex knew Brady was smart and kind and loved his sister.
They reached the summit and started toward the trail on the back side of the mountain when Roger stopped and called, “Sybil! Greg!”
“Here,” a female voice called back.
“This way.” Roger trudged into the dense forest.
Before following him, Alex relayed his location to the others. Keeping his headlamp trained on Roger, Alex descended into the steep ravine. Finally, they came to a spot near the creek where two women and two men crouched around Brady, who sat on the ground, his hands wrapped around his right ankle. As Alex and his escort arrived, the four strangers stepped back.
Thankful to have found the other Gallo sibling, Alex knelt down beside Brady. Alex positioned his headlamp so that it didn’t blind the young man but rather reflected on the creek water not too far away. “Hey, Brady. I hear you hurt yourself.”
Brady blinked at him, and then a slow smile curled his lips. “I know you. You come to the store.”
“That’s right. I’m Alex. Can you tell me what happened?”
Brady’s gaze bounced away. “Maya’s gonna be so mad at me.”
“She’s worried about you, Brady,” Alex said. “She sent me to find you. What happened?” he asked again.
Brady’s mouth closed, his lips pressed together tight.
A tall woman with white-blond hair and wearing a bright pink down parka touched Brady’s shoulder. “I�
��m Sybil. I think he may have been coming down to the creek to get some water and fell.”
Alex looked at Brady. “Was that what you were doing?”
Brady stared at him for a long moment before saying, “I’m thirsty, and my ankle hurts.”
The other woman moved forward. This one was a brunette, shorter than the other woman and dressed in a less flashy dark jacket. “I’m Claire. We’ve been trying to get him up the hill, but it’s just not happening.”
Claire moved over to Roger. “Thanks for bringing help.”
“They were already out here searching for Brady.”
“You did better than I did,” one of the men standing to the side said. He was just outside the circle of light so Alex couldn’t make out his features. “I got lost but managed to find my way back here.”
“That’s because you have no sense of direction,” the other man, also standing in the shadows, shot back.
Roger made a scoffing noise. “That’s Greg and John.”
Alex eyed the five people surrounding him. Was one of these men Maya’s attacker?
Could one of these Good Samaritans also be a killer?
THREE
The combination of anticipation and restlessness made Maya antsy. Her body fairly vibrated. Maybe from the residual adrenaline of being attacked twice or from the memory of Alex’s arms around her as they made their way down the mountain trail. Whatever the case, she hated being left behind, not knowing what was going on while Alex searched for her brother.
The handsome deputy had radioed in that he’d found Brady and that her brother was injured. But how bad? Injured enough that the EMTs left her in the care of Deputy Kaitlyn Lanz as they hurried up the Aspen Creek Trail with a gurney and their equipment.
A sick feeling in the pit of Maya’s stomach made the worry that much worse. Had Brady broken something? Was he conscious? Terrified?
Dr. Brown had said Brady was progressing admirably, but she feared that today would blast all their hard work to smithereens. She’d been told that one day Brady would be able to live on his own. She knew his independence was possible, yet the thought filled her with anxiety. There were others with Down syndrome who made lives for themselves apart from their caretakers. But Brady wasn’t ready for a life without her. If nothing else, today proved it.
This was her fault. Her heart sank.
She should never have let him go looking for the treasure. She was such a bad parent.
A soft scoff escaped. She wasn’t a parent; she was his sister, but the only maternal figure he’d known for the last ten years. A deep ache throbbed in her heart. She missed their parents so much. It wasn’t fair they’d been taken from them.
The sheriff walked over to her side. “Miss Gallo, how are you doing?”
She reined in her tumultuous thoughts and said, “I’ll do better once I’m able to talk to my brother and make sure he’s okay.”
The sheriff nodded. “I understand. It’s hard when we have someone we love in jeopardy. But you also had your fair share of danger today,” he replied. “Can you tell me about the attacks?”
Was he just trying to distract her? She kept her gaze on the trailhead. Where were they?
“There’s not much to tell,” she said. “The first one happened while I was going up to Aspen Creek Trail, calling for my brother. I noticed the edge of his backpack sticking out from under some bushes.” Her breath hitched, remembering the terror of finding the bag but not Brady. “A few moments later, somebody tackled me from behind.”
“You managed to escape.” There was admiration in the older man’s voice. “Good for you.”
If her friend Leslie hadn’t taught her some self-defense moves, Maya wouldn’t have known what to do. “I ran deeper into the forest and hid until he was gone. That’s really all there is to tell you.”
He searched her face as if he was trying to see into her memory because apparently her words just weren’t getting the job done for him. “Alex said you didn’t get a look at his face, only his eyes?”
“That’s right. He had on a dark hoodie and a mask that had no mouth covering his face.”
“Were his eyes bloodshot? Any indication he was on drugs?”
She arched an eyebrow. “I was a little too busy trying to get away from him to really notice much else. I just remember a very cold expression in his eyes. He cursed a lot.”
“Do you think you’d recognize his voice?”
“I don’t know. He was mumbling so probably not.”
“And the man who knocked you off Truman? Could that have been the same man?”
“I would assume so, unless there are two maniacs running around attacking people.” She shrugged and then regretted the movement. “It happened so fast. I am just thankful Alex was with me.”
“Can you think of a reason why you would be targeted?” the sheriff asked.
A wave of fear crashed over her. “No. I have no idea why someone would want to hurt me.”
Movement at the trailhead drew her gaze. Her heart fluttered with renewed anxiety.
“Here they come,” Kaitlyn said.
Despite the pain in her shoulder, Maya forced herself to a sitting position. Though the paramedics had said her shoulder didn’t appear broken, she would need an X-ray to confirm. It did hurt but not as bad as her heart for her brother.
Finally, she saw Brady lying on the gurney the two paramedics wheeled as best they could over the rough terrain. The panic in her chest eased.
Her gaze zeroed in on Alex, walking a few feet behind Brady. So handsome. So protective. She sent up a quick thank-You to God for sending Alex.
Then she noticed Alex and Deputy Fredrick were ushering five people out of the forest. Who were these people? Had they hurt her brother?
She tried to get off the gurney, but Kaitlyn stopped her with a hand on her good shoulder.
“Stay put,” she said. “They’ll bring him to you. Don’t worry.”
“Kait, this is just torture. I need to be with my brother.”
“Patience,” Kaitlyn murmured.
Maya stifled a snort. Patience wasn’t always an easy virtue.
As soon as Brady was close, she reached out and grasped his hand. “I thank God you’re okay. I was so worried.” Terrified was more like it.
He hung his head in apparent abjection. “I’m sorry, Maya. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
She squeezed his hand. “What happened?”
“I—I fell.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t remember how. I just went tumbling and landed by the creek. I tried to get up but my ankle hurt.”
“Looks like a bad sprain,” the female EMT, Gabby, said. “But like with you, we won’t know if anything is broken until an X-ray is taken. We’ve stabilized his ankle, though.”
Jake spoke up. “We’re taking you both to the hospital.”
Maya winced. She hated hospitals. They brought back memories of the night her parents crashed their car coming down from Eagle Crest Mountain. The smells, the sounds... They tormented her for years afterward.
Alex stepped close and she met his gaze, grateful for his steady presence. “Thank you, Alex, I really appreciate all you’ve done for us.”
“Just doing my job,” he said, though she could see he was pleased by her appreciation, which did funny things to her insides. “I’ll come check on you and Brady at the hospital.”
She didn’t want to admit how much she liked that idea. She felt safe with him around. “What about my Jeep?”
“Why don’t you give me your keys and I’ll bring it to you?” he said, holding out his hand.
“That would be great.” She dug her car keys from the pocket of her jacket and handed them over to him. “Again, thank you.”
He gave her a smile that made her heart flutter in a way that left her a bit tongue-tied
.
“Honestly, it was my pleasure.” He cleared his throat and then turned to nod to the paramedics. “Let’s get them to the hospital.”
As Maya and Brady were loaded into the ambulance bay, she held Brady’s hand but her gaze stayed on Alex as he moved over to the group of people that had come down the trail with him.
He’d not only rescued her and then protected her, he’d also brought her brother back to her. Alex was a really good man. Her parents would have liked him.
Too bad she wasn’t looking for a really good man in her life. Or any man for that matter. She had more than enough to deal with as it was with Brady and the store. Putting herself out there for more heartache wasn’t an option.
* * *
Alex looked at the group around him. Since he didn’t have grounds to detain them, the most he could hope for was their willing cooperation. “Okay, people. Deputy Chase Fredrick and Deputy Daniel Rawlings—” he gestured to the two deputies “—will take your information. Are you all staying here in town?”
“Yes, sir. The Bristle Hotel,” the man named Greg offered.
Good. He’d know where to find them if it turned out the deceased had met with foul play. Alex searched each face, wondering if one of these people was a murderer and/or Maya’s assailant. He wasn’t ready to reveal more until the area where the deceased man had been found could be processed in the daylight.
Leaving Chase and Daniel in charge of the five hikers, Alex informed his boss of the plan to question the hikers once he had some more information.
Sheriff Ryder nodded his approval. “You’re doing well, son.”
The praise was nice to hear, even if it made him uncomfortable. He’d never received much encouragement from his own father. Which reminded him, Dad was waiting at home with dinner. He unclipped his cell phone from his utility belt and called his father to let him know he had a few more errands to run before he would make it home. He could hear the disappointment in his father’s voice. It couldn’t be helped. Alex’s priority was the job.
