Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(97)

“Thank you,” Brae whispered, but she didn’t step away from Owen right away. “He’s not allowed to go home with anyone but me.”

The woman nodded, understanding it would be hard to leave your child with anyone when another was missing. “Of course. There are lots of us here, and I’ll look after him like my own.”

Brae swallowed hard. “Thank you.” Standing, she finally released Owen and looked at Kol. “Do you have anything in your SUV of Skylar’s? A sweatshirt? A stuffed animal? Something with her scent.”

Kol’s throat worked as he struggled to swallow. “I’ve got a jacket. She wore it last night when we went to feed the cows.”

“Perfect. You have an evidence bag I can use?” Brae asked.

Kol’s face went white.

She reached out and touched his arm. “I just need a clean bag so my scent doesn’t get mixed with Skylar’s. That’s all.”

“Yeah, I got one.” The words were coated in grit and pain.

My brother never showed emotion. Not like this. And the fact that he was now killed something in me.

“Grab me the bag, but don’t touch the jacket,” Brae ordered, heading to the SUV.

I was fast on her heels as she crossed to the back of the vehicle. “What can I do?”

I heard the emptiness in my voice, the fact that I had turned everything off. But I didn’t have a choice. If I let my emotions take hold now, I’d be useless.

“You can get a first-aid kit from one of the counselors and a few bottles of water.” Brae opened her back hatch. “I should’ve kept a ready pack. We haven’t done any volunteer searches here yet.”

I reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “I can get us the supplies.”

“Yeah,” Brae whispered.

“She’s going to be okay. They probably just got turned around.” I said the words as much for myself as for Brae.

Her head lifted, taking in the surrounding forests. “It’d be easy to do.”

“Of course.” I gave her arm one more squeeze and turned to the kid acting as parking officer earlier. “You got a first-aid kit? Water?”

He nodded, going pale again.

“Get me both.”

The kid took off running, and I grabbed the empty backpack from the trunk as Brae let Yeti out of the back seat.

“Au pied,” Brae commanded, and Yeti instantly came to her side, body quivering.

I slammed the hatch closed just as the kid came running back with my requested supplies. “Thanks,” I said, shoving them into my pack. “Ready.”

Brae was already moving, crossing to Kol, who was holding out a plastic bag. As she carefully used it to retrieve the jacket, I slid on the pack. “You want to go with us or split up?” I asked my brother.

Kol looked torn, but his mind found the answer as he glanced out at the forest. “Split up. We’ll cover more ground. Waylon, Mav, and Wylder are on their way. They’ll help.”

And we’d find her. There was no other option.

“Stay in touch,” I ordered, pulling out my phone to make sure I had service. There were plenty of areas around Starlight Grove that were spotty at best, but thankfully, we were close enough to town to have a good number of bars here.

“Got it.” Kol was already off, heading for a break in the trees and looking for clues only he could see.

Brae held the bag open for Yeti, who sniffed eagerly. “Find Skylar. Find.”

Yeti took one more sniff and then bolted toward the playground, circling the swing set with her nose to the ground. Brae gave Owen an encouraging smile as he watched. A second later, Yeti was taking off toward the trees.

“What if Yeti gets lost?” I asked as we picked up to a jog and followed.

“She’s got a GPS tracker on her collar so I can locate her. And she’s pretty good about waiting for me to catch up periodically.”

I held back a branch for Brae to pass. “And you? What if you get turned around?”

“Maps on my phone, and I usually carry a GPS device.”

“Tell me you never do this kind of shit on your own,” I growled.

“I don’t. Not searches. Training, sure.”

The idea of Brae wandering around in the woods with only Yeti for company scared the hell out of me.

We moved deeper into the woods to find Yeti circling an especially thick patch of underbrush. Brae leaned down, studying it. “Look.”

I bent, catching sight of pink fibers that looked like they could’ve come from a T-shirt.

“Mark these coordinates down.” Brae read them off as I typed them into a note on my phone.

“Good girl, Yeti. Find Skylar,” Brae encouraged.

The dog dropped her nose to the ground again. She wove an imperfect pattern that had me wondering just what had happened out in these woods. Then she picked up speed.

“It’s stronger now, the scent.” Hope surged in Brae’s voice. “The way Yeti’s picking up the pace, it’s easier for her to follow now.”

We started jogging, trying to keep up with the dog. The only sounds were the birds overhead and our feet hitting the forest floor.

And then I heard it. A pained yell.

My whole being turned to lead, but I didn’t let that stop me. As Yeti took off, so did I. She raced ahead, able to dodge and weave more quickly than I could. But I had sheer panic on my side.