He took Lia’s hand again in silent agreement, but this time, he let her lead. Apparently she knew what she was looking for.
In the dark, everything was a shadow, and the lights from the house only illuminated so far. So he wasn’t sure they’d be able to see something even if therewasanother building. But what if Sammy or Dani or both were in this place Lia was so sure existed? Surely if they were captives, they wouldn’t be inside that party.
He wasn’t sure how long they walked, and he didn’t ask Lia if she could see, if she really knew where she was leading them. If he started questioning her now, the whole thing fell apart and no matter what doubts and concerns he had, he knew one thing.
Lia wouldn’t jeopardize Sammy for anything. So whatever she thought she was doing, it was the right thing. Even if Gard didn’t fully understand.
So he followed, straining his eyes in the dark. Even the lights on in the house couldn’t illuminate things way back here. The grass was overgrown but mostly dying off thanks to the encroaching winter. His nose, hands, and feet were cold, but he didn’t really register just how frigid it was.
He just kept walking, searching the night for some sign ofsomething. Because Lia thought something else should be here. If they could find Sammy and Dani out here, maybe they could secret them out without any kind of showdown.
He wasn’t sure how long they’d walked when Lia must have tripped over something, because she lost her footing on anoof. He managed to keep her upright since they were holding hands, but they both looked down to whatever she’d tripped over.
The shadow on the ground seemed like some kind of lump.
“It was kind of…soft,” Lia muttered. Then a little light popped on—the light from Lia’s phone, just barely illuminating the heap in front of them.
It was a body.
Lifeless. Blond hair matted with dirt and what was probably blood.
Gard didn’t need to be able to see the face to know who it was.
“Dani.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lia crouched down on the side of the motionless woman at the same time Gard did.
“She’s breathing,” Lia said, since she could hear the labored rise and fall of the woman’s breath. “Gard, she’s breathing.” But she wasn’t sure he heard her. Or anything.
Dani clearly wasn’t conscious, and Gard was clearly dealing with his own version of panic, hidden under a stillness that worried Lia.
In the dim beam of Lia’s phone’s flashlight, she saw Gard’s hands shake as he gently took the woman’s shoulder and rolled her over on to her back. She lolled lifelessly, but Gard put a hand to her neck, checking her pulse.
Lia couldn’t take her gaze away from the deep gash across her forehead though. It was oozing blood. She wasnotin good shape. Lia couldn’t tell for sure from the dim light, but it looked like there were bruises on her face and neck too.
“Breathing. A pulse,” Gard said, his whisper as shaky as his hands. “Come on, Dani. Wake up for me.” He put a hand to her cheek with a gentleness that had Lia’s throat tightening.
Because if Dani was here, so hurt, where was Sammy?
A little moan escaped Dani’s mouth, but she didn’t open her eyes. She needed medical attention.
How were they going to manage that? They could hardly leave until they found Sammy, but…
“We’ll carry her out of here,” Gard said, his voice tight. He exhaled and it was shaky too. “I’ll carry her to my truck.”
“I’ll call 911. I’ll…”
“No. Dispatch will have to go by the book. We can’t risk an ambulance coming down here. Not until we find Sammy. I’ll carry her.”
Lia happened to agree, but looking down at the incredibly injured Dani, she was torn. The woman needed a hospital, and if she didn’t get help, Gard would blame himself if something terrible happened. But Sammy…
“Sammy.” Dani’s voice was kind of slurred and her eyes fluttered opened. They landed on Gard, though they were pained and unfocused. “Gard. Where’s Sammy?” she asked, sounding less slurred, but more panicked.
“You saw her last, Dani. You tell us,” Gard said. His voice was hard, but Lia knew that was to keep out the turmoil of emotion no doubt swamping him. Thathardwas the only armor keeping him together.
Dani shook her head, then moaned, lifting a hand to her head. Lia stopped her by grasping the woman’s wrist, because the gash was nasty and touching it would only introduce more problems.
