“It’s not broken. You’ve dislocated your shoulder.” Jackson looked straight into his brother’s eyes.
Dylan paled. Sweat beaded his upper lip. “Do you need to slam it against something, knock it back into place?”
Jackson almost smiled. “You’ve seen too much TV. I don’t want to damage it more. You’ve still got good sensation.”
Jackson took off the flannel shirt he’d worn over his T-shirt and turned it into a makeshift sling. “This will have to do for now. When we get you to the hospital, they can take care of it.”
“Dylan.” Mia stepped up to Jackson’s side. “Can you tell us about the other kids?”
“Miss Turner!” Dylan exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Jackson grinned at Dylan. “She’s been helping me.”
Something rustled in the dimness behind them. Jackson and Mia whirled. Jackson placed himself in front of Dylan. Any danger would have to go through him first.
“You can come out!” Dylan called softly. “They’re safe.”
A young girl around Dylan’s age moved from behind an outcropping of natural rocks where she’d been hiding. She moved toward them, as skittish as a deer. Jackson had the impression that if he moved too fast, she’d bolt.
“This is Wynne. She’s one of the girls who was being held.”
“Dylan, how did you get away? I’m glad you did, but those guys are professional trackers.” It seemed unreal they’d allow two—three, if you counted Reggie—teens to escape.
“They were loading us all in a truck. Two of the men got into a fight while we were being loaded.”
Jackson shuddered. His brother had come so close to being herded into a truck. He would have never seen him again if that truck had left with Dylan on it.
“They were fighting? Why?” It seemed like a poor time to pick an argument.
“Apparently, they weren’t paid the same. Or one of them got a bonus. I’m not sure. It was over money.”
“When one of them pulled out a gun and shot the other, things got chaotic,” Wynne added.
Dylan nodded. “I knew where we were. We came here last year, remember, Jack?”
Jackson nodded. “I do.”
“We tried to convince another girl to come with us, but she was too scared.”
Tears leaked from Dylan’s eyes, but he appeared unaware of them. “We left them, Jack. I feel so guilty! But they wouldn’t come, and I couldn’t stay. We only had a minute to make our move.”
Jackson reached out. What a thing to have to live with. “You did good, kid. What if I hadn’t figured out where you were? You got away and gave yourself a chance to find help for everyone else.”
“You were brave and resourceful, Dylan,” Mia added.
“Are you hurt anywhere besides your shoulder?” Jackson scanned the two of them for further injuries.
“No.”
Jackson quickly hugged his brother again. He couldn’t help himself.
“Dylan, do you have any idea how many others were there?” Mia whispered.
Jackson wiped his arm across his face. He wasn’t ashamed of his tears. Much. But he needed to keep his head about him.
“There were nine of us. Only eight once Reggie got away.” His head whipped to Jackson, eyes panicked. “Reggie?—”
“Is fine,” Jackson hastened to reassure him. “He’s in the hospital. Thanks to him, we were able to pinpoint the place they’d kept you.”
