Page 111 of Tracking Safety

Somewhere past that wall was a road, the only place on this mountain Jenna’s abductor could have taken her. It was the only thing that made sense—unless this man had a death wish for himself also. The more Luke thought about it, the more certain he was his theory was correct.

He forced himself to stop running and think.

Every drop on this side of the ridge ran down to the same creek that fed out under the fire road. Water meant a low cut. A low cut meant wet rock and less to burn.

That might the solution they’d been searching for.

“The ravine!” he shouted.

Caleb nodded as if he understood his logic.

They climbed down the embankment into it.

The fire roared over the top of the cut on both sides, close enough that the air burned going in. Embers came down through the smoke in a steady glowing rain that hissed when it hit the water.

Luke kept one hand on the bank and reached back for the dog⁠—

Freya froze.

She’d stopped at the lip of the ravine, shaking like crazy.

He climbed back out, put an arm under her, and pulled the dog—all fifty-plus pounds—against his chest. Then he hauled her into the ravine. She didn’t fight him.

He went down on his knees, the dog still clamped to him. A crack split the air behind him. He looked back to see a burning tree fall.

The water went warm. Then hot.

He knew what that meant. The fire had both banks now. It was burning on both sides of them, and somewhere ahead, heating the creek as it ran.

They weren’t moving through a gap anymore.

They were inside the monster.

Luke pressed lower until the water came up hot against his chest. He put his mouth close to the surface, away from the smoke.

Every breath scraped his lungs raw.

Twice, Luke was certain their route would dead-end in flame, that he’d carried this dog and led his brother into their deaths.

Then the smoke thinned.

The roar simmered to a low murmur.

The cut opened.

He came up out of the water and hauled in a deep breath.

Caleb came up beside him, water streaming from him.

Freya scrambled the last few feet on her own and shook herself.

Then he saw the headlights.

He came out of the ravine onto the edge of the fire road, and there she was.

Jenna. Twenty feet away. Alive.

Everything in him wanted to run toward her.