Page 71 of Two Favors Repaid

The woman cocked her head to the side for a moment, as if she were considering something. Whatever it was, she decided against it. “Stephen will tell you my name if he wants you to know it.”

That wasn’t the most reassuring answer.

“Where are we?” Emma asked, trying a different line of questioning. But that was a stupid question because she could see the woods outside her window. They were somewhere in the forest.

Her interlocutor moved quietly to the door. She grasped the door handle but didn’t immediately open it. Instead, she turned around to Emma once more.

“He’s right about one thing,” the woman said.

“What’s that?” Emma asked.

Keep her talking. Build that connection.

“The power is quite intoxicating.”

Chapter 24

Rob

Rob did up his jacket. Even in the summer it got cold in the forest when the sun set. He wondered for the thousandth time what Emma was wearing.

Is she cold?

The thought of Emma being cold was intolerable to him, and he knew that was the least of their concerns at the moment. Was she scared? Did she know they were searching for her?

He wiped sweat from his brow and unconsciously lengthened his step.

“Stay with me, Hope,” Darryl said behind him.

Rob slowed down and waited for his partner. Natalie had organized a search in record time, starting from the car and dividing the forest into quadrants. Rob had been assigned with Darryl, a strategic choice to keep him in line.

That had been early in the morning. Throughout the day, they’d been kept informed on the radio as new people arrived to cover other search quadrants: an eight-person contingent from the FBI, Adrian, Jack and Alex and several other volunteer firemen, parents from Emma’s school, some fishermen. Even Jeff Carlysle and his security team were out here, all of them looking for Emma.

But there were still too many quadrants to search and not enough people to do it quickly. Rob, who’d always loved the forest, felt the insignificance of their presence here now.

“Heading back to the meeting point from Q3-5,” a voice said. Rob had lowered the volume on his radio, so it was little more than a whisper. Natalie had organized a central meeting point near the abandoned car. There, all volunteers could rest, grab some food, or just a cup of coffee and a pastry before going back out.

He and Darryl hadn’t bothered going back for lunch. They’d finished their quadrant and requested another one. Then a third one. All day his friend’s presence helped keep Rob away from the edge.

But now, even Darryl looked tired. Rob refused to consider his own aches and pains. He couldn’t afford to be tired. If he acknowledged just how tired and afraid he was, he’d curl up on the floor and not move again. He couldn’t do that.

“Let’s stop for a few minutes,” Darryl ordered. He fished out a water bottle and a couple power bars from his pack. Rob took one gratefully. He was starting to get that dreamy feeling one got when one hadn’t slept in a long time, and hours and minutes stop meaning something. That wasn’t good. He had to keep searching.

Rob took a long swig of water and then splashed a few drops on his face, tried to convince himself that made him feel more alert. The cut over his eye throbbed.

“Thank you, Darryl,” Rob said in a low voice.

“We’re going to find her, Rob,” Darryl said. He fiddled with the straps of his backpack for a moment. It was a 50L bag but looked like a toy backpack on the big man’s back.

Rob stood up again and stretched his back muscles.

We need to keep going, while there’s still light.

As soon as the light disappeared, Rob knew Darryl would drag him back.

“Ready when you are,” he said, pulling his lips into a semblance of a smile.

His friend nodded and together they started walking again.