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“You’re the one who makes too much noise.”

Simon ignored her as he pulled the zipper of the tent the rest of the way up and crawled outside. When Charlie stumbled out, Simon glared at her and pressed a finger against his lips. She stuck her tongue out at him. Girls.

Simon took the lead, keeping Kyle in sight, but was still far enough away so he and Charlie could dash into the trees to hide. At least ten minutes had passed when he heard Charlie’s teeth rattle. “You didn’t bring your jacket?” he whispered.

“I f-for-g-got.” Charlie shivered, hugging her arms around her body, the short-sleeved pink T-shirt looking thin.

Simon pulled his sweatshirt over his head and handed it over. “What?”

Charlie stared at the sweatshirt and frowned as she slipped it on. The sleeves covered her hands and made her look like an undersize Muppet. “Thank you.”

“Welcome. Now let’s go.” Simon ran a little to warm up as he scanned the thicket and brush as the path dropped away. The trees loomed and Simon stopped, looking up into the sky, listening.

“Where did he go?” Charlie clutched at his shirt as she peered around him. “Are we lost?”

“Nope. We’re not lost.” But he didn’t look at her. Simon dug out his father’s old compass. “Camp is due west.” Where had Kyle gone? “If you want to go back, go that way.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you.” Despite trying to hide it, Charlie seemed scared as she looked to Simon for answers. “We’re a team, remember?”

“I remember.” Simon’s stomach jumped and he thought about returning to camp, but he heard the scrape of wood. “There he is. Come on.”

Another hundred yards or so and he saw a rickety cabin lodged under a bunch of crooked trees. There weren’t any windows, just gaps in big and small boards. He ducked down and crept closer, waving Charlie to stay behind him. She practically glued herself to him. A branch snapped under his foot and he froze. Charlie’s fists clenched harder, but she didn’t make a sound.

Simon went down on one knee, bringing Charlie with him to try to stay out of the line of sight. They waited to see if anyone appeared. He strained to listen, but only heard rustling and grunting from inside the cabin.

“Stay here,” he whispered to Charlie and pointed up the hill behind the cabin. “I’m going around to see if I can see anything.”

“Simon, no.” But he dashed away before Charlie could grab hold of him again. He walked along the side of the cabin, able to be more quiet now that he didn’t have a second pair of feet to worry about. The cabin was larger than he thought and was wedged hard between trees, as if the trees had grown up and around the structure. The slanted roof sagged in spots and the slats were warped and filled with knotholes. He skidded down a slight slope and braced himself against the back wall. After he pulled out his notebook and a pencil, Simon bent down and stuck his eye against one of the larger openings.

The only light he could see came from a flashlight Kyle had brought with him. It looked like a weird torch standing on its end like that. Simon angled his head and saw a table piled high with batteries, pipes, cords and other electrical items. His jaw dropped as he spotted a shotgun against the far wall and a pile of handguns on the floor. He started to write it all down, making sketches as quickly as he could, then felt his heart hammer in his ears as Kyle turned and bent down to wedge open a heavy wooden box and stare inside.

Suddenly, the slick, dewy ground gave way and Simon’s feet went out from under him. He clunked against the cabin.

Kyle shot up straight and Simon ducked, afraid of being seen. His chest hurt as he struggled to stay silent and dug his fingers into the wood to steady himself. Barely breathing, he pressed his eye back to the knothole. As soon as Kyle left, he was going to get inside and see what was there.

That was what deputies—even junior deputies—did, right? They investigated. And Simon had sworn an oath when Sheriff Luke had given him his trainee badge. If only he could get closer... He shifted position, but skidded in the damp leaves, his elbow banging against the cabin as he caught sight of Kyle racing toward the entrance.

Simon pushed his glasses up his sweaty nose as he scrambled away. Kyle had heard him that time. He was coming! But the first person he’d see would be...

Charlie.

Simon gasped, running as fast as he could, feet slipping and ankles twisting as he fought to keep his balance. “Charlie!” She jumped to her feet when she saw him flying around the corner of the cabin. “Go! Back to camp!” He wouldn’t have time to find anything else out. “Go get the sheriff!” Simon didn’t care if anyone heard him now.

Charlie darted out of sight as Simon skidded to a stop. He had to keep Kyle from chasing Charlie. He couldn’t let his best friend get hurt. Not when it had been his idea to follow Kyle in the first place. Kyle darted toward him and Simon felt his confidence drain.

“I saw what you have in there,” Simon lied, squeezing his hands into fists as his entire body started to quake. “I’m going to tell the sheriff.”

“Why are you always following me?” The rage on Kyle’s face made Simon’s entire body go cold. “This isn’t any of your business, you stupid little—”

Simon turned to race after Charlie, but his foot caught on a tree root and he slammed forward. His notebook flew out of his hands and skidded into the underbrush. He hit his head on the ground so hard, his glasses snapped at the nose. Stars exploded in his eyes; his head screamed as he shoved himself onto his back, something wet streaming into his eyes. Kyle stepped over him, fists raised as he leaned down. Simon scrambled away. Tried to call for help.

Everything went dark.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“THEY’RE NOT AT the lake.” Jake limped up the narrow path from the shore, his sour expression matching Luke’s. “Anyone know anything?”

Luke glanced around the sleepy campers, none of whom seemed surprised. Nor did they appear anywhere near coherent. Who would at six thirty? It was never a good start to the morning to find three of your charges missing. It was Cash’s barking that had woken him out of a sound sleep, like a canine alarm system gone crazy. The second Luke emerged from the tent, Cash had padded over to Simon and Charlie’s and sat in front of it as if to ask where his playmates had gone.

Luke’s heart beat an unsteady and, in this case, unfamiliar rhythm. He’d served his country, chased down drug dealers and gangbangers; he’d detonated and defused dozens of explosive devices and even watched as one of his men was blown to kingdom come.

None of that equaled the terror coursing through him when he thought of Simon being missing.

His training kicked in. Control and calm settled. The solution for finding Simon and the others was to remain rational. They were kids. They couldn’t have gone far, and knowing Simon wasn’t overly fond of the dark, chances are it had been light when they’d ventured out of camp.

At least wherever Simon had gotten to, it seemed Charlie had gone along. “None of them know anything.” He pointed at the other campers.

“Simon doesn’t go wandering. Not without a good reason,” Jake added at Luke’s skepticism. “He knows better.”

That meant it couldn’t be a coincidence Simon had gone missing at the same time as Kyle. The kid had been adamant for days that Kyle was up to something. Obviously Luke’s attempts to distract him from focusing on the older, troubled teen had failed. “I’m going to head east,” Luke told Jake, gesturing toward the overgrowth leading into the brush. “You stay here with the rest in case any of them come back.” He went to his tent, grabbed his backpack and pulled out the two satellite phones he’d brought in case of emergency. He tossed one to Jake and then grabbed a couple bottles of water. “Don’t worry. I’ll find them.” He whistled for Cash.

“Be careful,” Jake told him, but Luke heard the worry in the older man’s voice. It was his grandson out there.

Somehow he and Jake had managed to find the one camping area Luke didn’t remember venturing near when he was growing up. None of this was familiar, and even if it had been, the overgrown trees and brush obscuring the path would have erased any memories. Cash raced ahead, then came back for him, as if afraid he was going to lose Luke on their outing. Try as he might, he couldn’t forget Simon was Holly’s son. He’d promised her Simon would be safe, that he’d look after him. That he wouldn’t let anything happen.

He was zero for three.

He should have listened to her and put a tracking device on the kid. “Simon? Charlie!” Luke called occasionally, aiming his voice in different directions in case they’d ventured off the path. “Kyle!” Please answer. Someone please answer me.

There was a slight clearing over the next slope, and for an instant, he thought he saw movement. He pulled out the phone, clicked it open to update Jake as he called, “Simon? Charlie? That you?”

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