Flash Point - Savannah Kade Page 0,26

Neither boy had been there. They’d next hiked to a cliff that Leo prayed the boys hadn’t gone to, but there were no signs there either—thank God. And there was no indication of either child along the way.

The caves were the last specific spot that Leo even had a clue to check. If they were empty, he was shit out of luck until he got a big team. They were now aimed in as straight a line as one could get out here to the location of the promised caves. Having not been to this spot before, he didn’t even know if it was a wild goose chase.

Wrong decisions meant dead children.

But there were no right decisions and he wasn’t psychic at all.

He was going to be incredibly disappointed if they actually found the caves and there were no kids in them. But there was no reason to believe that these boys had found these caves other than the fact that they would be looking for shelter.

Leo took point, even though he didn't know this particular trail. The parks were far too big for him to know all of it. He only knew the general area better than she did. He pushed on, setting a brutal pace for the conditions, but Jo didn't protest. She just followed behind, following proper protocol for being in the rear.

According to the simple map they had drawn up, they had maybe another four or five miles to go before they hit the area where the caves were. Even the article was unclear about the location—the paper certainly hadn’t provided GPS coordinates or geocaching clues a hundred years ago.

He found himself wondering if two young kids could have covered this kind of distance. But again, it was the only real lead they had, and time and the weather were crushing down on them with no trail to follow.

Leo only made it another ten feet before Jo's hand came down on his shoulder—a soft, silent signal to stop.

Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear, “I think I heard something.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jo shoved her hand out to her side, holding Leo back.

She’d practically slapped him, and she heard and felt the crinkly fabric of his raincoat. The last thing she needed was extra noise … or to be touching him. She lifted her gloved finger to her lips.

Just then, thunder rolled above them, ruining her request for silence and indicating the storm was getting worse and not better.

Though Leo looked at her for a moment, his expression indicated that he hadn't heard anything.

She didn't hear anything now either. Son of a bitch.

She could have sworn she'd heard something human. Hopefully it was one of the boys. But if it wasn't, then it was somebody else who was in need of rescue. Though they stayed still and tried to listen through all the noises of the storm and the woods, eventually Jo gave up and shook her head.

She hadn't heard it again. With the alarm declared false, they continued on their way. Five minutes later, her arm shot out again of its own accord. She’d heard it again. And it did sound human.

This time when Leo looked at her, he raised his hands, shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, all of it asking, what are you hearing?

Clearly, he didn’t hear it, and she couldn't answer. She needed everything quiet to hear the soft cry again. Unfortunately, the rain was bouncing down through the leaves like thousands of tiny pinballs. The wind was blowing, rustling every leaf and branch.

For a moment, she left her hand on his arm, closed her eyes and tried to shut away everything that didn't matter. The cold was seeping in at her toes, the boots having held up well, but not quite well enough. Near her ears, tiny patters made a constant static as raindrops hit the plastic of her own raingear. Jo shallowed out her breathing. The sound of it was trapped by the hood she wore, but she couldn't pull it back.

If she did, her head would get wet. If her head got wet, she could freeze. So instead, she tried to listen beyond the sound of her own breath passing through her lungs and what must be her own blood rushing through her veins each time her heart beat. There was no way to shut everything out.

In her own mind, she counted down. At some point she had to give up and walk away. Five …

Four …

Three …

There it was again!

She