So much had changed in the last few hours. Despite the danger and the fear, having Wyatt with her was like a dream come true. A dream she hadn’t even known she’d harbored. She’d always assumed that she would be alone. It had been how she’d lived most of her life and she’d never let herself wonder what it would be like to depend on someone else.

Wyatt himself was unexpected, but incredible. He’d grown so much from the handsome, unattainable boy of her teenage crush.

Wyatt reached for her hand, and she enjoyed the feeling of his warm fingers wrapped around hers. Now it was time to focus on finding Noelle.

All the way to the airport, they’d worked out a plan. There was another beach on the island, more remote, on the other side. They’d always landed at the main beach, where most hikers had boats or planes drop them off, so this time they’d start at the other.

There were two reasons for this. First, Elsie wanted the element of surprise. Whoever was after her might expect them to continue using the main beach, so there was a chance they’d arrive undetected.

Second, they’d come up empty too many times. Willow would find a trail and then it would go cold. She wasn’t sure if it would do any good, but Elsie hoped that changing the location where they started their search would help.

“You ready?” Wyatt looked at her and Elsie felt her confidence grow. All of the stress of the last few days had focused within her, giving her the drive to finish this search.

She could feel it. They were going to find this woman. Today.

“I’m ready.” Beside her, Willow’s eyes flashed. Today, they were both as ready as they could be.

Still, Wyatt looked uneasy. She laid a hand over his. “Don’t worry.”

Wyatt’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, but he was trying. She’d give him that.

The plane descended toward the island, the ocean seeming to rise to meet them. Her heart skipped a beat or two. It was time. No more planning. No more wondering if her new approach to the search would be successful.

As the plane touched down on the ocean waves, Elsie took a deep breath. The start of a search was sometimes chaos. Coordinates. Points last seen. Victim profile. The noise could get overwhelming, but then when the work started for the day, when it was her and her dog in the woods, everything was quiet. Fully focused.

It was time.

They grabbed their packs and climbed out of the small plane. As they organized their gear, the pilot took off again. He would be back for them in six hours, if all went according to plan.

“All right, boss. What do you want me to do?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, put her shoulders back. “Much will be the same as last time. Keep an eye out, have my back. We are looking for areas where a person with only casual wilderness skills would go.” She’d finally made more of a profile and thought that Noelle would likely have taken more established trails. They’d spent time the last few days walking through thicker woods, and while Willow had been able to catch the scent several times, she’d lost it also.

This new approach was going to help. Elsie was sure of it. She felt bolder, too, with the knowledge that whoever had been after her was possibly out of the picture. Even if, as they suspected, the man had been hired muscle, hopefully whoever was actually after her would not have had time to regroup. Everything was lining up for them this time. “Let’s go,” she said to Wyatt, taking a deep breath and heading to the woods in front of them.

Where the other side of the island boasted a trail that gradually led up, this one began with an immediate, drastic climb. It was steep enough in places that Elsie started to second-guess herself and wonder if Willow was going to be hindered in her movement, but her dog exceeded her expectations once again. Elsie reached up to get a grip on the rocky edge of the steep face they were climbing, needing three points of contact here where the rock was slick and wet.

“You okay?” Wyatt called from behind her.

“I’m good.” This was far from the most difficult terrain she’d covered.

Following Willow, they made their way upward until they’d reached the top of a ridgeline. The island below unfolded before them, woods thicker in some places than others, so many variations of green almost overwhelming Elsie’s eyes in their vibrancy. This spot provided a lookout of the entire island.

One of the most common decisions people made was to get to a good vantage point where they could see. Up here, Elsie felt organized, committed to her plan.

Had Noelle then gotten lost after she’d been here, or had someone intercepted her?

“Where would she be now?” she whispered aloud.

“What was that?” Wyatt asked.

Elsie shook her head. “If someone took her, where would they have gone? Are they even still on the island?”

Thinking like a lost person was one thing; it was an integral part of her job. But thinking like a criminal... She wasn’t used to that.

“It would depend on why she was taken,” Wyatt pointed out.

“All right, Willow. I’m flying blind here.” She bent down to her dog, who came forward to meet her. Rubbing the soft fur of her face, Elsie leaned forward until her forehead was resting on her dog’s head, both of them sitting in stillness. Refocusing.

“You’ve got this, right?” she whispered.

Willow seemed to nudge her, that deep, inexplicable understanding that some dogs had with their owners.

“What’s the plan?” Wyatt asked her as she stood.

She shook her head slowly, took a deep breath. “This is Willow’s time to shine. She’s got it, I’m sure she does.”

FOURTEEN

As Elsie and Willow walked back and forth along the ridgeline, Wyatt followed them. This didn’t make a lot of sense to him, wandering in a way that felt aimless, but he trusted Elsie.

And she seemed certain that Noelle had been up here at one point. Because she suspected it or because the dog smelled her? He wasn’t sure.

She seemed now to be searching for the scent. It was fun to watch the excitement on Elsie’s face as she worked in tandem with her dog, weaving in and out of trees, into bushes, all around.

There was no doubt she was determined, approaching this search with a new fire that Wyatt admired and found extremely attractive. She didn’t quit, ever. She was heart and perseverance in a small package. He’d underestimated her once, he knew. But he was trying not to do that anymore. The fact that she was so capable was one of the things he admired about her.

“Wyatt!”

He turned quickly. So lost in his thoughts she’d gotten behind him. His chest pounded with his heartbeat.

But no, she was right there and she was smiling. Nothing bad had happened.

“She’s got it! She’s got the scent again.” Another grin, wide across her whole face, and she motioned for him to follow.

Seeing her now, he could imagine how she’d survived here as a toddler. Where some people might wander through the woods, Elsie was part of the woods. She didn’t seem daunted by obstacles or roots in the trail. She swung around trees almost as fast as Willow darted around them. He was out of breath keeping up, and he wasn’t in bad shape.

They wound down the ridge into a valley in the heart of the island, the vegetation growing thicker here in the shade. Devil’s club, with its intimidating spikes on the stem, seemed to grow all over, and Wyatt did his best to avoid the broad leaves, which would make a person itch something terrible if he managed to brush against them.

It was cooler in the shade, and the entire atmosphere felt so different from at the top of the ridge. Up there he’d been able to see, and he’d caught a bit of Elsie’s excitement.

Down here amid the overwhelming growth of the shadowy forest, he felt a sense of discomfort.

Just a small one. He looked at Willow. The dog showed no evidence of noticing anything was wrong. He must be imagining it.

Wyatt glanced behind him, quickly so that he didn’t lose sight of Elsie in front of him for long. No sign of anyone.

Writing it off as paranoia, he kept going, following them down the narrow pathway and around a corner.