Zorro was first through the trees, face streaked with sweat and dirt, rifle slung over his chest. He slowed the moment he saw Ayla in Bear’s arms. His breath caught.
“Brother,” he said, voice thick. “She’s real.”
Bear nodded, unable to speak.
The others fanned out behind him, Joker, Blitz, Professor, all moving with silent awe, as if they understood the magnitude of what they were seeing.
No one rushed. No one joked.
Zorro stepped forward and pressed his forehead gently to Ayla’s, whispering something in Lakota that made her smile through her tears.
Then it was time to go.
They moved carefully through the jungle on the way back, Bear carrying Ayla’s weight like she was made of something sacred. She didn’t speak much, just held tight to his shoulders, her cheek resting against his back.
At the riverbank, the SOC-Rs were already waiting.
The team loaded in without a word.
Bailee and Ayla sat side-by-side on one of the side benches, their knees touching, hands entwined. Bear sat across from them, watching. Guarding. Flint dozed at his feet, muzzle twitching.
Ayla watched the water go by with wide eyes, silent but alert.
He caught her looking at her reflection once, and saw something flicker in her face, a small grief, maybe, or disbelief. But she didn’t look away.
Back at the hotel, Bear took Ayla up to Bailee’s room.
Bailee unlocked the door. “I’ve got everything she’ll need for now, clothes, shampoo, quiet.” She gave Bear a pointed look. “No mirrors she hasn’t already faced.”
Ayla kissed his cheek before walking through the door, her arms looping around his neck like she used to when she was little. “I’m so glad you found me,” she whispered.
“Me, too,” he said.
Bailee showed her the bathroom, and Ayla let out a soft gasp. “Running water and a commode. How wonderful.”
Bailee came out of the bathroom. “She’s ecstatic.” She glanced toward the connecting door, then back to him.
“We need to talk.” She took his hand and pulled him through. His heart tightened at her solemn face.
19
Bailee was reeling from the overload of everything, finding Ayla, the death of her cousin when she’d had so much hope that she was alive, her love for Bear, and that gnawing, unsettling feeling that was eating at her.
As soon as they were through the connecting door, she pressed him against the wall and kissed him fiercely, pouring every frayed emotion into it, soaking up the grounding heat of him. When she finally broke the kiss, she couldn’t move. Everything inside her had tightened into a single sharp point, and if she didn’t get clarity soon, she was going to lose everything.
Lose him.
The truth of it hit so hard she nearly staggered.
Ayla was alive. And that meant the bones they’d found were all that was left of her beautiful cousin. Taryn. Her heart had squeezed painfully as she watched Bear and his sister reunite. I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you in time. That I couldn’t save you.
But Taryn had saved Ayla. That fierce, beautiful girl had refused to surrender and fought to the bitter end. Bailee would always be proud of her.
“It’s astonishing that they ended up in the same van,” she whispered. “On the night Ayla was taken. That they ended up here… together.”
“She saved my sister…” Bear’s voice cracked. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am that Taryn was lost.”
She nodded, throat tight. “I’ve done extensive research on this cartel. They’re active in both Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River. It isn’t a coincidence that Ayla and Taryn met. The pipeline exists. What’s strange…what feels impossible…is that we met.”
