Artie shivered, and bile burned the base of her throat. “Do you think someone…took them?” Just the act of saying the words out loud made awful images play in her mind.
After glancing at her face, which she was sure was a nasty shade of green, Derek slid an arm around her shoulders. “Doubtful. Can you imagine someone trying to snatch those girls against their will? They’d scream their heads off at the very least, if not take the guy down. C’mon, let’s go find them.”
“Sure.” Forcing a smile, Artie began walking again. As she called for the girls, blinking small, biting snowflakes from her eyes, she turned her head back and forth, searching for any movement. When she glanced back at Derek, she saw he’d regained his grim expression, and his gaze was cautious, watchful. Swallowing hard, she went back to scanning for the children…and whoever else was out there in the storm.
A burst of sound from the radio made Artie jump.
“Unit calling, you’re unreadable,” Derek shouted into the mic as he tried to shield the portable from the wind.
“Warne…ay.” The scratchy sound of George’s voice broke through the static, but just bits and pieces of the words were understandable. Artie met Derek’s gaze and saw her own frustration mirrored in his eyes.
“Re…base…ound…”
“Wait.” Leaning closer to the radio, Artie strained her ears, mentally cursing the wind. “Did he say ‘found,’ as in the girls are found?”
“Not sure.” Despite his doubtful words, his face lit with hope. “Holloway, please repeat.”
The connection was even worse that time. At the end, though, three words were as clear as could be.
“Return to base.”
“They must be found,” Artie said, starting to smile. “If they’re pulling us in, they must have the girls.”
“Copy, return to base,” Derek said loudly into the radio before grinning at her as he hooked the portable onto his belt. “They could just be pulling us in because of this storm, but—”
“But I heard ‘found.’ I definitely heard ‘found’!” With a squeal that would’ve embarrassed Artie at any other moment, she grabbed him in a hug. He didn’t hesitate to pull her tight to his chest. Pressing her forehead against his breastbone, she relaxed for the first time in what felt like days. She’d missed Derek’s hugs. They’d always made her feel so cherished and safe. Even during that long, awful night in jail, she’d felt like everything would be okay because Derek was with her. Nothing had been okay after that, though, since he’d broken up with her the very next day.
Reality returned, and Artie, feeling awkward, extricated herself from the embrace. Turning to face the way they’d come, she started walking.
“Artemis.”
Derek’s shout made her stop and turn.
“This way.” He continued in the direction they’d been going.
Confused, Artie hurried to catch up with him. “Aren’t we returning to base?”
“Not until the storm settles,” he told her.
That didn’t lessen her confusion, and her brows drew together. “So we’re going to walk the wrong way until then?”
He laughed. “The remains of an old cabin are a quarter mile from here. There won’t be any heat—or much of a roof—but it’ll provide a little shelter until the wind lets up.”
Shelter of any kind sounded wonderful, so Artie fell in behind him. The wind ripped through the trees, peppering any exposed skin with snow. The stinging cold took away her breath, and she tilted her head down and to the side to avoid the worst of the impact.
Snowflakes clumped on her lashes, making it even harder to see through the snow-laden gusts. Even though Derek was only a few feet in front of her, she had a panicked image of him disappearing into the storm, leaving her alone. She ran a couple of steps until she was right behind him and grabbed the back of his jacket.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
Great. Now I’ll have to tell him I’m a big chicken.“Nothing.”
His mouth quirked, and she braced herself for his teasing, but he just faced forward. Despite the embarrassing moment of getting caught clinging to his back like a baby opossum, she didn’t let go. Instead, she walked as close behind him as she could, appreciating the way his broad back cut the wind.
When he stopped, she bumped into him. Derek reached a hand back to steady her and didn’t remove it from her hip even after she’d regained her bearings. She wasn’t about to complain.
“This is it,” he said, and she peered around his arm to see the crumbling shack in front of them.
Artie blinked. “Wow.” The tiny cabin looked as if the next strong gust would knock it down. The roof sagged, and there were sections missing. The structure had shifted, and the tattered, cockeyed door was propped open. Artie doubted that it would even close anymore, judging by the lopsided shape of the frame.
