I look up. And there she is. Clinging onto the upper branches of a pine, trembling as she stares down at me with big red eyes.
“Mira? It’s okay. I’m here.”
She just keeps staring.
“Are you stuck up there?”
She doesn’t respond, just stares. It cracks my heart right down the middle.
“Elle!” I call, scanning the forest.
She rushes from the house. “I’ve looked everywhere?—”
“I need you to watch the forest for me,” I cut in. “She’s right here. In this tree. I’m going to have to climb up, but I need eyes on the forest too.”
I should’ve just taken them to my place the second he pulled the gallery stunt. That was a warning. He was cleverer than I’ve given him credit for.
Elle rushes, gasping when she sees Mira. “Honey? Mira? Why did you climb the tree, baby?”
Mira keeps shaking but doesn’t answer.
Elle swallows and looks at me desperately. “I’m not saying it’s your fault, angel.”
Mira just keeps shaking.
“Just get her, please, Rhett,” Elle pleads.
“I will,” I say. “Keep watch. Carefully.”
She nods, turning in a slow circle.
Holstering my gun, I walk to the base of the tree, assessing. Some of these branches are perfect for a girl like Mira, but will snap under my weight. I jump and hook the lowest one that’s thick enough, grunting as I haul myself up. I haul myself onto the first branch, then start to properly climb.
Don’t look down, killer.
I wish that voice would go to hell.
“Mira, I’m here,” I murmur, as soon as I reach her. “What I need you to do is to simply fall backward so that I can wrap my arm around you. Can you do that?”
I position myself so my body is pressed against hers, my hand ready as I balance with my other arm hooked around a branch. She doesn’t respond, but she does as I ask, leaning against me.
I wrap my arm around her, then begin our descent as she hugs me, resting her cheek against my chest. It’s a long process, climbing down, takes more effort than going up with Mira attached to me.
At the bottom, I say, “Mira, it would be really helpful if you could climb these last few. Can you do that for me? They won’t hold my weight.”
“You can do it, angel,” Elle says, a croak in her voice.
Mira clambers from my arms, then moves in a flighty, almost squirrel-like way down the tree. At the bottom, she doesn’t rush into Elle’s arms. She just stands there, her arms at her sides, staring off into space.
I’ve seen her like this before. The night it all happened.
Elle rushes to her and clutches her to her chest, looking at me. She doesn’t have to say it. We’re both thinking the same thing. She saw something that terrified her into silence again.
“I’m taking her inside,” Elle murmurs, lifting her up and rushing toward the house.
I follow close behind, scanning, praying that Lucian shows up. Tries this man to man, sees how far he gets. He’ll get nowhere except in the ground with a bullet in his skull for this shit.
In the house, Elle sits Mira on the couch. “Let me get you some water.”
