He went instantly back to that day that had changed so much.
Denver took a deep breath. “Let’s become blood brothers. There’s one thing that will bind us.” What if he was wrong? Was this stupid? He reached for a knife he’d stolen from the kitchen earlier, wanting only one thing in life. Even if he died tomorrow, he didn’t want to be alone anymore. Maybe they had a chance together in the next life, wherever that was. “Blood.”
Ryker straightened.
Heath moved away from a tree he’d been leaning against, his jaw hard. “I get it.”
“Blood brothers,” Ryker said, grabbing a knife from his back pocket. One Ned didn’t know he had. “This one is sharper. Let’s use this one.”
Denver’s chest exploded. They were gonna do it. Create a brotherhood like he’d dreamed about when they became friends four years ago. It was important that they each cut their own hand—make the choice.
The slice hurt, but somehow it healed what ached so badly inside him. When he pressed his hand to Ryker’s and Heath’s, when they all pressed together, it got kind of messy. Bloody. But it meant something. Itmeant everything. If he died now, it was okay. He had brothers. Maybe they’d all meet again in heaven. He kind of believed in the place. Tears clogged his eyes.
His hand hurt when everyone let go.
Heath looked down at his bloody palm. “Should we put on bandages?”
Denver shook his head, letting the tears fall. It was okay to cry. They were family. “Let the scars get bigger.”
“Yeah,” Ryker said, his eyes glassy. “We’re brothers now.”
Denver jerked back to the present, and tears filled his eyes, but he didn’t care. They were on the run, and they were just kids. If the sheriff caught them, he’d kill them with a lot of pain. But he could never take away who they were. What they’d formed.
They were family.
CHAPTER
1
Present day
Noni tossed her laptop and stack of maps on the faded patchwork bedspread, her eyes gritty and her temples aching. The battered electric heater rattled from the corner of the motel room, providing a surprising amount of heat. Her fingers tingled as they started to warm up.
Winter blew snow around outside, and ice scattered against the window. She shivered and knelt one knee on the bed as she spread out the closest map. Where was her pen? Scrambling for her bag on the floor, she drew out a black marker and made several notations across the mountainous Pacific Northwest. Her heart raced, and her lungs compressed. She had to be closing in. Then she crossed out several towns, including Seattle, before pulling her phone from her pocket and hitting speed dial for number one.
Static crackled and then an expletive echoed as it sounded like the phone was dropped. Something shuffled. “Eagle? This is Sparrow” finally came over the line.
Noni rubbed her aching head. “Hi, Aunt Franny. I thought we agreed to forget the nicknames.”
“So did I, dear, but Verna likes being called Hawk Two.”
Why would they have a Hawk Two when there wasn’t a Hawk One? Noni swallowed down a sharp retort. “We have to get serious, Fran. This is dangerous.” Though she’d done everything possible to make sure the two older women were out of the line of fire. “Where are you?”
“I just set up camp and am staying in the Motel Burnside just north of Portland. Verna should be pulling into Salt Lake City any second now,” Franny said. “My meeting with our private detective is tomorrow morning—he has already left Seattle and is heading here.”
“Good. I’m going to scout around here in Greenville before backtracking to Snowville in a day or so.” Greenville was near the Washington-Idaho border, fifty miles out from Snowville. People back home familiar with the street gang had told her of its affiliations in Greenville. Now all she had to do was find them. Somehow.
She was leading a team—an untrained, totally vulnerable team—in a chase after a dangerous gang member. She was a lotion and candle maker, for God’s sakes. What the hell had she been thinking?
“What about the FBI office in Snowville?” Franny asked.
Noni swallowed, trying to shove away self-doubt. “The FBI is a last resort.” If she contacted them, the agents would immediately send out an AMBER Alert for a missing child. If that happened, Richie might kill the baby. She couldn’t let that happen. Plus, the law wasn’t exactly on her side right now since she was working outside it because of time constraints. God, she hoped she wasn’t making the hugest mistake of her life by handling this herself.
“Any news from Denver?” Franny asked, sounding weary.
“No.” Noni lifted her chin, her heart cracking at the mere mention of his name. He had given her a fake last name, so all she had was his picture and some basic information she knew about him. “But I’ve posted a search for him all over the Internet, even on dating sites. He has to see something.” Her chest hurt to even think about the asshole who’d broken her heart so easily, but she needed his help, and she’d take the pain to save the missing baby. “I’ll find him.”
“Honey.” Fran cleared her throat. “He’s probably no better than that first private detective we hired, the one who stole half of our savings.”
