Max followed close behind, his gaze scanning the ground, the trees, the road ahead—anything that might confirm what the dog was finding.
At first, the trail stayed near the road.
Then Thunder shifted.
He angled forward, picking up speed and guiding them farther down the stretch of asphalt that cut through the mountains.
Max’s lungs burned as they kept up, the cold air sharp in his chest. “How long can he follow it?”
“Hard to say,” Wyatt said. “Could be a few hundred yards. Could be a mile. Could lose it any second.”
It wasn’t the answer Max wanted, but it was something. And right now, something was better than nothing.
They rounded a bend, and the road opened.
Ahead, several narrow turnoffs branched off into the trees—dirt roads that disappeared into the mountains, each one a possible route.
Max’s stomach tightened. There were too many options, too much ground to cover.
If they lost the trail here . . .
Thunder pulled toward one of the turnoffs, his body straining with purpose.
Wyatt followed without question. “He’s tracking.”
Relief hit Max hard enough to make him dizzy.
They had a direction.
Finally.
He didn’t know how long it would last. Didn’t know how far ahead Lyndee had been taken.
But as they followed the dog into the trees, one thought pushed through everything else.
Please let this be enough.
Before it was too late.
CHAPTER 11
Hadley slipped backinto the kennel at Refuge Cove just as the late afternoon light began to fade. She set her bag near the door before heading for Juno.
The dog lifted her head when she approached, her tail thumping against the blanket. As she did, the puppies stirred, their small bodies shifting against each other.
“There you are,” Hadley murmured as she opened the gate into the pen and crouched beside them.
She carefully lifted Quirkle, supporting his small body in both hands. He squirmed before settling against her, warm and fragile against her palms.
Hadley settled onto the blanket beside the pen as she cradled him closer.
The steady rhythm of the kennel wrapped around her, familiar and grounding in a way the rest of the day hadn’t been.
She hadn’t been able to shake the bad feeling in her gut all day.
Not during appointments. Not while talking with clients. Not even when she forced herself to focus on paperwork.
Too much had happened. Lyndee disappearing. The bad reviews. The appointment with Travis.
