“That’s called baying. It’s a tracking behavior. It’s a helpful way K9s communicate, and we encourage it when our hounds are in the training stage.”
“Not all the dogs?”
“Some don’t bay at all. The hounds we need to teach them to bay and also to track soundlessly because there are some people we go after who would try to stop the dogs in their tracks.”
Gabriel felt a protectiveness spread from his chest at the thought that anyone might try to hurt Whiskey. “Bays on the trail, howls at the full moon.”
“Howls? Whiskey?” Reaper asked as he moved ahead of Gabriel.
“Last night she was giving me a private concert.”
“I’ve never heard Whiskey howl at anything,” Reaper said. “Well, no, emergency sirens will occasionally set her off. But that’s about it. Dogs don’t howl at the moon. Howls are pack communication behaviors. And Whiskey doesn’t have anyone to howl with. When you thought she was howling at the moon, did you hear any other dogs going off?”
“It was just me, Whiskey, the moon, and the dead of night.” Gabriel’s words trailed off into silence.
It was Gabriel's first time on a search, but it wasn’t his first time out on a trail, and he had learned to read the men around him.
Reaper’s muscles tightened, his head jutting forward. Gabriel’s Ranger unit had a tactical German shepherd named Otto—beautiful dog. He would point his ears forward and twist them just left or right until they homed in and caught the sound. The team knew that Otto had found the obstacle when they saw his ears stilled in one direction.
Their team would be searching along the ridges and in the ditch for anything that might pose danger.
Without fail, Otto was on it. He saved their skin on too many occasions to count—hero dog.
If Gabriel could describe Reaper’s posture, that’s what he saw. He’d ask later what the clues were. But for now, Gabriel shut the hell up, quieted his feet, trying to be as silent as possible as he moved through the brush.
Reaper moved farther ahead of Gabriel, and Gabriel sped up to stay within arm’s reach.
With Whiskey at the end of her line, Gabriel was thankful for all the time he had put into the trails, keeping his body ready for the next competition.
He was grateful for every race that taught his ankles to stabilize and his thigh muscles to stiffen, protecting his knees as he stepped into holes. Those experiences enabled him to keep pace.
Reaper looked back over his shoulder. “Let her loose.”
Gabriel had trained to work in symphony with his team. When he heard the directive, Gabriel instantly released the leash and watched the lemon-lime-colored lead snake under a sweet briar.
Reaper dropped into a crouch; his hands lifted to a ready stance.
Softly, softly they stepped forward.
Gabriel's heart pounded so loudly that it muted the sounds of the waking forest.
Reaper held an armful of brambles off to the side, tucking them over a tree branch, and there they were—two little kids in pajamas so wet and filthy that Gabriel couldn’t see the rabbit design.
They had their knees pulled to their chests and their arms wrapped around their legs as they leaned into each other.
Tears had left streaks on their mud-covered faces.
Their eyes were wide and hollow. Two little kids who had been miserable and frightened for too long.
Reaper quietly lowered himself until his knees were on the ground. “Hello, Cory. My name is Reaper.” He tapped his heart. “Your mommy and daddy couldn’t find you in the woods, so they called all their friends on the phone to ask us to please come help. I see you have Amber with you. You took very good care of her. I’m proud of you.” Reaper’s voice was as soft as a lullaby.
He had two little kids, and he seemed to have worked out the right sound of warmth and support to make children feel safe.
Still, two men popping out in the woods could add to the kids’ fears instead of tamping them down.
Gabriel shed his pack and set it to the side.
“That dog that you’re petting, that dog is my friend Whiskey,” Reaper said. “She’s a girl dog. She’s a very good girl, just like Amber is a very good girl, and just like Cory is a very good boy. I’m so glad that we found you so you can go home and hug mommy and daddy. I have another friend with me.”
