After an abbreviated explanation from Tony on how he’d found the girls – noting that he said nothing as to his reasons for mysteriously taking off in the midst of their case – Alyssa excused herself to speak to Addis and Emerson, who both shared matching stories corroborating Tony’s version of events.

Afterwards, Cord reached out to Joe. ‘We’re this close, so Lys, Tony, and I will be continuing on to Campbell’s cabin. Alyssa wants you and Sandra to accompany Addis and Emerson to the hospital and contact Grace as soon as you have a signal. Tell her we’ll be in touch as soon as we can. Search and Rescue are rolling out now, so they should reach you in about thirty to forty minutes. And Joe, the girls mentioned two names: Adam and Alex. They never saw Alex, but see if you can gather some photos that include Campbell, see if they can identify him that way.’

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Tony, Alyssa unrolled the map onto the hood of his truck. ‘Of the three of us, you know the Pecos the best. Do you think you can find this?’ She tapped the circled area where they believed Campbell’s cabin was.

Head bent low as he ran the flashlight over the map, Tony muttered under his breath, his finger tracing first one path then another before lifting his head and darting his eyes around the woods surrounding them. ‘I think so. It won’t be easy in the dark, though,’ he warned.

‘But it can be done? You’re sure?’ Alyssa wasn’t reassured by Tony’s shrug any more than she was by his statement.

‘As sure as I can be.’ Glancing back down at the map, Tony whistled low. ‘They really hadn’t gotten far when I came across them hiding beneath the cattle guard.’ His words held a heightened sense of urgency, and Alyssa had a feeling it had to do with the fact he no longer had control over protecting the girls as they were being whisked off to safety.

‘You understand you’re going to have to explain how you ended up here at all, right?’ She held her gaze steady on the teammate she physically ached to trust again.

Tony’s eyes shifted away, then drifted back down to the map. ‘Yeah. I’m sorry you guys are doubting me. Does Joe—never mind, I don’t need to hear that answer. I don’t like it, but it makes sense.’ There was no censure in his tone, just a sad acceptance that his teammates had suspected him at all. ‘It was my fault. It never occurred to me… but why would it have? None of us knew where the girls were.’ Abruptly, he straightened and folded up the map. ‘But we’ll deal with all that after we find this guy.’