Page 100 of Rescuer
“God saved us.” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but now that she had, she realized she believed it with her whole being.
“What?” He looked surprised, as if she’d said she’d seen a pink unicorn.
She chuckled. “You know I’ve been re-examining my decision to walk away from God. I’ve decided that I want to be all in now. No more running.”
The joy that spread over his face made the breath catch in her throat. Jackson leaned in and softly kissed her.
“I’m so glad.” His voice was a caress. “You are His beloved daughter. When we aren’t running for our lives, I’d love to talk with you about this journey.”
She put her fingers to her lips, confused by both the kiss and his words.
“Jackson…”
She knew that voice.
Jackson stepped around her. “Dylan? Dylan!”
They stopped, holding their breath, listening for Dylan to call out to them again.
Twenty-One
“Jackson!” Dylan’s voice whisper-shouted again.
Instead of yelling back, Jackson grabbed Mia’s hand and tugged. “Follow me. I think I know where he is.”
She nodded. He didn’t drop her hand, whether because he didn’t want to lose sight of her or because he was so close to emotionally losing control, he wasn’t quite sure. All he knew was that if she hadn’t been here, acting like she’d heard the voice as well, he would have thought his imagination was playing tricks on him. Because he knew in his gut that the kids were imprisoned in that facility they’d just spied on. So how was he hearing Dylan’s voice all the way up here?
Mia’s firm grip helped him keep himself in check.
“It’s not far.”
“Where are we going?” she breathed, her head swiveling around, scanning the area. The man with the gun didn’t return though. From where they were, Jackson could hear police radios squawking.
Two instincts warred inside his head. One faction cheered that they were out of danger now that the police were on scene. The other side declared they weren’t free yet. He chose to go with caution.
Up ahead, there was a small cave.
Mia groaned. “Oh no. Not another cave.”
He bit back a grin. “No bats in this one. Dylan and I explored it last year. We always talked about coming back. We just haven’t found the time yet.”
A familiar head peeked out.
Jackson dropped Mia’s hand and ran the rest of the way. “Dylan!”
He pounded toward the cave, aware of Mia running behind him. After ducking inside, it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. He inhaled a lungful of dank air. “Dylan.”
Jackson collapsed to his knees beside Dylan. The boy’s left arm hung at an odd angle. He was bruised, and there was a bump on his head, but he was alive. Jackson carefully embraced him, mindful of his injured arm.
The moment his arms touched Dylan, the boy broke down. Huge gulping sobs shook his body, and he buried his head in Jackson’s shoulder.
“I’ve got you, Dylan. It’s all right.” He rubbed his brother’s back, concerned that Dylan seemed to have lost weight in the past week.
“I knew you’d come for me,” Dylan started, then stopped as a new fit of tears took over.
“I would never have stopped searching.” Jackson waited until the tears stopped flowing. Then he moved back. “Let me look at that arm.”
Jackson had dealt with people’s injuries and pain for a long time, ever since he was a medic in the Army. He’d learned to steel himself in order to focus and ignore their pain without faltering. But his resolve had never been shaken like it was now, listening to his kid brother groan in agony as Jackson inspected the limb.
