Free The Search by Iris Johansen

Monty had the training and experience to survive alone in the jungle.
    Jesus, that was cold.
    No, it wasn't. She had a perfect right to preserve her life and that of Monty with no sense of guilt. She liked Galen, but he had been hired to do a job and evidently he was a mercenary who was paid well to take his chances. As for Logan, he was the one who had drawn all of them into this web. Even if his motive in rescuing his employee was compassionate, his methods were certainly not. No, she was in this alone and would act accordingly.
    Monty whimpered and put his head on her arm, sensing her tension. She reached out to stroke, quiet him. No, she wasn't alone. Not as long as she had Monty. "Go to sleep, boy."
    Scared?
    She was scared. She'd been scared since the moment she'd caught sight of that burned-out research facility. Premonition?
    Hell, no. Imagination.
    But Monty wouldn't believe that, not when he could feel the tension tightening her muscles.
    She gently stroked his throat. "A little, but it's okay."
    He relaxed. Monty knew about fear. How sometimes you had to keep on going even if you were scared. Once he'd crawled down a tunnel in a crushed parking garage when he'd caught scent of a victim. She'd gone in after him and the shaft had crashed down behind them. There had been no going back, and there had been nothing but darkness and fear ahead. She had felt Monty trembling beside her and could smell his fear and her own. He could have frozen, but he'd crawled on his belly through the long tunnel, guiding her until she could see light ahead.
    If they survived that nightmare, they could survive anything.
    And seven out of ten odds weren't bad at all.
    "Wake up. It's time to leave."
    Sarah's eyes flew open to see Logan's face above her. "Okay." She sat up and threw aside her blanket. "Monty."
    Monty stretched and then trotted over to the nearest tree to take care of morning business.
    "Here's your backpack." Logan dropped it beside her. "I took a few bottles out and put them in mine. I didn't have room for many."
    "I don't need your help. I could have managed."
    "I wasn't being gentlemanly." Logan was smiling, but the words were crisp. "I can't afford to have you falling behind."
    She put on the backpack. "I won't fall behind. You worry about keeping up with me. This stroll through the jungle is going to be a little more demanding than playing tennis at one of your fancy country clubs." She looked around and suddenly realized they were the only two in the clearing. "Where's Galen?"
    "He went on ahead."
    "Why?"
    "To take care of a few things. We have information that Rudzak may have set up a decoy camp about ten miles to the west. Galen will join us later."
    "And what direction are we taking?"
    "East." Logan was putting out the fire. "We should reach the search area by noon. After that, it's up to you and Monty."
    "Right. Do you have anything belonging to Bassett?"
    "Margaret expressed me an old baseball cap he'd left in his locker at the Silicon Valley plant. But he hasn't been home in six months. Will the scent still be strong enough?"
    "Probably. But couldn't Castleton have gotten you something down here belonging to him?"
    "No." Logan turned away. "That wasn't an option."
    "Why wasn't it--"
    "Does Monty eat this early?"
    She shook her head. "He can do that after we've been on the trail for a while."
    "Then let's get going."
    No question about breakfast for her. He was as cold and efficient as a surgeon's scalpel and she didn't like the fact that he hadn't told her earlier about the decoy camp. "Do you suppose I could brush my teeth and go to the bathroom?"
    The sarcasm didn't faze him. "If you hurry."
    She stiffened when she saw his gaze go to the trees at the edge of the clearing. "What are you looking at? Do you think someone's watching us?"
    "No, Galen reconnoitered the area before he set up camp, and he didn't think it was necessary to take turns on guard duty last night."
    She hadn't been aware there had even been a