Free Finding Her Son by Robin Perini

blood?”
    “It wasn’t real. Too bright. Dried blood is dark in color.”
    She sagged against Mitch. “Joshua has to be alive. I can’t go on if he isn’t.”
    “We’ll find Joshua. I promise.” It was a vow he would probably regret making, but right now, at this moment in time, it was the right thing to do.
    He scanned the area. Just to the side of a recently replaced guardrail, several tall pines and an outcropping of boulders would be good cover—at least until the units showed up. Mitch lifted her in his arms and walked to the shelter. Such a tiny thing. He set her down and unzipped his coat, tucking her against his chest, and held her.
    He stood there, holding her, their body heat combining, the outside cold seeping away as he surveyed the landscape surrounding them, searching for a sign, a movement, of anyone watching them. A slight shiver fluttered through Emily.
    “Why are they doing this to me?”
    Her quiet voice twisted Mitch’s heart. He’d seen enough depravity in his time at SWAT to realize human beings could do almost anything, but what they’d done to Emily took true desperation…and a special kind of callousness.
    “I’m going to find out,” he said.
    She shifted away from him and pushed her hair out of her face. “I need to call Perry. He’ll worry.” She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the phone. Not much charge, but she pressed the button. “It still works.”
    Mitch stayed her fingers. “Perry knew when you were going to rendezvous. You realize that.”
    “I could’ve been anywhere when he called. He didn’t know I was home.”
    “Not unless he’s been following you,” Mitch said. “You have to consider he’s been paid off. His history—”
    “I don’t want to believe that. Except for William, he’s the only one who ever helped me.”
    Mitch wanted to shout, “Until me,” but he couldn’t. The words were almost true. How could investigating her and deceiving her be considered helping her? No. Too many lies lay between them. He couldn’t add one more. Trouble was, she was getting to him.
    Screaming sirens tore up the mountain. Mitch’s focus shifted from Emily to the decorated cross to her cell phone. He couldn’t be sure who to trust, either. This case had just become very complicated.
     
     
    E MILY SAT IN A PATROL car, out of the freezing wind, as law enforcement crawled all over the mountain like a swarm of ants. Quite the response when a SWAT officer’s personal vehicle blew up. They’d blocked off the road and now searched for evidence.
    The stench of burning rubber and plastic filled the air. The odor made her stomach roil, though not as much as the thought of what someone was willing to do to get her out of the way. All she wanted was to find Joshua. Why couldn’t they let her have her son back?
    Thank goodness Mitch had seen the blanket. Two attempts on her life in front of a cop had made Tanner take her more seriously. She couldn’t let up, though. If she didn’t push, no one would.
    Emily shifted her gaze from the search to Mitch, who was focusing intently on his conversation with one of the bomb-squad techs. His ability to ignore the pain he had to be feeling left her in awe. If only he’d lean against the vehicle and ease the weight, but his dogged determination wouldn’t let him show any vulnerability. She’d learned that about him in the short time she’d known him.
    Her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out her phone. It had gone dark. The battery must have died. She needed to try Perry again. They were ninety minutes late. Maybe the PI had attempted to call. She got out of the car and walked over to Mitch. “Can I borrow your cell to call Perry?”
    His expression more grave than she’d ever seen, Mitch handed her the phone. He clasped her arm and walked her a few feet away from the tech, bending his lips to her ear. The warm breath bathed her neck, and she shivered at his closeness. “Don’t tell him where