Wylde (26 page)

K
ELL
strode close enough to grip Noah’s neck, pulling him near a bit like he was a puppy, but the hard kiss he gave him was one of equals. Noah’s hand clenched on his arm. He knew that the other man regretted he wasn’t easy so he could demand Noah stay safe.

But Noah was reassured on a primitive level. His caveman had just made a silent promise.

 

We’ll find him. We’ll make him safe.
“
Let’s get going,” Kell said.
“T
HAT
boy was so scared,” Noah mused softly as he ran alongside

of Kell. His new lover was an amazing tracker, finding Josh’s footprints, charging after him like a cougar on the hunt. With every stride, Noah felt they were getting closer, that they would find Josh. “Could he really have hurt someone?”

“I don’t know. I hope not.”

Noah shook his head. “This whole town let that boy down for years. Somehow he fell through the cracks and no one took him home.”

“He’ll come home now, Noah, one way or another,” Kell promised. “Meantime, looks like he’s gone to ground since he’s wounded. This trail leads to the canyon.”

J
OSH
’
S
eyes widened as he stepped carefully over brush and a large

log that looked freshly rolled. He pushed aside some blackberry bushes, dead branches and curled leaves warmed through by the light from the rising sun, which was now throwing golden coloring onto the red-and-gray-stained canyon wall.

Scraps of cloth. A little firepit. Dew seeped down, dripping a pattern of spattering tears on the loose rock. Moving closer, Josh placed his hand on warming rock, seeing another fading bloody print. Wylde had been here. Put his hand where Josh now had his palm.

And then he saw it. A little shelter of stretched clear plastic, scavenged from somewhere. Wylde was huddled with his head over his knees, pain living in his blue eyes. When he saw Josh, he whispered, “Ste-Steven.”

Josh swallowed thickly. And here he’d worried that his Dad wouldn’t be there for him. Noah would never let this happen to Josh. “I don’t think you ever hurt anyone. You’re just… lost,” he said. “But you know you can’t stay here, Steven.”

Josh held out his hand.
A
LEC
pulled up in his SUV, scattering pebbles. He got out and went to the back, opening it to retrieve what he’d brought. “If we have to search that whole canyon for the boys… I brought supplies,” he told Kell, who was watching, sweaty, huffing, obviously having run up here over hard ground.

“Wait up here for the rest of the volunteers from town. I have to head down into the canyon with Noah,” Kell said.

“I’ll stay here and help Alec,” Jade offered. “Hey, you better hurry up and catch Noah!”
“Well, hell!” Kell growled, lunging down the path Noah was already following that led down the crack into the canyon.

R
ETRACING
his steps, Josh reached up to balance himself. He’d found Wylde—Steven—and somehow he had to talk to the Chief, get him to understand.

“And just where do you think you’re going, young man?” a crisp voice called.

Josh froze, taking an instinctive step back away from the tall man with bleak gray eyes who was cradling a rifle.
“You saw him, didn’t you? Is he hiding close by? He’s a killer and he has to be stopped.”

“Leave him alone!” Josh growled. “Haven’t you done enough?”

 

The man blinked. “Has that creature talked? You can’t believe what he says.”

 

“Steven didn’t hurt Morley Orris, but
you
did. He saw it happen! And he’s been scared ever since.”

“A man has a right to protect his family. Orris was blackmailing my wife over her affair with the unfortunate Ralph Hindle.” Anderson smiled bleakly. “My family isn’t so different from yours. We came here for a fresh start… only Marisa can’t seem to help herself.”

“Did you… kill Ralph Hindle too? Kill him and make it look like wild animals and then make the rest of his family leave our house?” Josh prodded. “Everyone in town thought they’d run away from the ghost.”

“Your ‘Steven’ has Anderson said. “People different and he’s an outsider. Tell me, where is he?”

Josh dropped to the ground instinctively, falling away, heart pounding. Steven had been right behind him, but he was bleeding, hurting—Josh had to lead Anderson away from him. He knew Kell and his Dad would come for him.

Chips of rocks exploded as Anderson fired. “Just tell me where he is and I’ll let you go.”

 

“Yeah, right,” Josh growled under his breath.

 

been most helpful in that regard,” are predictably frightened of anyone
N
OAH
relaxed minutely when Kell reached his side, rejoining him in their search.

“We’re almost at that shelter that Jade and Alec found,” Kell said.
Noah had one focus: find Josh. Kell squeezed his hand for a moment as if understanding.

“I can hear dripping,” Kell continued in a hushed voice. “Just ahead. Watch your footing on that loose shale.”

 

“
Josh!
” Noah called softly.

 

Suddenly, gunfire erupted. It struck the rock wall, sending chips through the air like shrapnel.

“
Down!
” Kell’s big body hammered him against the canyon. The flashlight they’d carried to illuminate the dark corners bounced away, sending crazy splashes of light onto the walls.

“
Kell!
” Noah saw Kell was clutching his thigh, hand wet and glistening.
Blood.

Kell’s face was tight. “Noah, I can’t move fast with this, so it’s down to you.” He took a breath. “S-someone’s coming, so look sharp!”

Noah also caught the sounds of hurried footfalls. “Josh’s out there… and the shooter!”

Kell nodded, grimacing as he tore the bottom of his shirt. When awkwardly he tried to tie it around his leg, Noah took it with an annoyed sound, tying it for him.

“A
NCIENT
Roman coins and mammoths were found in the New

World,” Alec noted, pacing above the canyon wall, waiting. It was hard to do that, but someone had to be here in case Josh showed up. “There are still a lot of mysteries, so a boy like Wylde running away to live in the woods after his grandfather passed away isn’t that strange. The old man died of a heart attack. To a little kid, that must have been very frightening.”

“So somehow we missed him, lost track of him,” Jade agreed, wiping off her hands on her jeans. “Except I knew I was feeding someone with the cookies I put out. I mentioned it to the librarian once at the diner and she said a lot of women in town did the same, left food or clothing out for him. Alec, are you thinking what I am, that we need to step up and take care of him?”

“Yep.” Alec chewed his lip, obviously worrying about what was happening in the canyon below. “He must be just over twenty years of age now, Jade, but he’s innocent, lost. He’ll need someone to protect him.”

“You know, for so long, all I wanted was to get out of this hick town,” Jade mused. She looked at Alec under her brows. “But maybe… since you and that kid need me, I’ll stick.”

“Okay then,” Alec said, smile touching his lips.

 

They both stiffened as they caught the sound of gunfire from the canyon below.
“I
SEE
you decided to cooperate, very good,” Anderson said,

smiling as he cornered Josh against the canyon wall. “Once the boy is dead, everything will go back to normal. The townsfolk could have rescued him years ago, but they looked away. They’ll do it again.”

“
Josh!
”

Josh sagged as he spotted his father coming around a rounded pillar of granite. He felt his own face soften, his stomach roiling vulnerability, dread, relief. “Oh, shit, Dad!”

“I just want the wild kid,” Anderson began, waving his gun. “And then I’ll let your boy free.”

Noah fired. Anderson cried out, dropping his weapon and grabbing his arm. Red, misty blood shadowed the canyon wall behind him. “But you didn’t warn me you were going to shoot!” Anderson grumbled, outraged as he slid down to his ass.

“Why would I do that?” Noah’s face was rock hard. He watched as Josh picked up Anderson’s gun, and then he raised his free arm; despite being twelve and a little too independent lately for Noah’s peace of mind, Josh nestled close, giving his father the hug he really needed.

A moment later, a figure moved from the forest. Noah held his breath, looking into shadowed blue eyes. But then Wylde made up his mind at last, and, clutching his shoulder, walked to where Noah and Josh were waiting for him.

K
ELL
glanced over his shoulder at the ambulance taking Anderson under guard to the nearest E.R. For a moment he relived the white flash of joy he’d experienced when he’d seen the man appear along with Josh and Noah… and Wylde, though he would have to get used to calling him Steven, he guessed. Steven Butler, lost grandson of the first owner of Noah’s house.

Noah had helped Kell navigate his way back up the crack, patient with Kell’s swearing. His leg hurt, damn it! But he was good to go for one final mission to put an end to this.

He hefted the knife he’d taken from Wylde. It wasn’t African in origin like the killer’s blade. He wagered they’d find that in Anderson’s possession. The man had killed Morley for blackmail and most likely left the word “don’t” in his own garage—a warning to his cheating wife. He’d also tried to use the townspeople’s fear to point a finger at innocent Wylde.

“Guess we don’t have to worry about insanely territorial husbands thanks to your boyfriend Wyatt Earp,” Alec teased laconically, shooting an amused glance at Noah, who had an arm around Josh as they stood at the canyon’s edge.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Alec?” Kell prodded, not wanting to say he would have aimed for Anderson’s balls if it had been up to him. He wanted this over with because he was hurting, and he wanted to be patched up and back in Noah’s house eating tofu by this evening. At least the dessert tofu wasn’t so bad. He’d discovered he liked the strawberry flavor.

The ambulance driver had wanted to take him in along with Anderson, but he’d put it off for the moment, wanting to be sure his friend knew what he was getting into. “The social worker should meet you at Jade’s house, and there will be a lot of paperwork, a lot to go through if you want to help Wylde—I mean, Steven.”

“Jade and I would like to try,” Alec said peaceably. “My Grandmother Ruth said it was to be our role, restoring balance. By the way, I just heard from the county deputies in the clearing. Adam is also in custody.”

Kell nodded with satisfaction. He had a feeling that Noah’s ex would be in hot water once Anderson shared what they’d been up to. And that man struck him as someone who would definitely want to make a deal; he was a superlative businessman, after all, even if he was nuts.

“One thing, I think Wylde is gay,” Kell said. “Just a vibe I caught, not that the poor kid probably gets it. Is that a problem?” He had to ask.

Alec said, “Nope.”

“Okay, then.” Kell limped over to Josh and Noah, putting an arm around them both. As a foster kid, he had never had a family, never thought he’d miss it, but now he’d come home, and it looked like Steven had come home at last too.

“How are you holding up?” Noah asked gently, gray eyes moving over Kell’s tight face.

 

Kell pressed a kiss against Noah’s mouth, silently telling him not to worry. “Just want to head home now, you know.” Noah sighed. “Oh yes.”

 

“Start that new life with my new man,” Kell continued, teasing.

 

“I was thinking maybe we might move down into your house.” Kell shrugged. “I don’t care where we live, but I only have one bathroom and no pool, not even a crumbling purple one.” “Um. And probably no copper-plated appliances,” Noah added wistfully. “No peppermill to grind fresh peppercorns….” “Nope. I’m not sure I have anything more than the basics.” “But I
like
your basics.” Noah’s eyes twinkled.
“S
HEESH
,” Josh muttered, rolling his eyes at the romantic

exchange. “Obviously you read those Victorian books I lent you on courting.” He gave Kell an amused look, liking that it was returned by a glint in the Chief’s eye. He kept his possessive arm around Josh’s Dad.

“Wylde—Steven, is going to be okay, Josh. You can stand down on his account, though I’m sure he’ll need a friend.”
“The right people are going to help him, Chief?” Josh asked, a little anxious on that score.

“Absolutely. Your Dad and I will make sure.” Kell’s arm was still around Noah, as if saying he wasn’t going anywhere. “Initially he’ll be staying with Jade and Alec since it’s close to the forest where he grew up. It wasn’t easy to arrange for that but I have some pull and a lot of folks in town are supporting it.”

And Josh relaxed, knowing it would be okay now. “You know, Steven told me the purple pool was his idea,” he shared. “It’s his favorite color.”

K
ELL
nodded to Alec as Alec headed back to his SUV with Jade and Steven. They were going to take Steven to the local E.R. for his shoulder and then take him home to Jade’s house. Those two were really going to be an item now, and Kell was sure he’d hear all about them and their new houseguest from various townspeople over his peach pie at the diner. He looked forward to it.