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J ess stumbled forward when the masked man pressed the muzzle of his gun into her back. A second man had come from the opposite direction, leaving her nowhere to run or hide. The newcomer, who was shorter than the man behind her, was also armed and wore a black ski mask. The first gunman had tied her wrists together with rope, but he hadn’t searched her pockets for a weapon.

She was ashamed to admit she’d forgotten about the gun Doug had provided. Stupid move on her part. Now that she was dealing with two gunmen, she thought it was best to wait until she had a better opportunity to use it.

The one bright spot in this mess was that she’d given Teddy the command to get help. Her K9 had managed to slip away, his black coat hiding him in the darkness.

“You better hope that dog of yours doesn’t come back,” the guy behind her said in a harsh voice. “Because next time, I won’t hesitate to shoot him.”

She didn’t answer. As much as she hoped Teddy had found Logan or Doug or someone else from the law enforcement team, she knew without a doubt Teddy would return. Hopefully with enough help that her beautiful and smart K9 wouldn’t be hurt.

“We need to get out of here,” the newcomer said. His voice was low and nasal. “The others won’t be far behind.”

“We’ll need to get rid of them, one by one,” the guy behind her said. “Moving is out of the question. We have too much product here to leave behind.”

“The product can be replaced,” the nasal guy said. “The best approach is to kill her, leave her behind, and bug out.”

A strange calmness washed over Jess. If these were her last minutes on earth, then she may as well make the most of them.

By taking these guys down with her. At the very least, she could prevent more drugs from being made and sold to innocent people out on the street.

“Do you have any idea how long it will take to replace that product?” the guy behind her demanded. “We’re already behind thanks to these idiots.”

On the word idiot , the guy behind her jabbed his gun into her back.

“I told you; we didn’t return because we were suspicious of you. We only came back to get a piece of the plane.” She shot the guy a frustrated glance over her shoulder. “You’re the idiot for thinking it was more than that.”

Another sharp jab to her back made her stumble. Somehow, she managed to stay upright.

She understood their arguing worked in her favor. They were moving deeper into the cave, though. And she didn’t much like how the walls were closing in. The air seemed stale, and she could feel her chest tighten with fear.

When they rounded the next corner, though, she saw brighter lights illuminating from a room up ahead. Her heart sank. More bad guys?

How many could she take down before she died?

She strained to listen but couldn’t hear anything helpful. She instinctively slowed her steps, which was a mistake. The guy behind her jabbed her with his weapon again.

“Move,” he barked.

She straightened her shoulders, twisting her wrists in hopes of loosening the bindings. Reaching her weapon in her right-hand jacket pocket wouldn’t be easy considering the guy she believed to be Craig Benton had tied her hands together at her back.

Yet the bulky gloves had provided some cushion. She twisted her wrists again. The cuff of her gloves moved enough that the rope was now lying against her bare skin.

Providing just enough room to wiggle free.

“What’s in those boxes anyway?” She voiced the question to hide her efforts to release her wrists. “If you’re going to kill me, you may as well tell me what you’re up to.”

“I’m not telling you squat,” Benton said. “Shut up.”

“She saw the boxes?” the nasal voice asked. “Why did you bring her in here?”

Good, more infighting , she thought as she worked against the binds around her wrists. She was almost there. Just a little more...

“Shut up already.” Benton sounded like a man teetering on the edge. “Or I’ll just shoot her now and take you down with her.”

“I’m the brains of this outfit,” nasal voice shot back. “You wouldn’t even be here if not for me!”

Her right hand slipped free. Keeping both arms tucked behind her back, she quickly balled the rope into her left palm so it wouldn’t fall to the ground, giving her away.

The light up ahead grew brighter. She still didn’t hear any voices, so maybe there weren’t additional bad guys up ahead. What if Benton noticed her hands weren’t tied once they stepped into the light?

It might be better to take these two down right here and now. She swallowed hard, not liking the thought of taking a life.

Yet she didn’t see another option.

Without giving herself time to reconsider, she goaded Benton. “I’m not surprised he’s the brains. You’ve already proven to be dumber than a box of rocks.”

He jabbed her in the back again, the way she’d known he would. She stumbled forward, but this time, she purposefully fell to the ground.

Jess rolled to her left, using her right hand to dig into her pocket for the gun. Benton fired first, but his aim went high, the bullet striking the wall a few inches over her head.

Pulling her gun free, she aimed for Benton’s center mass and fired. He dropped like a rock, but she didn’t wait for his body to hit the ground. She turned to fire at the nasal guy, but he was gone.

It took a second for her to react. Jumping to her feet, she was about to head after him when she heard what sounded like a dog panting.

Whirling, she saw Teddy racing toward her. She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her K9, burying her face in his fur.

“Jess, are you okay?” Logan’s voice betrayed his concern. “Are you hit?”

“No, I’m fine.” Only by God’s grace, Benton’s shot had missed. She staggered upright. “We need to hurry. The other guy is getting away.”

Logan searched her gaze for a moment, stepped forward, and drew her in for a hug. “I was so worried,” he whispered.

She couldn’t help hugging him back. Considering she’d about given up any hope of surviving this, she was thrilled to be held in his arms. “Thanks for coming.” She forced herself to pull away. “I’m glad you’re here, but we need to find that other guy before he gets away.”

Logan grimaced and nodded. “Okay. But first...” He turned and reached down to check the fallen man’s neck for a pulse. He glanced up at her, shook his head, and then reached over to yank the ski mask up to see his face.

She’d killed a man. Nausea churned in her stomach, and it was all she could do not to throw up.

“This is Benton, all right,” Logan said. “Or whoever he really is.”

She turned away, putting a hand to her roiling stomach. After a pause, she was able to speak. “I figured as much. Unfortunately, the other guy with a nasal voice was wearing a ski mask, so I have no idea who he is.”

Teddy sniffed the dead man, growled for a moment, then backed away, cocking his head to the side as if confused. Teddy wasn’t a cadaver K9 like Alexis’s dog, Denali, but he seemed to realize Benton was no longer a threat.

“Heel, Teddy.” Her dog immediately came over to stand beside her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her weapon up, holding it with both hands, then moved forward, hugging the wall of the tunnel.

Logan mirrored her movements on the opposite side. When they reached the opening, she was surprised Logan abruptly jumped forward, sweeping his weapon across the room.

Somewhat annoyed, she quickly stepped up beside him. There was no need to be concerned, though. The room was empty.

There was another tunnel leading away from their location. She knew the nasal-voiced man must have taken it. She stared at the dark opening for a long moment.

The guy was probably long gone. Hiding somewhere deep in the labyrinth of the former mine. They could keep chasing him, but he had the advantage of knowing the place better than they did.

She wasn’t sure where to go from here.

As if reading her mind, Logan said, “I think we should wait for Doug and the others.” He tapped his earpiece, then shook his head. “No radio access down here.”

That explained why she hadn’t heard anything via the radio since being led away by Benton at gunpoint. She turned to scan the room. It appeared to be set up as a staging area, with several card tables and small kitchen scales, cementing her theory the boxes held components to make synthetic drugs.

As if to prove her point, Teddy sniffed at the closest open box. He sat, let out a sharp bark, and stared up at her.

“You found peppers,” she exclaimed. “Good boy.” She tossed him the stuffed moose. In her mind, the dog deserved a reward for escaping the bad guys and bringing Logan to the rescue more so than alerting on the drugs. But that was okay. Teddy caught the moose and shook his head from side to side as if playing some imaginary game of tug-of-war.

“Where do you think they’re doing the actual manufacturing?” Logan asked.

She waved a hand toward the tunnel. “Guess we’ll have to go in farther to find the answer to that.”

“Let’s turn around and head back,” Logan suggested. “Once we’re outside, we can come up with a new plan with Doug and the others.”

She didn’t like knowing the nasal guy had escaped, at least temporarily. But regrouping with the others was a good idea. “Okay. I’m not a fan of tight spaces anyway.”

He shot her a surprised look. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her again. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Me too.” She leaned against him, grateful for the moment.

“Jess, when this is over...” Logan’s voice trailed off. There was a pause before he said, “I’d like to talk.”

About what? She hoped she wasn’t reading into his comment as she nodded, then pushed away. “I’d like that. Very much.” She cleared her throat and turned toward her K9. “Here, Teddy.” She waited for her K9 to bring his stuffed moose back. “Hand.”

Teddy regurgitated the moose so that it dropped into her palm. She tucked it away, then stroked her palm over the animal. “You’re a very good boy.”

Teddy wagged his tail with enthusiasm.

“He found me in the tunnel and made it clear I was to follow him back to rescue you,” Logan said as they headed back down the tunnel. Logan used his flashlight to illuminate the way. They had to step around Benton’s dead body to continue. “I find it amazing how he can make himself understood without saying a word.”

“It’s his eyes,” she agreed, suddenly feeling weary. The adrenaline that had zipped through her bloodstream while she’d been tied up and fighting for her life had faded fast. “They bore into yours as if he’s determined that you’ll read his mind.”

“Yes. How does he do that?” Logan shook his head. “It’s amazing and a little creepy at the same time.”

“Teddy is not creepy,” she protested. “He’s the best dog ever.”

“Yes, he is.” A smile tugged at the corner of Logan’s mouth. “But that stare of his is still unsettling.”

Hard to argue that. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Logan playing his flashlight off the walls ahead. She felt certain they were on the right track, but as the minutes ticked by without any sign of the cave opening, a wave of apprehension washed over her.

“Wait.” She grabbed the back of Logan’s jacket. “I’m not sure we’re going the right way. Each of these tunnels looks the same to me. And since I didn’t have a flashlight, I didn’t notice any of these markings.” She waved a hand toward some of the marks and holes in the tunnel walls.

Logan played his light over the cave floor, but the damp, packed earth didn’t reveal any clues. He met her gaze. “Will Teddy lead us out?”

“It’s worth a shot.” She knelt beside her dog, trying to come up with a way to get him to head outside. “Do you need to get busy? Huh, boy? Get busy.”

Teddy stared at her for a moment, then turned to head back the way they’d come. Sensing Logan’s concern with Teddy’s taking them backward, she shrugged.

At this point, she trusted Teddy’s instincts far more than her own.

Logan knew there were worse things than being lost in an old gold or silver mine, but he was hard-pressed to come up with one at the moment. Maybe because there was still at least one gunman at large.

With the distinct possibility of many more. After seeing the staging area, he was convinced the actual drug manufacturing was being done by others close by.

Yet it was odd that they didn’t hear anything, not the murmur of distant voices. Not even the rest of the law enforcement team. He didn’t like spending time down here anymore than Jess did.

And really, he’d expected Doug to be there by now. The plan was to tell the others to find another entrance into the mine and then to come after them. Had something bad happened? He decided not to mention that possibility to Jess. She had enough on her mind. Not least of all being forced to shoot Benton.

Their main concern had to be getting out of this cave alive. From there, they could discuss their next steps. As far as he was concerned, they’d found Benton and the drug stash, so there was no reason to keep Jess and Teddy on the search team.

He’d ask Shane and Doug to send them back to Cody as soon as possible. Granted, that would mean hiking back through the forest, but that had to be safer than sticking around the mine.

When Teddy turned at the next corridor, he frowned. Had they really taken a wrong turn at this Y in the tunnel? As much as the K9’s scent tracking impressed him, he wasn’t totally convinced the dog would be able to find their way out.

Playing his light down the right side of the tunnel, he could just make out the lump of Benton’s body. Seeing the dead guy brought a sense of relief.

They had taken a wrong turn.

“Get busy, Teddy,” Jess said encouragingly.

The dog trotted down the other branch of the tunnel. Presumably the correct one that would lead to the outdoors.

Once they reached the room with the boxes, Logan was glad to realize they were on the right track. They crossed through the open space, entering the tunnel on the opposite side. The boxes were evidence, but there was no point in trying to haul them out now.

That was a job for the law enforcement officials.

After walking for a full ten minutes, Teddy lifted his nose to the air. Then his tail began to wag.

Logan cupped his hands around his mouth. “Doug? Doug, are you there? Can you hear me?”

“Logan? Jess?” Doug’s voice reverberated off the walls. “Everything okay?”

That wasn’t exactly an easy question to answer considering the dead guy lying in the tunnel behind them. He glanced at Jess, who sighed.

“We’re not hurt,” she answered. “One bad guy is down. The other unfortunately got away.”

“Down, how?” Doug asked.

“I—shot him.” There was a slight hitch to her voice. “He fired first but missed.”

“Good job,” Doug said. Yet Logan could tell the accolade didn’t make Jess feel any better. She’d need time to come to grips with what had transpired in the tunnel.

Taking a life was never easy. Even when done in self-defense.

Teddy darted ahead, disappearing around a curve. Alarmed, Logan quickened his pace, only to relax when Teddy returned, his tail wagging again.

A few minutes later, Doug appeared. He hadn’t used a flashlight, no doubt unsure of what he was walking into, but Teddy’s trusty nose had recognized him.

“It’s good to see you.” Doug bent to pet Teddy, then enveloped Jess in a one-armed hug. He gave Logan a solemn nod of thanks. “Appreciate your help on this Logan. Care to show me the dead guy?”

“Sure, but where are the others?” Logan peered behind him. “I thought Shane was bringing Bryce to help search?”

“He and Bryce happened to find the other entrance to the mine,” Doug explained. “So I told him to stay put until he heard from me. Granted, that was before I realized the radios didn’t work down here.” He shook his head. “I’m still getting used to operating in the middle of nowhere.”

“I get that. Good thing it all worked out.” He was just glad Shane and Bryce were okay. Doug too.

Their plan had worked. Granted, it had taken a bad turn when Jess had been forced into the mine by gunpoint, but at least they’d all survived. Logan glanced at Jess who didn’t appear thrilled at the idea of returning to the scene of the crime.

But she managed a wan smile. “Yes, I’ll take you back to where I shot Benton. I don’t think we have to worry about the nasal-voice guy.”

Doug’s gaze sharpened at the reference. “You didn’t recognize him?”

“He wore a ski mask, like Benton. His voice was lower, raspier and nasal comparatively speaking.” She shrugged as they turned to head back the way they’d come. “I’m sure I’ll recognize it again when I hear it.”

Teddy looked confused for a moment, then fell in beside her. “I’m sure you will,” Logan said. He glanced at the dog. “And Teddy might be able to identify him too.”

She nodded. “Before the shooting, Benton and Nasal Voice were arguing about their next steps. Nasal Voice wanted to leave everything behind to get out of here. Benton was not willing to leave the product behind. He mentioned they were already behind schedule.” She pointed to Logan, then to herself. “Presumably because they took time out to come and look for us.”

“I don’t like knowing one of them is on the loose,” Doug said grimly.

“I know.” Jess’s voice was subdued. “I feel bad I let him go.”

“You were great,” Logan said, defensively. “They almost killed you.”

“I’m not upset with you or Jessica,” Doug said quickly. “You both did amazing work here today. You’re not law enforcement like I am. It’ll be my job with help from the game wardens and other officers to track him down.”

They walked in silence for several minutes until they reached what he’d dubbed the storage room.

“These are all various components to make synthetic drugs,” Jess said. “Based on what I saw in the next room, I’m convinced they’re making fentanyl.”

Doug let out a low whistle. “There’s enough stuff here to make a million dollars’ profit, easy. Maybe more.”

Ella’s face flashed in Logan’s mind. He still didn’t quite understand why she’d decided to try drugs. Was it something she’d done before without his knowledge? Or had it been her first and last time?

He doubted they’d ever learn the truth about that night.

“Benton is lying outside the next room,” Jess said, breaking into his troubled thoughts.

They continued through the tunnel. They all ducked at the spot where the roof lowered. Even Jess.

“There, that’s him.” Logan played the beam of his flashlight over Benton’s body. “I only touched him to feel for a pulse, then to remove his mask.” He shrugged. “I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I wanted to know who he was.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about that.” Doug quickly covered the distance to reach the dead man. He knelt beside the body, looking at him from all angles. Then he stood and snapped several pictures with his phone.

Lastly, he patted the guy’s pockets. The gun he’d used to shoot Jess was lying on the ground not far from his outstretched hand. It took Logan a minute to realize Doug was searching for the guy’s ID.

Using his gloved hands, Doug pulled a wallet out of Benton’s back pocket. He flipped it open. “Karl with a K Matthews. Does that name ring a bell?”

Logan shook his head and glanced at Jess. “Not for me.”

“Me either,” Jess agreed. “Never heard of him.”

Doug grimaced and tucked the wallet into his coat pocket. “Could be another fake ID, but we’ll run it through the database anyway.” He stood. “Okay, let’s get out of here.”

“Good.” Logan didn’t bother to hide his relief. “I’d have never made it as a miner back in the day.”

“Me either,” Jess agreed.

Doug stood, and together they retraced their steps. Now that they’d taken this route several times, Logan could see where they’d veered off on the wrong path. They turned to take the smaller of the two tunnels, the one where they had to duck to get through to the storage room.

From there, it was another fifteen minutes before he caught the hint of sunlight at the end of the tunnel. Logan had to smile when Jess and Teddy quickened their pace, eager to get out into the fresh air.

He was right behind them.

The minute they emerged from the trees that had partially hidden the cave entrance, Teddy lifted his leg to pee. Logan couldn’t help but laugh, knowing the dog had really found the way out just to relieve himself.

“Good boy,” Jess praised.

Doug joined them, lifting his hand to his radio. “This is Bridges. I’m with Logan, Jessica, and Teddy. All are safe, do you read me?”

In his ear, Logan heard the various “Roger that” responses.

“One perp is down; there is at least one other at large,” Doug said. “Be on the lookout for at least one gunman.”

“We’ve been manning the alternate exit,” Shane said. “Nobody has come out this way.”

Logan frowned, glancing at Jess. She looked puzzled by that too.

“Are you sure?” Doug asked.

“Absolutely,” Shane said without hesitation. “Bryce and I have been on guard here with Agent Griff Flannery and his colleague. The two game wardens are still out on horseback manning the countryside as are the local cops.”

“Okay, thanks.” Doug ended the radio transmission.

Before he could say anything more, a voice called, “Bridges? I think I found your guy.”

A man emerged from the woods on foot. Logan recognized him as Kevin Tinley, the younger of the two game wardens. Deep in his throat, Teddy began to growl.

Jess grabbed Logan’s arm, squeezing it tight enough to be painful. And that’s when he knew Kevin Tinley was Nasal Voice.

One of their own had been involved in this drug business the entire time.