PART 2: The Knock on My Door Was No Accident—Someone Had Sent the Children to Me
Ethan’s pulse quickened as he stared at the footprints.
Two belonged to Emma and Caleb.
The third belonged to an adult.
Large boots.
Deep impressions.
Whoever it was had been standing behind the trees, watching Ethan’s cabin through the night.
Ranger let out a low growl.
Then he took off running.
“Ethan!”
The retired soldier followed, pushing through waist-high snow until he heard voices.
“Emma!”
The little girl turned around instantly.
Caleb was sitting on a fallen log, exhausted and crying.
But they weren’t alone.
About thirty yards away stood a man wearing a dark winter coat.
The moment he saw Ethan, he bolted into the woods.
“Stay with the kids!” Ethan shouted before chasing him.
Years in the Army had taught him how to track people through rough terrain, but the snowstorm erased the man’s trail within minutes.
The stranger disappeared.
When Ethan returned, Emma was trembling.
“I told him not to come.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked at the ground.
“He wasn’t trying to catch us.”
“He was making sure we reached you.”
Ethan frowned.
“You know him?”
She slowly nodded.
“He worked with my dad.”
The words stopped Ethan cold.
“I thought your parents were gone.”
“They are.”
“My mom and dad died three days ago.”
For a moment, Ethan couldn’t speak.
Emma took a folded envelope from inside her oversized coat.
“It was the last thing Daddy gave me.”
“He said…”
“…if anything happened, I had to find Ethan Walker.”
She handed him the envelope.
Across the front, written in familiar handwriting, were two words.
For Ethan.
His hands shook.
He recognized the writing immediately.
Captain Daniel Brooks.
The man who had saved Ethan’s life twice during their deployment in Afghanistan.
The same man Ethan hadn’t spoken to in nearly ten years.
He opened the letter.
If you’re reading this, I’m already gone.
I couldn’t tell you the truth while I was alive because I didn’t know who I could trust.
Someone has been threatening my family for months. If anything happens to us, protect Emma and Caleb. Don’t trust the local police until you know who they’re working for.
I know you’ll keep them safe.
Ethan lowered the letter.
His heart pounded.
“Dad said they weren’t accidents,” Emma whispered.
“He said someone wanted him dead.”
Just then, Ethan’s phone rang.
It was Sheriff Collins.
“Ethan, we’ve been looking everywhere for those children.”
Relieved, Ethan started to answer.
Then he remembered the letter.
Don’t trust the local police.
He looked at Emma.
She slowly shook her head.
“He works for them.”
At that exact moment, Ranger began barking furiously toward the road.
Three black SUVs were climbing the snowy hill.
None of them had police markings.
Ethan folded the letter, picked up Caleb, took Emma’s hand, and disappeared into the forest just as the first vehicle pulled into his driveway.
For the first time, he realized he wasn’t simply protecting two lost children.
He was protecting the only witnesses to whatever had gotten his best friend killed.
