“Promise.”

  The guard made a sound of disgust. Selena smiled at him. “Mr. Donovan and I go way back. If he says he won’t try to escape, I believe him.”

  “You believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, too, I s’pose.”

  “Not anymore. Finn may have made mistakes in the past, but he’s right about the possible danger. Smell the gas? I need his help to get you moved, so I’m going to release him. It’s that or take the chance you’ll both go up in flames.” Finn saw a familiar arch of her brow. “You don’t want that, do you?”

  “No.”

  Because the floor of the van was now the ceiling, Selena had to stand on tiptoe to reach the handcuffs and unlock them. Finn froze. He hadn’t imagined for a second that being this close to her again was going to make his gut clench and upset his equilibrium, but it did. Fortunately, three years in prison had strengthened his nerves and hardened his heart, so he never flinched.

  Once he was free, he rubbed his wrists and flexed his shoulder muscles.

  “All right?” Selena asked.

  “Fine. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Any notion he’d had that she trusted him completely was erased when she pointed at him and ordered her K-9, “Scout, guard.” Apparently, his surprise showed because the injured prison guard managed a wry chuckle.

  “Support his shoulder as best you can to protect the break in his arm and bring my first aid gear. It’s in that pack. I’ll support the other side. If he can stand, start for the doors and be careful to not jostle him. I don’t want to make his arm bleed worse.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” To Finn’s disgust, he’d sounded sarcastic, and the expression on Selena’s face showed him she’d picked up the clue. Well, too bad. He’d done the right thing in regard to her once, and he wasn’t about to undo all that good by being too nice to her now. After all, she could have argued against the breakup when he’d suggested it. As it had turned out, time had proven him right. If they had still been a couple when he was arrested for the murder of his birth father it could have ruined her career. Rumor ruled in a small town like Sagebrush. People were quick to believe the worst, especially about a former bad boy, and no amount of denial was going to prove him innocent in the eyes of most of the citizens.

  It mattered to Finn, though. A lot. He’d been the son of an unwed mother who had eventually married a good man and had a legitimate child, his brother, Sean. The fact that James Donovan had adopted Finn and given him his last name didn’t change history. In Sagebrush, he’d always be the wild son, the one least likely to turn out well.

  For a time, he’d hoped Selena would stand up for him, but she was away at the police academy when the crime he was blamed for occurred and had wisely stayed out of the case. He couldn’t blame her. She had an image to preserve, a career to pursue. She’d wanted to uphold the law for as long as he’d known her, but the death of her sister, Angela, from an overdose had apparently clinched her decision. She’d needed to make amends in some way, and being a cop was providing that.

  Finn fisted Selena’s heavy go-bag, slipped his other arm around the guard’s waist and supported his torso while Selena ducked beneath the uninjured arm. Clearly, she trusted him, because she’d left their weapons holstered where he could have easily grabbed either of them if he’d wanted to. That was a good sign. A very good sign.

  The guard struggled to walk. They managed to get him out of the van and were just rounding the mangled rear door when Finn stepped in a depression in the ground and nearly fell. He momentarily loosened his grip on the guard to catch himself.

  A loud bang echoed in the ravine. The guard never made another sound. He simply dropped like a rock. Finn tried to catch him and realized immediately that the man had been shot.

  Selena crouched behind the crumpled door, drew her gun and fired up the slope at a shadowy figure on the road. Her target spun around with a sharp cry and disappeared from view.

  Checking the guard, Finn realized his wound was fatal. He shook his head in answer to Selena’s silent query. “Sorry. He’s gone.”

  She gestured at the road above. “Who was that?”

  Finn bristled. “How should I know?”

  “Is somebody trying to break you out?”

  “Me? You’re blaming me for this mess?”

  “Who else?”

  Only the possibility of being shot stopped him from standing and waving his hands overhead in protest. Reality about their situation was starting to creep into his consciousness, and he was seeing plenty of other possibilities. If he had not tripped when he did, that bullet could easily have hit him.

  “What if they were trying to kill me instead of free me? Huh? Have you thought of that?”

  “Who would want to?”

  “How should I know? Maybe I made enemies in prison because I was too honest. All I do know is I’m not responsible for this fiasco. Call for backup and let’s get out of here before that shooter comes back with friends.”

  “How do you know he’s not doing this on his own?”

  Finn wanted to shout in protest. Instead, he calmed himself and looked directly into Selena’s hazel eyes, willing her to see his sincerity and actually trust him.

  “One thing is certain. You and I are the only survivors, and we’re sitting ducks down here. Cuff me again if it will make you feel better, then let’s get out of here.”

  “Scout, guard,” she ordered her K-9 again as she fisted her radio, got no reply and switched to her cell phone.

  “No signal?” Finn asked. His answer was her scowl.

  “We’re not going anywhere,” Selena said flatly. Another scan of the road, then, “The shooter is gone and I reported the accident before I left my unit. Now that the storm is passing, they’ll send ground units and probably a chopper. We need to sit tight.”

  Finn’s gaze followed hers when she looked toward the highway. Colored lights from the patrol car reflected off the wet ground and cliff, silhouetting two figures appearing at road level. He pointed. Shouted, “Get down!”

  The singing whine of a rifle bullet echoed. One of the figures started down the incline toward them.

  Finn grabbed Selena and threw himself behind the chassis of the wrecked van. The K-9 lunged for his arm.

  Selena yelled a command unintelligible to Finn and the dog backed off.

  She fired twice at the approaching figure, then turned to Finn. “Okay. You win. Let’s go.”

  Finally. His answer came from the bottom of his heart. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Two

  Running and lunging and sliding across the side of the canyon at a slant put them at a disadvantage and slowed their pace. Selena led the way, trusting Finn to follow and Scout to urge him from the rear. Belgian Malinois came from herding roots, which suited this situation perfectly. The shepherd-like breed was ideal for protection and agile enough to follow and overtake any fleeing target. As long as Scout was working with her, she had no fears that Finn would escape.

  Will he try to get away? Selena asked herself. What would she do in his position? She’d stay honest and trust the justice system to release her, assuming new evidence was enough to authorize a retrial. But would Finn?

  Glancing back, she found him right on her heels. She’d lost her hat back at the van, and the storm had freed some tendrils from the band at her nape, so she had to brush back blowing wisps of damp hair. Finn didn’t even have a jacket. “You all right?”

  “I’ll be better once we ditch this guy and take cover,” Finn answered, shivering.

  She peered past his shoulder. “I don’t see him.”

  “He’s still back there.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Selena didn’t doubt him. Studying the terrain, she noticed a shelf of rock protruding from the side of the canyon in a relatively horizontal line. Patches of snow that had been sheltered from the rain lay beneath them and tiny wildflowers were beginning to emerge at the edges.

  Making a snap decision, she slowed enough to speak more quietly to Finn and pointed slightly down the incline. “Move ahead of me so he can’t see your orange jumpsuit and bear left. Follow the shelf.”

  “A cave?”

  “Maybe,” she answered. “God willing.”

  “From your lips to Jesus,” Finn whispered.

  Hearing him say that buoyed her a little. She knew she believed in God and held out hope that he still did, too. Ever since his commitment to Christ as a younger man, she’d felt closer to him, more in tune somehow, despite everything that had happened and the unending rumors that he was guilty. The Finn Donovan she’d known and loved—yes, loved—could never have purposely taken another life. Never.

  Conflicted between hard knowledge of his conviction and the image her heart nurtured of the man he’d once been, she was uncertain. One element took precedence, however. He must be returned to custody if he had any hope of eventually being exonerated. They must get through this. Together.

  Hopefully, Finn had come to the same conclusion, because given their present situation, if anything happened to her and there were no witnesses, he’d surely be blamed.

  Selena saw him pause, bend at the waist, then disappear. She drew her gun, finger off the trigger so she wouldn’t accidentally fire. Scout passed in a blur, close on Finn’s trail, and she followed.

  They’d done it! Praise the Lord, they’d found shelter just as she’d anticipated.

  The cave opening was small but passable. Ducking, she felt her jacket scrape against the muddy overhang. They were through!

  Finn was standing there, grinning, shivering and rubbing his hands together to warm them, while Scout eyed him suspiciously and panted.

  “How far back does it go? Can you tell?” she asked.

  He held up the pack she’d told him to bring. “No. Is there a flashlight in here?”

  “Yes. Top outside pocket.”

  In seconds, he’d found the light and was sweeping it in an arc. Only one side of the small room went beyond the anteroom. Before she could order him to move that direction, Finn was crouching to pass through.

  “Not too far. And kill that light,” Selena ordered. “The shooter won’t be able to see you when it’s switched off.”

  Leashed, Scout led her straight to Finn and stopped at his feet. Enough ambient light still filtered through from the outside entrance to allow them to see each other’s shadowy forms.

  “Okay, stay quiet and let’s see what he does,” she said, pointing her weapon at the small entrance. Now that they were farther inside, she could see the shelf of rock that supported the exterior opening. Minutes elapsed before a shadow fell across it.

  Selena aimed, waiting, hoping their pursuer would withdraw. She could feel Finn’s presence close beside her, sense Scout’s tension on the leash and hear a low growl, so she gave a tug and whispered, “No. Shush.”

  Nothing happened until the shadow shifted slightly. It looked as though a person was bending down. For a moment, she thought he might be the man she’d wounded with her first shot and would therefore give up because of the pain. Then he reached out and touched the ground.

  Footprints! The mud had captured their trail as surely as the best tracking K-9 on her team.

  She took a step back, then another. Finn gave ground. She handed the end of Scout’s leash to him and held her duty weapon with both hands. If she was forced to shoot, she would not miss.

  The shadow moved again, then was gone.

  Selena realized she’d been holding her breath. Straining to listen, she hoped and prayed their assailant was quitting. Behind her, she heard Finn exhale, too.

  Almost ready to relax, she heard angry voices, then the unmistakable cocking of a rifle. A shot followed moments later.

  Selena flinched. Ducked. Expected to hear or feel the passage of a wild shot.

  Instead, shards of rock blew apart and scattered. The shooter hadn’t aimed into the cave, he’d shot the shelf at the opening.

  Larger rocks fell. Mud and shale cascaded after them. The only exit was collapsing. They were trapped!

  * * *

  Survival instinct made Finn reach out for Selena, embrace her and hunch over to shield her with his body as bits of the cave ceiling rained down on them. Moments later, he realized how his actions might have been mistaken for an assault. Seconds after that, his fears were calmed.

  She straightened slightly to holster her weapon. “Thanks.”

  Although he did release her then because it was logical, his heart was arguing against it. Deep inside, he wanted to keep holding on to her, keep protecting her from everything despite the ridiculousness of that urge. Selena was the one with the gun. She could take care of both of them, and her K-9, all by herself. Nevertheless, Finn had to force himself to relax and back off.

  The opening looked totally blocked. No outside light was getting through. He felt the ground around his feet, located the flashlight he’d dropped and turned it, playing the beam across the former entrance. “Uh-oh.”

  Selena took the light from him, advancing on the landslide. Finn stayed close. He’d dropped Scout’s leash when he’d sheltered Selena, but it no longer mattered since there was no perp for the dog to track or attack. Well, except for him, and it was beginning to look as if they were going to have to either work together to escape or die. No way would he let the latter happen.

  “It’s pretty massive,” Selena said. “And unstable.”

  “You’re right. I can still hear stuff sliding out there. No telling how thick that barrier is or whether we’d be able to dig ourselves out.”

  “Plus, there’s that guy on the other side.” She flicked off the light. “If we did manage to open a crawl space he’d probably be waiting to pick us off.”

  Finn blinked to help his vision adjust to the absolute blackness. “Not good.”

  He heard her chuckle wryly. “You always did understate things.”

  “And you always exaggerated,” he countered.

  “Not this time.”

  “Got that right.” Finn wanted to come up with a clever plan to save them. As he saw it, there was only one choice. They’d have to explore the cave in the hope there would be another exit that was passable for adult-size humans. Even if Scout could wriggle out, the chances of the K-9 finding help were slim. He was not the Lassie of the movies, and they were not starring in a happily-ever-after film. This scenario was life or death for real. Worse, he was suddenly feeling dizzy.

  Finn touched the back of his head. It felt sticky. A few staggered steps took him to a rock wall, and he leaned against it, trying to recover before Selena noticed he was not himself.

  An explosion of brightness blinded him and he shielded his eyes until they adjusted to the beam from her flashlight.

  The light circled. Selena’s voice echoed. “You’re bleeding.”

  “I might be.”

  She gently touched his forearm “Move your hand and let me look.”

  “I’m fine. Just a stray rock or a little cut from rolling around in the van.” A wave of nausea hit him. He fought it off. The last thing they needed was for one of them, namely him, to experience a physical problem. They must have all their wits and full capabilities if they hoped to come out of this alive.

  Finn felt her grasp his arm and start to tug. When he opened his eyes, he saw the beam of light directed down a dark passageway.

  “Come on. We need to get farther away from these unstable rocks,” Selena said. “Can you walk?”

  “Of course I...” Teetering, he braced his other hand on the rough wall. Not good. He knew enough about injuries to suspect he was going into shock, either from the van wreck or the more recent hit. Or both. If only he could stop shivering.

  Bending, Selena rummaged in the rescue pack and pulled out a folded cover. “This isn’t warm and cozy the way a real blanket would be, but the reflective surface will preserve your body heat and have the same result.”

  As she unfolded it and placed it around his shoulders, Finn felt oddly comforted. The sense of warmth came as much from her kind gesture as it did from any positive effects of the silvery wrap. His jumpsuit was wet and muddy, his head was bleeding and spinning, yet for a moment, he was able to look past all that. Selena was only doing her job, Finn told himself, yet his heart kept insisting she cared.

  Of course she did, he argued, she was sworn to protect and serve, even if the victim in this case was a supposed killer.

  Flashlight pointing ahead, she shouldered the pack, then slipped an arm around his waist over the thin blanket. “We need to move farther away from this unstable ground,” she said, urging him to walk. “Come on. You can do this.”

  I can do anything as long as you’re here, Finn thought, wisely keeping that affirmation to himself.

  Stumbling and caroming off the side walls, he caught himself with outstretched arms and let her step ahead to lead the way. It was impossible to tell how far they had gone or remember how many side tunnels they’d passed, and in the back of his mind, he wondered how Selena hoped to get them out, assuming that was part of her plan.

  Then, he thought of her K-9 partner. Of course. Humans might be lost, but Scout could backtrack if necessary. He might even be able to find another exit. For the first time since the cave-in, Finn began to have hope. That helped him keep going.

  Nevertheless, he was relieved when Selena led the way into a larger underground room and stopped, playing the beam of light over walls that seemed substantial and gave them plenty of headroom.

  She said, “Sit. Rest,” and Finn was more than glad to follow her orders.

  Pulling the wrap closer, he folded his arms, sank to the damp floor and leaned against an outcropping. It wasn’t a bed or even a suitable chair, but it felt a lot better than stumbling around had.