Juniper’s pulse thudded in her ears. “How do you know that?” she demanded.
A fraction of hesitation. Enough to matter. “Small town,” he replied lightly, but the answer lacked weight.
Ranger barked once, sharp and decisive.
The man’s jaw flexed. “Look, kids, he needs help. My truck’s not far. I’ve got supplies.”
“We already called,” Juniper shot back. “They’re coming.”
For a second, something hard flashed across his face, something that didn’t align with helpful intentions, and then the distant wail of sirens floated faintly through the fog.
The man heard it too.
His composure shifted. He stepped back slightly, reached to his chest, and Juniper caught the crackle of a handheld radio before she could fully process what it meant.
“Found him,” he muttered into it, voice lower now, stripped of the earlier friendliness. “Two kids here. Call’s out.”
Silas’s eyes widened.
