Bear immediately softened his voice.
"You're okay. I'm not going to hurt you."
The little girl tried to speak.
But all that came out was a sob.
Bear crouched slightly so that he would not tower over her.
"What's your name?"
The girl swallowed.
"Lucy."
"That's a beautiful name. I'm Daniel, but my friends call me Bear."
She stared at him.
"Are you a bad man?"
The question struck him harder than he expected.
He gave her a gentle smile.
"No, sweetheart. I'm just a man who heard someone crying and wanted to make sure she was okay."
Lucy looked over her shoulder toward the deeper woods.
Then she whispered:
"Please... you have to help me."
Bear's expression changed.
"What happened?"
Lucy looked down.
"My mommy..."
Her voice broke.
Bear leaned closer.
"Where's your mommy?"
Lucy pointed toward the trail.
"She went that way."
"Is she hurt?"
The little girl nodded.
And Bear immediately understood that this was no ordinary roadside encounter.
Chapter 2: The Little Girl Who Wouldn't Stop Crying
Bear looked toward the narrow trail.
The woods were quiet.
Too quiet.
He turned to Marcus.
"Stay with the bikes. Call emergency services and tell them we may have an injured woman somewhere along this trail."
Marcus immediately took out his phone.
"Got it."
Bear turned back to Lucy.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Lucy rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.
"We were walking. Mommy said we had to get away from the road because the car stopped working."
"Where's your car?"
"Over there."
She pointed toward the opposite side of the road.
Bear glanced in that direction. Through the trees, he could see part of an old blue sedan parked beside a clearing.
"Did your mother tell you to wait here?"
Lucy shook her head.
"She told me to run."
Bear's expression tightened.
"Run from what?"
Lucy looked toward the trees again.
"I don't know."
"Did someone hurt your mother?"
The girl nodded.
"Mommy was shouting. Then she fell down."
Bear felt a wave of concern.
"Did you see who did it?"
Lucy hesitated.
"A man."
"Do you know him?"
She shook her head.
"He was in our house before. Mommy told me not to talk to him."
Bear looked toward Marcus, who was now speaking to the emergency dispatcher.
"Tell them we have a child here and possibly an injured woman," Bear called.
Marcus nodded.
Bear crouched again.
"Lucy, listen to me. You're not in trouble. I'm going to help you find your mom, but I need you to stay close to me. Can you do that?"
Lucy nodded.
Then she reached toward his leather vest.
"Can I hold your hand?"
Bear felt something tighten in his chest.
"Of course, sweetheart."
Her small fingers wrapped around his large hand.
He began walking slowly down the trail.
Behind them, the other Iron Wolves remained near the road.
Bear kept his eyes on the ground and the surrounding trees.
There were fresh footprints in the dirt.
Some were small.
Others were larger and heavier.
He noticed broken branches along the side of the path.
Someone had moved through the woods in a hurry.
"How far did your mommy go?" he asked.
Lucy pointed ahead.
"Not far."
Bear continued.
A few minutes later, Lucy suddenly stopped.
"Wait!"
Bear turned.
"What is it?"
She looked down at the muddy path.
"My ring."
Bear followed her gaze.
Something small and metallic was partially buried in the mud.
He bent down.
It was a silver ring.
He carefully picked it up and wiped away some of the dirt with his gloved thumb.
The ring was old.
Its surface was scratched, and a small engraving ran around the inside.
Bear froze.
His breathing changed.
He turned the ring toward the light.
There, beneath the mud, he could make out two engraved initials.
E.M.
And beside them was a tiny date.
Bear stared at the inscription.
He knew that ring.
He knew it better than he knew almost anything in the world.
It had belonged to Emily.
His daughter.
He had bought it for her when she was seventeen.
It was not expensive. It was a simple silver ring with a tiny blue stone. Emily had once told him she would never take it off.
Bear had not seen it in more than a decade.
His fingers began to tremble.
"Where did you get this?" he whispered.
Lucy looked at him.
"It was Mommy's."
Bear slowly raised his eyes.
"Your mommy's?"
Lucy nodded.
"She wears it every day. She says her daddy gave it to her when she was little."
The forest seemed to disappear around him.
Bear looked at the child again.
Her brown eyes.
Her small nose.
The shape of her face.
Suddenly, he saw something he had spent years trying not to imagine.
He looked down at the ring.
Then back at Lucy.
"What is your mommy's name, sweetheart?"
Lucy answered quietly.
"Emily."
Bear stopped breathing for a moment.
He had spent years searching for his daughter.
Now he was standing in a forest with a little girl who held the same name in her voice that he had once heard from the person he loved most.