Ethan stayed where he was. He didn’t want to crowd her.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
She wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Maya.”
“Maya. I’m Ethan. That’s Brody. We’re going to get you out of here, okay? But I need to know how you got in.”
She didn’t answer.
“Maya?”
She looked at him then. Her eyes were red, but they were not confused. They were the eyes of someone who had been carrying something heavy for a long time.
“He’s going to hurt the other wolves,” she whispered.
Ethan felt a cold knot form in his stomach. “Who?”
She pressed her lips together. Her fingers curled into fists. Then she said, “Harlan.”
The name landed like a stone in still water.
Harlan Reeves was the director of the sanctuary. He had been there for fifteen years. He had built the place from nothing. He gave speeches at fundraisers. He kissed babies. He was the last person anyone would suspect.
Brody lowered the radio. “Maya, that’s a serious thing to say.”
Maya nodded. She didn’t take it back.
“I saw him,” she said. “Two nights ago. He and a man with a truck. They put something in the wolf’s water. Then they took her.”
Ethan and Brody exchanged a look.
“Took who?” Ethan asked.
“The mother wolf. Luna. She was sick. They put her in a crate. She was crying.”
Maya’s voice cracked. She stopped. She took a breath. Then she kept going, because she was seven, and she had already learned that if you stopped, you might never start again.
“I followed them. I saw the truck. It had a picture of a howling wolf on the side. Harlan said it was a transfer. But it wasn’t. It was a sale. My mom found out. She was going to tell the police.”
“Where’s your mom now?” Ethan asked.
Maya’s face crumpled. “He said she died. But she didn’t. I heard her. She’s hiding.”
Brody knelt down. “Hiding where, sweetheart?”
Maya looked at him. “In the old bear den. Behind the waterfall. She comes out at night to watch me.”
Ethan stood up. His heart was pounding. “Brody, we need to check that.”
Brody nodded. “I’ll call it in. You stay with her.”
But Maya grabbed Ethan’s sleeve. Her grip was surprisingly strong. “No. Don’t leave me with him. He’ll come.”
She meant Harlan.
Ethan looked at Brody. Brody’s jaw tightened. “We’ll take her to the office. Carla can lock the door. Then we go.”
The office was small and smelled like coffee and disinfectant. Carla, the receptionist, was a round woman with kind eyes and a no-nonsense way about her. She took one look at Maya and wrapped her in a blanket.
