Chapter 28
R aven Price’s feet hit the dirt in even strides, the thuds of her shoes against earth competing with the loud wind through the forest around her.
She shouldn’t be out here. She knew she shouldn’t. Women were being taken. Bodies were being found. And according to local gossip, the only suspect was out on bail.
But after the day she’d had, she needed to run. She needed the cool air to slap against her cheeks and the burn of air through her lungs. And God, she needed a hit of endorphins.
The day had started well enough. She’d finalized details for the upcoming paint-and-sip session and chatted to a couple of locals.
Then she’d had coffee with her parents at the assisted care facility.
Parents she loved. Parents she’d moved back to this town for.
She’d tried not to focus on the shake in her dad’s hands or the way her mother’s features turned confused when she forgot small details.
She sped up her pace.
It all hurt her heart. And made her regret every second she’d spent away from them.
They’d mentioned Xander, of course. They didn’t know the kind of man he was. The kind of man she’d discovered he was.
A shudder rolled down her spine.
She’d thought he was a good guy once. For a long time, actually.
How wrong had she been.
She curved around a tree, arms pumping, feet sinking deeper into the earth.
Oh, and then Lottie Fuller had come into the community center. With her fake smile and her you’re-doing-the-best-you-can patronizing voice.
It wasn’t a secret that Lottie had wanted the job Raven had gotten.
Now she was intentionally being annoying.
Frustrating. A pain in the butt by putting her nose where it didn’t belong.
Questioning everything Raven did and going to Ferris when she didn’t like something, as if he could somehow change how Raven did her job.
And the final problem of her day, the one that was causing far too many headaches…money. Or the lack thereof. Because Xander had controlled everything . So when she’d left him, she’d essentially left with nothing but a single account in her name with barely any funds.
Familiar anxiety crawled up her throat. Fear that her money would run out. That she’d fall behind on her rent. If that happened, she’d have nowhere to go. Her parents lived in assisted living, so she couldn’t stay with them.
She shook her head. No. She had a stable job. She’d be fine.
She rounded a stump…only to stop at a sudden moan that pierced the air. And footsteps?
She inched back behind a tree and quietly undid the zipper of her running belt.
Carefully, she pulled out a small pistol.
It didn’t feel familiar in her palm. She’d had a few lessons, that was it. But after Xander, it seemed necessary.
The footsteps grew louder, the moans morphing into whimpers.
Then she saw them.
Fear froze her to the spot, making her limbs so heavy she couldn’t move.
A man carried a woman over his shoulders. Not just any man…a deputy.
What the hell?
Her fingers tightened around the pistol. Every part of her wanted to run out there and train her weapon on the guy, demand he let the woman go. But he had a weapon too. And she hadn’t been shooting for long. If she shot from a distance, she could hit the woman. In a close-range shootout, he’d win.
Dammit.
As they grew closer, she crept farther behind the tree. She waited until their footsteps passed before leaning her head out again. That’s when the woman lifted her head.
Raven’s stomach dropped.
Polly .
Shit. She needed to call for help. But who? She couldn’t call the station; this guy was wearing a uniform. All his friends worked there. Heck, more people from the station could be in on it.
Her mind moved at a million miles an hour. Then it hit her…
Quickly, she pulled out her cell and searched for the number.
Deep River Search and Rescue.
It was the after-hours number. She hit call.
Come on. Come on. Pick up. You need to pick up.
“Connor Blackwood speaking, Deep River Search and Rescue.”
Air whooshed from her lungs. “Thank God,” she whispered. “I need help.”
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Raven Price.”
There was a small pause. “Raven? Where are you? Are you in trouble?”
“Not me.” She inched forward, trying to be silent while also needing to keep Polly and the deputy in her sights. “I’m in the forest near the interstate. I don’t know my exact location, but I just saw a man in a deputy uniform carrying Polly Mack over his shoulder.”
“You saw Polly?”
“Yes. Her head was bleeding. He’s carrying a gun.” She took three small steps forward.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes. But I’m following them. I don’t want to lose them.”
“I need you to send me a pin of your location, then leave and get to safety.”
She shook her head, even though Connor couldn’t see her. “No. I’m armed. I’m not going to lose her.”
“Raven—”
“I’ll send you my location now and keep updating you until you get here. I’ll only act if I need to.”
“No, wait?—”
She hung up and sent her location. Every second counted, and she could not let Polly die.
She’d already lost one person in the last year. She wasn’t going to let that happen again.
Joel stormed out of the old mansion. Empty. He’d checked every inch of the place, every fucking corner and crevice, but she wasn’t there.
Where are you, Polly?
Zac, who’d met them shortly after arriving, stepped out after him. “She’s not in there.”
Joel scrubbed a hand over his face, Ward and his deputy stepping out too.
“Feels like a wild goose chase to me,” Ward grunted.
Joel frowned. “This entire time, all the signs have pointed to Jonah. It’s almost been too easy.”
“You think he’s being set up?” Zac asked.
Ward laughed. “Come on now. We saw the photos and notes. It’s him.”
“Or someone planted them there.” Joel frowned.
Ward lifted a brow. “You think someone went in before we got there?”
He scanned the deputies, noticing one person was missing. “Where’s Cox?”
“He got a callout,” Ward said.
Little things started to piece together in Joel’s mind. He looked at Zac. “Cox found the photos. He was alone in the office when he called us in.”
This time, Zac frowned. “So he had opportunity to plant them.”
“He also got to Bloom just after me and Ryan. Told us that a neighbor saw Polly being dragged out by Jonah…but didn’t say which neighbor.”
“He’s also a member of the church,” Zac added.
Fuck, he was a member of the church. Why hadn’t they considered Cox?
Ward raised his hands. “Whoa now! Cox is a good deputy. He wouldn’t have done this.”
“Call him,” Joel pressed.
Ward shook his head. “I don’t need to?—”
“ Call him .”
Ward’s lips thinned, and for a moment, Joel thought he was going to tell them to go to hell. But he lifted his radio. “Deputy Eli Cox, I need you to give me your current location.”
Silence.
Ward hit his radio again. “Cox? You copy?”
Nothing.
“It’s him.” Suddenly, every part of Joel—every fucking fraction—was certain.
“If he’s in his patrol car, it has GPS fleet tracking,” Joel said. He swung his gaze back to Ward. “Find him.”
For the second time, Ward held up his hands. “Just hang on a damn second, I don’t think?—”
“I don’t give a single fuck what you think!” Two steps closed the distance between him and Ward. He barely stopped himself from grabbing the guy. “He has Polly!”
“A second ago, you said Jonah had Polly.”
Jesus Christ. He was going to hit the guy. He was going to slam his fist into the asshole’s face so fucking hard?—
Zac stepped between them. “Ward, come on. If it’s not your deputy, then there’s no harm in tracking his vehicle. If it is, you’re the town hero who’s helped solve a series of murders.”
Ward was silent for a moment, his gaze flicking between Joel and Zac. Then he cursed and lifted his radio. “Deputy Cox, if you’re hearing this, I need you to talk to me.”
More silence.
Ward’s jaw clicked before he pulled out his phone. “Dispatch, this is Sheriff Ward. I need a location for Unit Two.”
There was a small pause before Ward nodded. “Thanks.” He hung up and looked at them. “They’re sending his coordinates. His unit’s been stationary for about twenty minutes on the outskirts of town.”
Dread knotted Joel’s gut.
The second they received the coordinates, Joel was running. Racing back to his truck and pulling onto the road. He was halfway there when he received a call from Connor.
He hit the Bluetooth on his phone. “It’s Deputy Cox. He’s the killer.”
“That makes sense.”
Joel swung right, a frown between his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Raven Price called. She saw Polly.”
His heart stopped. “Where? Was she okay?”
“Polly was strung over a deputy’s shoulder, semi-conscious. I’m sending her location now. But Joel…they’re headed toward the river.”
It was like ice water over Joel’s head. “Send me the location and alert the team.”
He hit his foot to the floor, pushing his truck to the limit.
Semi-conscious.
Strung over Cox’s shoulder.
The words felt like kicks to his ribs, hard and painful.
It took far too long, but finally he saw it—the patrol car. The vehicle sat crashed on the side of the road.
The sight made bile fill his gut. Polly had been in there. Was that why she wasn’t fully conscious? Had she been hurt?
He forced the panic down. He pushed every dark emotion inside him away like he’d been trained to do, and focused on one thing—the job at hand. On finding her. On getting her the hell out of this forest. Alive.