Chapter 43
MICHAEL
“Anything on the vehicle?” I asked Wayne over the phone as I paced the waiting room.
“There are just too many roads,” he answered. “Mike, unless we get a vehicle description, it’s gonna be pretty fucking hard to narrow down who this guy is.”
I glanced at the double doors, willing someone to step through them and tell me what the fuck was going on with my brother. More than one life hung in the balance right now, and if he died on the table, we’d most likely lose Ellie, too.
Rubbing my hand across my eyes, I tried to focus on the task at hand. “Uh…alright, what about clues at the scene? Broken tail light, footprints, blood—”
“Only your brother’s,” he confirmed. “There are scuff marks from where he dragged Ellie away, but nothing that would give us any clue as to—”
“Tire tracks,” I interjected. “Where are we with those?”
“From the width, it’s definitely from a truck. They’re taking samples to the lab now to determine what the exact tire is. But Mike, this is Montana. Everyone drives a truck.”
I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face. This was getting us nowhere fast. “Okay, where are we on ballistics?”
“Well, since the bullet is currently in your brother, I’m not sure how you want me to answer that.”
Fuck, I knew that. I was quickly losing my cool, questioning things that couldn’t be answered yet. Hell, I shouldn’t even be on this case, but we were short on staff and needed all the help we could get.
My parents strode through the lobby, searching for me. “Keep me informed on anything that comes in.”
“Will do.”
I hung up just as my Ma rushed into my arms, crying into my shoulder. “Any word yet?”
“No, he’s still in surgery,” I whispered.
Pulling back, she wiped the tears from her eyes. “What about Ellie? Have they heard anything about her?”
I shook my head, glancing over at Ryder, whose head hung in defeat. “We won’t know anything until Jeff wakes up.”
“Wyatt’s on his way over,” Pop said, wrapping his arm around Ma’s waist. “Says he has some information for you.”
“What kind of information?”
“He was called in to tow the Jeep to the station.”
Which meant he got a look at Ellie’s tire. It had to have something to do with that.
“Do you know how bad it is?” he asked.
“When he called…” I glanced at my Ma, seeing the hope in her eyes. I just couldn’t say this in front of her. Not when she was already hurting so much.
“Uh…he was pretty clear. In pain, but he knew the ambulance was on the way.”
Pop nodded, his eyes shifting to Ma in concern. “Honey, why don’t you sit with Ryder. I’m sure he’s a mess right now.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ma said, swiping at the stray tears on her cheeks. “Maybe I’ll call Josie and ask her to bring some of that tea she raves about. Lord knows we need something to settle our nerves right now.”
As she walked over, Pop moved closer, keeping his voice low. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It wasn’t good. He was barely talking, could hardly get the words out. I’m not sure if they got to him in time.”
“Well, he’s still in surgery. If he was dead, we’d know it.”
That was about the only saving grace right now.
“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing,” I answered, feeling worn out from not being able to do a damn thing. “We can’t do anything until Jeff’s out of surgery. We have no leads.” I glanced over my shoulder at Ryder.
“His father should know.”
“He doesn’t get along with his old man,” I reminded him.
“Still…family is family.” Striding past me, he walked over to Ryder, sitting on the other side of him, squeezing his shoulder as he consoled him.
It made me desperately wish that Blake was here with me right now, that she could tell me everything was going to be alright. But this was no place for a baby or the chaos that was bound to ensue when Jeff woke up.
“Michael,” Wyatt called out as he walked through the emergency doors. Motioning me over, he hung out by the front door instead of coming any closer.
“What did you find?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
“This was no accident.”
“The flat tire?”
He shook his head. “You don’t get nails in your tires like that unless you drive through a construction site.”
“You’re saying someone wanted her to end up on the side of the road.”
“This is someone who knows enough about vehicles to figure out how long you could drive like that until the tire would blow,” he hissed. “There was a nail in the sidewall of the tire. Driving at that speed, I’d give it maybe fifty miles.”
“Far enough to get away from civilization. Did you get a look at anything else?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Anything that might give us some clue as to who we’re after,” I snapped.
“I’m not a fucking detective, Parker. That’s your job.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He got in my face, his anger palpable. “We had a fucking deal. I fulfilled my end, but you haven’t told me a damn thing yet about my wife!”
“Because we haven’t found anything yet.”
He laughed humorlessly, spinning away from me for just a second before that anger in his eyes returned. “You said your guys could find anyone. You said you could get me something.”
“And we will,” I snapped, keeping my voice low. “But I’m kind of in the middle of a crisis right now, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“You’re always in a crisis,” he hissed. “Pay up, or you’re not gonna like the fucking consequences.”
“Is that a threat?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
Turning, he stormed out of the hospital.
“What the hell was that about?” Pop asked.
I wasn’t about to tell him the deal I’d made with Wyatt. He would only tell me I was stupid to trust anything a Callahan had to say.
“The tire on Ellie’s Jeep was filled with nails.”
“How is that news?”
“Because they were brand new.” I slowly turned and faced my old man. “This was a setup. Somebody wanted Ellie, and until Jeff wakes up, we have no way of knowing who that was or why.”
“Which means Ellie’s in more danger than we realized.”
I nodded, glancing back over at Ryder. “Do what you can to keep him calm. If he goes off half-cocked, he’s gonna get himself killed.”
“We’ll stay by his side until Jeff wakes up.”
“Pop…” Fuck, he was gonna be pissed at me. “I need to be the first one in that room. I know Ma’s gonna want to see him, but I need information. The longer we wait, the worse it’ll be for Ellie.”
He grit his teeth, but nodded. “I’ll let your mother know.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
Time slipped past as I waited for news on Jeff’s condition. I fielded calls and checked in with Mav as he led the investigation, but nothing new came in. We were at a stalemate.
Everything inside me screamed that this was not going to end well. Life was about to take a hard right turn, and the whole fucking town would feel the aftershocks.