Chapter 46
RYDER
“How sure are you about this?” Mav asked.
I stared at the house in front of me, and then at the truck parked toward the back of the drive.
“It’s him,” Michael answered.
“We have no solid proof. If we go up there, we’ll tip him off that we know it’s him. He could kill her before we can do a damn thing. We need a warrant.”
“A warrant takes too damn long,” I cut in. “She’s in there right now. We have to get her out.”
“And if we go in there without a warrant, he walks,” Mav hissed.
“I don’t give a fuck what happens to him. Right now, I need to get Ellie back. This is about her life!”
“We can’t,” Michael said. “The law doesn’t permit it.”
“The law—” I snapped, but was instantly cut off by the narrowing of his eyes.
“We’ll head back to the station and find something on this guy. There has to be something that ties her to him.”
As Mav turned to leave, I ran in front of him, my heart beating frantically at the thought of them leaving when we were so close.
“You can’t just walk away! She’s in there!” Tears filled my eyes as I stared at Mav. “Don’t do this.”
“Sorry, Ryder. But we don’t have enough evidence. We can’t enter his house, and going up there would only get her killed. We have to be smart about this.”
“Then I’ll go,” I snapped.
Michael grabbed my shirt as I took off toward the house, stopping me before I could make it more than a few steps.
“You are not trained. You have no weapons, no way to defend yourself. All you’re going to do is get yourself killed,” he said calmly. “Ellie is going to need you. If you go off half-cocked and get yourself killed, who’s going to be there for her?”
I knew it was the truth, but I couldn’t leave her. Not when I was this close. “I can’t walk away.”
He squeezed my shoulder, leaning in close. “You know, there are people who handle things like this. Some of them even live in our town.”
I sucked in a breath at his words.
“We can’t go in there, but that doesn’t mean a concerned citizen can’t take matters into his own hands and deal with the situation. In fact, way out here, who would even know?”
My eyes met his, and then I followed his gaze to just over the ridge, through the trees. At first, I didn’t see a thing, but then, as if he was signaling me, something metal glinted in the sun.
“Fucking wait until we’re gone or we can’t claim ignorance.”
I followed Mav and Michael down the hill, stopping short of getting in their car. Michael turned back to me and handed me a hunting knife.
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
Nodding, I took it from him.
His eyes scanned me before he shot me a pained look. “A suit isn’t exactly the right gear for this situation.”
I never went home to change. I’d been wearing the same clothes for days.
But even as he walked away, I found myself smiling just slightly at his words.
As they drove away, I made my way across the forest, keeping out of sight of the house.
I didn’t know much about killing, but I was raised to hunt.
Moving through the trees was one of the first lessons my old man taught me.
JR glanced at me over his shoulder as he leaned against a tree. Archer stood ten feet away, braced against a tree with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
“You ready for this?” JR asked.
“Let’s get her.”
“Whoa,” JR chuckled. “You’re not going anywhere. Not unless you want to get yourself killed. You stay here.”
“Ellie’s in there—”
“And she has a better chance of staying alive if you don’t go in there and fuck it up.” He pulled a handgun from a holster at his back, then shoved it in my hands. “I assume you know how to use that.”
“I usually use a rifle, but I can manage.”
“Good. Don’t get yourself killed. The last thing I want to tell Josie is that I got her best friend’s boyfriend killed.”
Gritting my teeth, I nodded, staying where I was as Archer signaled for JR to go around the back of the house.