Chapter 22
Garrison
I check my watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. Katelyn should have been back already, right? Unless she got caught up at the diner? Even though it’s only been about ten seconds, I check my watch again.
Something’s not right.
My cell rings, so I retrieve it from the counter, honestly expecting her name to be on the screen. Instead, Thomas’ name flashes. That feeling of unease in my gut turns volatile. “Hey, bud.”
“Hey, are you with my mom?”
“Not right now. Why? Is everything okay?” I try to keep my tone steady. Calm. Even though inside I’m anything but.
“I mean, I think so. But she didn’t answer when I called her.”
“She had a shift at the diner tonight, so maybe she got caught up. I’ll run over and check on her.”
“Thanks, Mr. Holt.”
“Of course.” I grab my keys and rush out the door. “I’ll let her know you called as soon as I get there, okay?”
“Okay. Sounds good.” I can hear the shift in his tone. The normally happy boy is worried, and why wouldn’t he be? Katelyn may have missed my call earlier, but Thomas? She’d answer even if she was elbows deep in something. “Talk soon, Mr. Holt.”
“Talk soon, Thomas.” I end the call, then shove the phone into my pocket as I press the elevator button. Standing still when my heart is pounding is impossible, though, so I abandon the elevator and sprint toward the stairs.
I rush down them as fast as I can, then sprint toward my truck in the parking lot.
But I don’t make it even halfway there when I see the red and blue lights in the distance.
No. God, please no.
My entire body trembles as I shift course and race down the street. The diner is only a mile away. One mile. Nothing bad can happen in a mile, right? Heart in my throat, I reach the scene right after the police do. They’ve already blocked off the area, but I push through it.
“What happened?”
Deputy Phillips, a new officer, holds his hand up to stop me.
“You can’t be here. This is a crime scene.”
I scan the area. No bodies. That’s good, right? “Leopold!” I yell as soon as I see the familiar police captain in the distance.
He turns toward me, then offers a wave for me to enter the scene. Without waiting for the deputy to grant permission, I shove past him and run toward Alan.
“What happened?” I demand again.
“We’re not sure.” He shakes his head and turns toward a dark shadow on the pavement. Even without the work lights set up, I know what it is: blood.
“Is there a body?” Bile burns the back of my throat with even the thought of Katelyn lying somewhere, covered in a white sheet. How will I tell Thomas? Easy, Holt, you don’t even know if it’s her.
“No body. There’s a trail of blood that leads from there over toward the street, then it vanishes.”
“An abduction?”
He nods.
“Any witnesses?”
He shakes his head. “Someone heard tires screeching and what sounded like fighting, but when they got to the window to look outside, all they saw was a pair of taillights racing out of town.”
I scan the area. We’re right across the street from the marina entrance, and the only cameras there are pointed at the boats—not the street. Dread twists my insides. “Katelyn was supposed to be home.” I turn toward him. “She never arrived.”
Leopold’s mouth flattens into a tight line. “Okay. Where was she coming from?”
“The diner.”
He looks past me. “Phillips!”
“Yes, Captain?” he asks as he runs toward us.
“Go talk to Maddie and Ed. Find out if Katelyn Ellis is still at the diner. If she’s not, get me the time she left.”
“You’ve got it.” He turns and rushes down the street toward the diner while my gaze narrows on the blood.
It’s not so much that I worry she already bled out, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a life-threatening injury. It’s entirely possible whoever took her moved fast.
“Easy, Holt. We don’t know that it’s her.”
“We don’t know that it’s not,” I reply.
“Let’s get the facts first, okay?”
He turns to talk to a woman wearing a black windbreaker with the words STORMWATCH CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR printed in bold letters on the back. All while my world crumbles.
It’s her.
I know it in my gut.
So when Deputy Phillips comes back toward the scene, a grim look on his face, I don’t need his answer.
“When?” I ask. “When did she leave?”
“Twenty minutes ago. A few minutes before the call came in.”
Twenty minutes.
One mile.
This shouldn’t have happened.
“Captain, we found this.” Another officer rushes forward with a purse in his hand. Katelyn’s purse.
Leopold opens it and pulls out a cell phone and wallet. He checks the ID, then slides both back into the bag before giving it back to the officer.
Everything moves in slow motion as the realization sets in: Katelyn is gone.
Taken.
“Garrison,” Leopold says softly. “Where is her son?”
“Baseball camp.”
“Okay. Do you know if she had any local family? Someone who can go pick him up?”
I shake my head, the shock settling over me like concrete. “No family. I, uh, I can get him. He knows me.”
“You should do that,” he says, then clasps a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find her, okay?”
I turn toward him, my own resolve filling me with one single purpose. There is not a place in this world I won’t go to get her back. “I know we will.”
“Here you go.” Anastasia brings me a cup of coffee. I barely taste it as I sip from the paper cup, my mind already formulating a plan. Who could have taken her? Why? Was it random? Or does it have something to do with why she’s here in the first place?
I consider her evasive answers. The way she and Thomas have moved around constantly since he was a baby.
Add that up, and it’s proof that she’s running from someone.
But who?
Thomas’s dad is dead.
The front door opens, and both Weston and Ryker move into the small house.
“Sawyer’s not answering the door,” Weston says, crossing his arms.
“He didn’t answer my call either,” Anastasia offers. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying, her jaw set. “But a lot of times, he’ll go for a run after work. He usually calls me back by ten.”
I check my watch. “That’s in an hour. We can’t wait.”
“I left my brother a message, but I don’t know when they’ll get it.” Anastasia sniffles. “Do you think she’s—”
“We’ll find her, Anastasia,” Ryker assures her.
She nods. “I’ll make more coffee.”
“Any idea who might have taken her and why?” Ryker asks.
“Random abduction?” Weston offers.
“That’s what Leopold is leaning toward.”
“But you think something different,” Weston says to me. It’s no surprise; the guy is great at reading people. The only member of our team who’s better is Zane.
How much do I tell them? I don’t want to betray Katelyn, but if something happens to her because they don’t have all the pieces— “Katelyn’s ex-husband was abusive. She left him when Thomas was a year old.”
“You think it was him?”
I shake my head. “According to her, he’s dead.”
“We need to look into that,” Ryker says. He withdraws his cell and taps on the screen before putting it up to his ear. “Come on, Sawyer.” When there’s no answer, he shoves it into his pocket.
“Call Elijah Breeth and Tucker Hunt. See if they can both dig into her past.”
“On it.” Ryker steps away and taps on the screen again.
“What do you want me to do?” Weston questions.
I turn toward him. “I’m going to pick up Thomas from camp. He needs to be protected.”
“I’ll keep him safe. He can stay on the ranch.”
Nodding, I check that off my mental task list. Next, I need to find out exactly where that van went. I turn toward Ryker, who places his phone on speaker.
“I’ve got Elijah and Tucker on a call,” he says.
“What can we do?” Elijah asks through the speaker.
“I need to know everything you can find about Katelyn, her ex-husband, and her former brother-in-law.”
“Brother-in-law?” Ryker asks.
“She mentioned that he was just as bad as her ex-husband.”
“I can look into that,” Elijah offers.
“I also need to know where the van went after it took her. Tucker, can you check the security cameras?”
“On it,” he says. In the background, I can hear keystrokes as he types on the keyboard.
“Let me know when you guys have something. And thanks.”
“Anytime,” Elijah replies.
“Call with any updates,” Tucker adds.
“Thanks, guys.” Ryker ends the call and slips his phone into his pocket.
The intel portion of a mission is always the hardest. Gathering all of the pieces together before acting. But it’s so much worse now. So much harder knowing that Katelyn is out there somewhere, injured.
What if I can’t find her in time?
What am I supposed to tell Thomas?
“Keep me updated. I’m going to go grab Thomas.”
“I’ll come,” Weston offers. “Give me time to get to know the kid so he’s more comfortable around me.”
“Sounds good, thanks.” I turn toward Ryker. “Keep a pulse on the police. Let me know if they find out anything.”
“Will do.” He heads for the door and slips outside.
“What can I do?” Anastasia asks. Her arms are wrapped around herself, her eyes full of tears.
“Keep trying Sawyer. And call Jack. We may need his resources.”