I look between Claire and the photo of Victoria—same type, dark brown hair, fair skinned, and green eyes…
Fuck!
I grab my phone, dialing Ellie’s number as fast as my fingers can move. The line rings once, twice, three times before going to voicemail.
“Ellie, it’s me,” I say, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “Call me back as soon as you get this, okay? It’s important.”
I hang up and immediately redial. This time, the call doesn’t even ring. It goes straight to voicemail.
“She’s not answering.” Consuming panic takes hold of me as I try to rein in my thoughts. “Something’s wrong.”
Quickly, I pull up the live footage from the security cameras and they’re all black.
The security cameras I installed wererecommended by Ryker.
Fuck!
I call Gerard, and he answers on the second ring. “Hello,” he says, sounding groggy.
“How’s Ellie? Is she okay?”
He’s silent for a beat. “I called in. Came down with something nasty. Sheriff told me he’d fill in for me. Kind of surprised he’d take on such a menial task, but who am I to judge, right?”
I hang up, not bothering to respond.
“It’s Ryker. He has her, and I fucking know it.” I look to Claire. “Is there anywhere you can think of he would go if he didn’t want to be found? Even if it seems insignificant.”
Claire’s chest heaves in quickened breaths. “He—He,” she stammers. “He used to meet up with Victoria at some hunting cabin off the highway between Badger Canyon and Red Mountain. I followed him there once.”
While Claire writes down a description of the location, Morales is already grabbing her keys and a jacket.
“Let’s go,” Morales calls out.
Before leaving, I spare a parting glance at Claire. “Go somewhere safe and call your lawyer.”
She stares at us, openmouthed.
There’s no time to explain further, we can’t waste another second.
I follow Morales, my heart pounding as we rush out of the station and into the night. The car ride to Ellie’s house feelslike an eternity, even though Morales is driving at full speed with the lights flashing and sirens blasting.
“We’ve got to be wrong,” I say, though it sounds more like I’m trying to convince myself. “Ryker wouldn’t?—”
“Wouldn’t he?” Morales cuts me off. “His wife just told us he’s been lying about their marriage, cheating on her, and now the woman he was cheating with is dead. You really think that’s a coincidence? There are no coincidences.”
I grit my teeth, my fists clenching in my lap. “I don’t know. I just know we need to get to Ellie. Now.”
When we pull up to her house, the lights are still on, the energy pulsing in the air unsettling. The door is closed, but it’s not locked.
I push it open, my voice ringing out. “Ellie!”
Silence. The kind of silence that feels like an empty void.
My hand instinctively moves to my hip, fingers curling around the grip of my service weapon. I don’t draw it yet, but I’m not about to walk in unprepared.
Stepping inside, my heart hammers as I take in the scene. Her laptop is still on the dining table, a colorful sketch beside it. The music is playing quietly, but there’s no sign of her.
I draw my gun, holding it low as my eyes dart around. With careful steps, I clear the kitchen and living room while Morales takes the hallway and starts making her way upstairs. We move in calculated motions, wordlessly clearing every room of the house until we meet back on the main level in the kitchen.
