“Figured you’d want to do it.”
Want to? No way. Have to? Yeah.
He listened to Sage’s platitudes offered in true sympathy, but not hitting the mark. Mackenzie came over to him, a question in her eyes as she rested a hand on his arm.
Oh, man. Here he was considering a relationship with her, but why? Life was fragile. Could be fleeting. He knew that. Had known that. Experienced it with Cassie. Now Keith.
How could Owen think he could even consider getting hurt like that again? Even for someone as amazing as Mackenzie? He’d only been deluding himself. He needed to forget that kiss. Forget a future and stay in the single lane where he belonged.
Mackenzie rode in silence as they headed back to town to interview Tovar again. Breakfast had been a hit with the Veritas team, and Mackenzie was glad she was able to provide it. Some of the team members were wrapping up their work and getting ready to head back to Portland. Sierra was taking off to start processing recovered evidence, but she was leaving Chad behind to finish areas she hadn’t gotten to yet. They hadn’t located anything else of interest but had a lot of items to process that could provide valuable leads.
The forensics discoveries were important to Mackenzie but of equal importance was the change in Owen’s mood since they kissed. She’d suspected he had feelings for her, and it was obvious in the kiss. But his phone call from his lieutenant put a real damper on things.
He even seemed to regret having kissed her.
She got it. He’d lost his brother-in-law. Of course he was down. But it was more than that, as if he’d internalized it deep at his core. Maybe he feared losing her like he’d lost his sister and brother-in-law, so he’d pulled back from getting involved. It all made sense, and she would talk to him about it. Not now. Now it was time to get Tovar to crack.
Her phone rang, and she spotted Ryan’s name.
She answered the call. “You’re on speaker, Ryan. I’m in the truck with Owen.”
“Leach is long gone. We reached the end of the wilderness area. He ditched his UTV. Figure he drove off in a vehicle he’d parked here.”
“You didn’t see where he went?” Owen asked.
“He was gone by the time we got here,” Ryan said. “No sign of a campsite or fire. He probably had enough of a head start and took off last night.”
“Then we’re going to talk to Leach’s boss to see if he knows where Leach is.” Owen cranked the wheel and did a U-turn, the tires squealing.
“We’ll need to hike back to our trucks,” Ryan said. “But we can take the road, and it’ll be a shorter hike. Still, it’ll take a few hours.”
“Can we pick them up?” she asked Owen.
“Maybe, but if we find out where Leach is, we’ll need to head straight to that location.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Ryan said. “Focus on Leach and keep in touch. If you can come get us, fine. If not, it’s not the first time we’ve had a long hike.”
“Thanks, man,” Owen said.
“Yes, thanks,” Mackenzie added. “I’ll let you know what Leach’s boss has to say.” She ended the call.
Owen gunned the engine, and the truck sped over the bumpy road to the outfitters company. Owen whipped into a spot by the rustic building and slammed on his brakes. The truck was still rocking when he was out the door and waiting for her by the steps to the office.
He opened the door for her, and they stepped into the large room.
“Be right out.” Heath Hatch’s booming voice came from his office. He continued talking but had lowered his voice. He was either on the phone or with someone.
She looked around, surprised to see that the receptionist’s desk had been cleared off and a nameplate sat on the metal top. Polly Plummer.
Owen paused by the desk and stared at it then moved on.
Hatch stepped into the room. “Oh, it’s you two.”
“Do you know where Ned Leach is?” Owen asked.
“He called in this morning. Said he finished scouting the area he was in and was headed to the Troy Unit.”
“Can you give us coordinates for his camp?”
