And went dead.
50
Deputy Scout Wilson — En Route to the Keller Residence
Scout drove with the window cracked. The cold kept him sharp.
Denton followed in the SUV behind them. Burke sat in the passenger seat, reviewing the warrant.
The road curved into Keller’s subdivision. Quiet. Porch lights glowing. Ordinary.
Scout’s thoughts went to Sara.
Thank God they’d found her.
Thank God she was alive.
He’d seen her earlier—still pale, still shaken, but present. Talking.
Luke Hale had been outside her room again. Not because anyone ordered him to be.
Because he wanted to be.
Scout had noticed the way Luke stayed close without crowding. The way he watched the door like he’d take a bullet before he let anyone near her.
Good.
Sara deserved that.
She’d always been the kid sister he never had. The one he’d tease, push, protect. He’d never looked at her any other way. Never would.
If Luke didn’t screw it up, he might actually be good for her.
That box was checked. Family.
Scout flexed his fingers once on the wheel and forced his focus back to the road.
Burke’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
Something in his expression shifted.
Scout caught it. “What?”
“Sara,” Burke said. “She got a message.”
He didn’t look away from the road. “From who?”
“Don’t know yet. SBI’s sending someone to retrieve her phone.”
Burke set the phone face-down.
That was enough.
Tessa.
She was the one he couldn’t get out of his head.
