Page 21 of When the Silence Breaks

Ryder headed for his shop, where the lights were still on. “What did that jerk want in the shop?”

Inside, Sarah caught her breath. Triathlete. Right. She probably hadn’t convinced him she was still in that kind of shape. He stalked over to the box where he’d stowed their clue.

Sarah moved closer to peer down at the charred, damaged piece of metal.

The box was empty. “Where is it?”

“It’s gone.” He kicked the box. “You tell me. Where is it?”

“I didn’t touch it. I don’t have it. Ryder, you don’t think I would take it, do you?”

“I don’t know what to think. You were in here with the intruder. Did he take it?”

“I wasn’t, actually. I was hiding by the rocks. I saw him come into the shop and I saw you heading for it, so I came back to...”

“To what?”

This would probably sound ridiculous to him. “Well, to saveyou.”

He narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable. Did he like that she’d wanted to help him? Or did he find it laughable? Regardless, his scrutiny made her uncomfortable.

“If you didn’t take it, then the intruder must have. How did he even know to come here?”

This looked bad. “I ... I don’t know what to say. I don’t know. I only just found out tonight. You know that.”

She expected Ryder to question her more about the intruder, who appeared to have come specifically for the piece he found, but Ryder said nothing more. Instead, he led her back to the house.

Ryder closed the blinds. “I don’t have security alarms. I’ve never needed them in this quiet, sleepy tourist town or up on this secluded parse of land.” He paced the kitchen.

“Oh, come on.” Sarah leaned against the counter. “These days, everyone should have a security system, no matter where they live. And you have a trained guard dog, so you have a form of security.”

True enough. He set his Glock 9mm on the kitchen counter and stared her down. “He wasn’t after me. He was after you. I get the feeling you’re still keeping the truth from me.”

“He wasn’t after me. He was after what you found on the mountain. I thought we already established that. We still don’t know how he knew it was here.”

He stared up at the ceiling as if it had answers. “Maybe he came for you but found the piece and settled on the metal. Or... it’s possible he was informed by the one other person I told. But I don’t see her as the kind of person to pull this off. I’ll have to pay her a visit to find out what she knows. But until then, why don’t you fill in the blanks?”

That accusing, demanding stare again.

“I’ve told you everything I can tell you.”What am I going to do?“Assuming you still plan to help me, when can we get going?”

He leaned against the island counter across from her, his eyes, as always, penetrating as they searched for truth—the truth she couldn’t give him. “I’ll need a day to gather the gear for us both.” His brow furrowed and his shoulders sagged. “I don’t know who was behind tonight, and since you can’t tell me, I can only imagine some illegal activity. I don’t want to get on the wrong side of things.”

“And you’re not. I would never either. That doesn’t mean someone might not try to paint me in a bad light.” She was asking a lot of him. Like that he trust her. He didn’t even know her.

“Someone. The federal government? Is that who you mean?”

Sarah lifted a shoulder. “If I knew, I wouldn’t even be here.” She could find another way to get justice for Aaron.

“I’m going to call the sheriff and let him know about the intruder.”

“Please, be careful what you tell him. I have no proof of anything. I can’t afford the information about my brother’s murder or that I’m here to find the crash on the mountain getting into the wrong hands. This is ... I don’t know who to trust. My brother trusted the wrong person. The wrong people. Do you understand?” Was Ryder second-guessing his decision? “I hired you to take me up the mountain. You’re the one who demanded to know the reasons.”

“Looks to me like the wrong people already know, but I hearyou. I’d take you back to your motel, but I don’t think it’s safe. You have your backpack. You get the guest room. That’s the room where the intruder escaped.”

“Thanks a lot.” She offered a smile to give some levity to this long, hard day. “Do you think the intruder will come back?”

“If they got what they came for, no.”