Page 71 of Unmasked

Honestly, Knox had no idea what was going through Montgomery's head. He couldn't begin to understand what had driven him to come after Everleigh, especially after so long. The only thing he knew was he had to get her away from him safely. Because if he hurt one hair on her head, or God forbid found out she was pregnant...

He had to find her.

He didn't realize he'd spoken aloud until Mason’s swift, sure response filtered through the phone. “We will.”

Knox forced himself to focus. “Cade is contacting the country club to try to put him at the scene the night Beaumont was poisoned. He's supposed to let me know as soon as⁠—"

His sentence broke off as his phone vibrated with an incoming alert. He pulled the phone away from his ear and did a double take at the screen, his foot automatically easing off the accelerator. The cameras at the house had picked up movement, and he studied the screen for a second. There in black and white, he saw Everleigh approaching the house, a dark-haired man next to her. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought the object concealed in the man's right hand was a gun.

He clenched the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white as his vision went red with rage. He was going to kill him.

He clicked back over to his conversation with Mason to switch it to speakerphone before returning to the video feed. “They're not at the Beaumonts'. He's at my place.”

He was still at least ten minutes out. It felt like a lifetime. Mason was silent for a second. “What do we know?”

“They're inside the house. Other than that...” He had no clue what they'd find.

“I'm coming with you.”

“You got a vest?”

“Not with me⁠—”

“Then you're not coming,” Knox said curtly.

“You’re not going alone,” Mason fumed. “If Everleigh is in there⁠—”

“I'll take care of it. You're not going in without a vest.”

“I—”

“No. You’ve got Vivi to think about now, and⁠—”

“She'd want me to help,” he cut in. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll let you go in alone.”

Knox blew out a harsh breath. “Fine. But I don’t like it.”

“Too bad,” Mason shot back. “Wait for me to back you up. I'll touch base with Sullivan and let him know what's going on.”

With that, he disconnected, leaving only the video footage on Knox’s screen. Nausea roiled in his stomach and he stomped down on the accelerator, fields and trees passing in a blur as he flew down the empty highway. Barely three minutes later, his phone rang and he saw Cade Sullivan’s name pop up. “Yeah?”

“Deputies are on their way,” he confirmed. “Closest is approximately eight minutes out.”

Knox let out a disgusted snort. “I'm closer than that.”

“Do not go in there without backup,” he warned.

“No promises. I have to get her.”

“Knox, think about this. Don't put yourself in danger too just because⁠—”

“She might be pregnant,” he admitted quietly. “There's no other option.”

Cade swore softly on the other end. “They'll be there soon,” he promised. “In the meantime, be careful. And for God's sake, don't break any laws.”

Knox glanced in the rearview mirror at the four-way stop he'd just blown through. Too late.

“I'll do my best,” he promised before hanging up. His road came up on the left, and he yanked the wheel, the SUV bumping and skidding along the pitted gravel surface. A half mile from the house, he pulled to a stop and killed the engine, then hopped out and opened the back hatch to grab his gear.