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“We’ll speak to Rhett, get to the bottom of this. It’s going to be okay. Ember could have just gone for a walk, let’s try to stay calm,” Lake goes on, his voice calm even though his expression is tight.
“She didn’t just go for a walk!” I cry.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Rhett asks, walking outside followed by Lei, who is flushed and smiling.
“Ember is missing,” I say. “Aaron took her!”
Lake runs his hands down his face. “We don’t know he took her, but yeah, we can’t find her.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” Rhett asks.
“When we left this morning,” Fallon answers him.
“You’re certain she isn’t just taking a walk?”
I shake my head. “No. He has done something. I know he has.”
“Okay, you need to stay calm. We need to be very careful how we deal with this situation,” Rhett says calmly. “If we go in guns blazing, it could end very badly. You need to follow our instruction, Willa.”
“She could be hurt,” I say, my voice tight.
Lake squeezes my shoulder. “We’ll get her back. I promise you.”
“What do we do?” Fallon asks, crossing her arms and rubbing her hands down them.
“You stay here, and you let us sort this out,” Rhett answers, glancing at Lake. “Don’t leave them alone.”
Then, he disappears.
This is bad.
Really, really bad.
“HE’S GONE,” LAKE SAYS, walking back into the main house where Fallon and I are now sitting with Marg and Betty as we wait for the news.
We were left with Elias while the rest of the guys went out and searched for Ember. They didn’t find her, by the looks of things, and now they’re telling us that Aaron is gone. Waylen is here, having just been informed about what’s going down, and he helped with the search. He said he knows nothing about it, and I believe him. I don’t think this involves him.
“He’s gone,” I say, my hands shaking. “Aaron?”
“Yeah,” Lake growls, and I watch as the rest of the guys walk in. “All his shit is gone, and some of Ember’s. The motherfucker is playing games. He wants to make sure none of us talk. Over paranoid prick.”
“What do we do?” I ask, taking a shaky breath.
“We wait. He’s not just going to take her and do nothing, he’s going to want something, he’s going to demand something. We have to wait and see what that is.”
“What can he demand?” Fallon growls. “That we shut our mouths and say nothing? God, like we give a fuck about him and his crap. We just want our friend back.”
“He’s worried it’ll come crashing down,” Rhett says. “I should have known better, I didn’t trust him but I was tryin’ to protect the ranch. Now someone who is meant to be in my care has fallen into the hands of someone I should have never let come in here.”
“You’re right, you shouldn’t have,” I mutter. “You can’t run a retreat and be doing illegal shit at the same time. It doesn’t work like that. You have to pick one or the other. You have someone murdered on your watch, you should have reported it.”
“Hey, that’s enough,” Lake says, his voice calm but firm as he looks down at me sitting on the sofa.
“Is it?” I growl, standing. “What part of running a retreat did you get confused on? You can’t have dangerous people here, pushing others off cliffs and expecting that things aren’t going to blow up. Why create something if you’re not going to make it safe?”
“Willa,” Lake snaps.
“No,” Rhett says. “She’s right. We had no right to let that go on here. It shouldn’t have happened. If it wasn’t for the fact that I know this is far bigger than Aaron, I would have had him arrested, but you have to understand, Willa, that he’s just a link in the chain. He’s not the top dog and he’s certainly not the most dangerous. When I hired Vic, I didn’t know what he was into. When I found out he was in trouble, I let Aaron come in and deal with it. Didn’t realize that’s how he was goin’ to do that, and it backfired. I want no part in this, and I’m goin’ to make sure Ember returns home safe, you have my word.”
“We’re goin’ into town now to look for her. Know people,” Enzo says, pulling June’s hand into his. “We’ll get her back.”
I hope they’re right.
She doesn’t deserve this.
“And in the mean time what are we supposed to do?” Fallon asks. “Just sit here waiting while he hurts her?”
“He won’t hurt her,” Waylen says, piping up. “He’s got too much to lose. He’s making a point. He wants you ladies to know that he will stop at nothing to make sure you don’t talk. He’s scaring you. He’s making you panic. He wants you to be afraid.”
