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“Ryker.” Claire’s voice came over his phone speaker. Her tone was clipped and urgent. “There’s a cabin about three miles from your location on Simon’s list. It’s the only thing nearby within walking distance. I’m sending you the coordinates right now.”
His phone beeped with a text message. Ryker’s pulse jumped. If Bennett was correct, Dusty wouldn’t have reached the cabin with Hannah yet. They were still traversing the woods. It was a simple decision. “I’m going with you, Bennett.”
“Luke and I will go to the cabin,” Weston said.
Ryker quickly texted the cabin’s location to his colleague. “Between the two groups, we should find them. Stay in contact.” He paused long enough to take in the members of his team. His brothers. Men who’d walk into danger with him without batting an eye, just like Eli had. “Be safe.”
Luke and Weston both gave a sharp nod and then raced to the truck.
Ryker pulled his weapon and turned to Bennett. A sense of dread washed over him. The last man he’d gone into the woods with while chasing a suspect had been Eli. A mere five hours ago. His friend was still in surgery, fighting for his life.
This was dangerous, but there was no other option. Hannah needed them. “Lead the way, Bennett.”
His colleague hitched up the backpack before sweeping his flashlight over the trees. He paused and then broke into a run. Ryker followed. The moonlight disappeared as they entered the forest.
Hold on, Hannah. We’re coming.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Hannah stumbled. The blade sliced into her skin, and she smothered a yelp. Her fingers, slick with sweat and cramping from holding the scissors at a strange angle to cut her binds, nearly dropped the precious item. Dusty’s grip on her arm was the only thing keeping her from falling. His hold tightened until she feared he’d cut off circulation to the rest of her arm.
“You’re hurting me.” She yanked in an attempt to pull away from him. The scissors had done a great job of cutting the tape around her wrists. Hannah was almost free. But she wouldn’t get very far with Dusty’s gun shoved in her kidney. Any escape attempt would be cut short by a bullet.
“Stop complaining.” Dusty swore, following it up with a tirade about troublesome women.
“Shut up.” Lorrie had lost the sweet tone to her voice now that she wasn’t talking to Thomas. She’d been leading the way to the cabin, but stopped suddenly and turned. “I’ve had enough of your mouth. We wouldn’t be in the situation if you’d handled business right the first time.”
The expression that came over Dusty’s face was frightening. Stone-cold. Flat. If he hadn’t been holding on to her arm, Hannah would have shrunk away from him. For a moment, the gun held to her back wavered as if Dusty was considering shooting Lorrie.
The other woman either didn’t pick up on his body language or she didn’t care. Lorrie waved away a mosquito. “Pick up the pace. I want to get this over with.”
Dusty muttered another curse word under his breath, but otherwise kept quiet. From the looks of things, Lorrie was calling the shots, but Hannah sensed that was only because of her connection to Thomas. Once Dusty got the money he was promised, all bets were off. Lorrie had a killer by the leash. One that would turn on her in an instant. And she didn’t even have the brains to realize it.
Maybe Hannah could use that to her advantage. She needed a distraction. Creating an opportunity to escape was better than waiting for one. They must be getting close to the cabin. They’d been walking for about twenty minutes.
Was Ryker looking for her? She knew instinctively that he was. If Hannah got out of this alive, she would kiss him senseless. And then kiss him some more. She’d spent far too much time worried about where their relationship was leading to enjoy falling in love. Not anymore. Life was too short to let worry steal her joy.
She was in love with him. Hannah prayed she’d have the chance to tell him.
First, she had to get out of this. Hannah needed to focus on creating a distraction so she could escape. Every minute counted. It gave the Texas Rangers an opportunity to find her.
“You played me, Lorrie.” Hannah carefully maneuvered over a root to keep from falling again. She used the movement to slice discreetly through more of the tape around her wrists with the scissor blade. “I truly thought you’d come to your senses about Thomas. Did you ever break up or was that just a ploy so you could act as the go-between for Thomas and Dusty?”
Lorrie chuckled. “Thomas and I love each other. Nothing can separate us. Not that stupid wife of his or the media or this ridiculous investigation.” She cast a glowering look over her shoulder at Hannah. “You should have dropped the charges when you had the chance. Then none of this would’ve happened.”
“He killed his wife.”
“She was going to turn him into the police, the stupid woman. Thomas offered to pay for her silence, but she refused. Julie always did think she was better than everyone else.”
Hannah didn’t think turning her spouse in for breaking the law was a character flaw. She did find it laughable that Lorrie actually believed Thomas offered to buy Julie’s silence. He would never take that risk. In fact, Hannah believed the good doctor had a plan for both Dusty and Lorrie. One that would leave them both at the bottom of a grave.
Loose ends. That’s what they were. And if Thomas had learned anything from killing his wife, it was to tie up loose ends.
Hannah cut a bit more. She was almost free. “Did you know Thomas and Dusty were running a drug scheme?”
“Of course. Who do you think helped Thomas enter the prescriptions into the system? We had a good thing going for a long time. Made a lot of money.” She smirked at Dusty. “Some of us wasted it foolishly on gambling.”
That explained why Dusty was willing to do Thomas’s dirty work. Money and a guarantee of freedom. After all, Thomas could’ve flipped on Dusty and told the police everything about their drug business. Framed Dusty for Julie’s murder.
