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Jane’s mouth dropped open.
Bridger wrapped his good arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “Looks like it’s time to go get your boy.”
23
The tiresof the rental sedan hissed on wet asphalt. Raindrops pelted the windshield, distorting the endless rows of tract homes. Jane’s stomach churned. Each intersection brought them closer to the boy she hadn’t seen in two years.
“You gotta relax.” Bridger’s voice was steady, but she couldn’t help noticing his knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.
Jane bit her lip. She wanted to believe him, but doubt gnawed at her mind. What lies had Pete fed the boy? Abandonment. Betrayal. When she filed for divorce, she knew Pete didn’t want the boy. She’d been hoping Pete would take off and leave Kellen with her. It’s what he promised. Her grand plan had been to protect Kellen from his father’s criminal life, but of course, Pete had gone back on his word, whisking him away and cutting off all contact with her.
A nine-year-old wouldn’t understand why he’d never heard from her again.
The wipers squeaked over the glass. She glanced at the GPS. Only ten minutes to go. Her breath grew short.
Bridger downshifted as they turned down a residential street. “No matter what, we’re getting him out of there. I promise.”
Jane nodded, steeling herself. Rain or shine, she’d face the boy she’d always thought of as her son again. She had to hope that somehow, despite everything, a flicker of love still burned in his heart.
She took a deep breath as Bridger turned down yet another identical street. He pulled the car to a stop outside a modest single-story house. It looked like all the others on the street—tan stucco, terra cotta roof tiles, attached two-car garage. An ordinary suburban home.
Except for the front door that hung open at an odd angle, and the garage door that yawned wide, nothing inside but oil-stained concrete.
Jane’s pulse quickened. She reached for the door handle, ready to rush inside, but Bridger’s hand on her arm stopped her.
“Let me take a look around first,” he said. “Secure the perimeter.”
He drew his weapon and slipped out of the vehicle, moving silently along the side of the house. Jane watched him disappear around the back corner.
The seconds ticked by at an agonizing pace. The rain had long since fizzled out into a light coastal drizzle. Jane’s knee bounced with nervous energy.
What was taking so long? Staying put was sheer torture. Kellen was so close now—just on the other side of that front door—yet still out of reach.
She couldn’t stand it any longer. She pushed open the car door and stepped out, her eyes fixed on the entrance.
“Kellen!” she called out as she hurried up the front walk. Reckless, she knew, but her need to see the boy she’d called her son overwhelmed all rational thought.
She never made it to the door. Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back.
“Not here,” Bridger told her, his grip firm on her shoulders as he steered her away from the house. “He’s not here. No one’s here.”
Jane tried to twist out of his grasp. “What? No, he has to be!”
Hair glistening with mist, Bridger kept moving her toward the curb where their car was parked. He nodded back at the open front door. “There’s no one there.”
Jane stopped struggling and followed his gaze. From this angle, she could see straight through to the kitchen. Dishes in the sink, magnets on the fridge, a teakettle on the stove—all the mundane signs of life. But no movement, no voices. The house was silent.
“But there might be clues…”
He opened the passenger door and gently pushed Jane back into her seat. As he walked around to the driver’s side, his jaw was tight. “The house is clean. Trust me. Which is why we can’t stay. I think we’ve been set up.”
Heart lurching into her throat, she stared at the open door. Where was Kellen? And the people Pete left him with?
She grabbed onto the first idea that hit her brain. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”
The faint whine of sirens filled the air.
He grimaced and floored the accelerator. “Seems like somebody beat us to it. I told you, we were set up. Someone wanted the cops to find us here.”
