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"Would you look at that," Gunner laughed. "She's got him wrapped around her finger already."
"It's her superpower," Riggs replied, turning Robby over to Naomie. "The place next door is still vacant, right?" He asked.
"Yes. Your grandmother is taking care of that. She's at the main house, so head up there, and she'll get you all squared away."
"Don't you have something like a barracks?" Gunner asked.
"We do, but you're not the typical ranch hand."
"But I can learn to be," Gunner argued. "And want to. I'll earn the private digs."
Riggs grinned and clapped Gunner on the shoulder. "I've missed you, bruh."
"Same here. And I hate to spoil the mood, but I have to know. Any word on Red?"
It was as if a sudden leaden cloud claimed ownership, shrouding everything in a fog of despondency. Riggs guessed he should be grateful for having escaped it for five minutes.
A week passed without locating Georgie via the data on her and Josh's cars or cell phone records. Despite the risk, Naomie hacked into every site containing information on Georgie and Josh—banking, credit cards, gas cards, and employment records. No flags.
Nothing.
It was like they'd disappeared.
Naomie still couldn't locate the code on the chip she implanted in Georgie, which meant they'd reached a dead end. Naomie cried for a week. Riggs felt like it. If only she'd call.
Riggs walked over to the porch railing and stared out for a few seconds. "She said if she called, she'd need me to save her. But she hasn't called."
He turned to look at Gunner and Naomie, who'd claimed his vacated spot on the swing. "The way I see it, this could have played out a couple of ways. One. She wants to be with that guy, so she isn't going to call. Two, he's not letting her call, or three, she's dead."
Riggs looked away, determined not to let anyone see the tears threatening. Since Georgie disappeared, he'd gone over it a thousand times in his mind. He knew he didn't dream of her telling him she loved him, and he believed her. Hell, he knew it before she said it. It was evident in her eyes, her touch, and the tone of her voice.
She'd cared for him in a way no one else had. It was Georgie who'd been by his side every step of the way. Thanks to her relentless dedication, he made it through the surgeries with flying colors.
Lady Luck smiled at him when he received his prosthesis. He remembered everything Georgie told him about learning to walk with hers, which became part of his rehab. The people at Sanctuary were great, and within five days, Riggs was walking like he'd never lost a limb.
He was thrilled and sad down to his bones. Georgie should have been here to see it, to know that she had a big part in his success.
And she would have if she could. He knew that deep in his gut, but still, there were times when doubts assailed him. What if she had changed her mind and wanted to be with Josh?
He heard what sounded like a text chime from his cell phone and looked to see Gunner pulling one from his pocket. He looked at it and frowned. "What the hell?"
Gunner frowned at the screen for a few moments, then read aloud. "Your report is ready. To retrieve, enter your identification number. Then there's a long string of … hold on, this looks like a GPS location."
"Who's it from?" Riggs asked.
"Ralph Newsome."
"Who's that?"
"Beats the hell out of me."
Naomie looked at the phone, then stood and took Robby to Riggs. "Let me grab my tablet."
She hurried inside and returned in less than a minute with an iPadPro in her hand. After sitting beside Gunner, she accessed a site that wasn't for the public and looked at Gunner. "Okay, give me the location."
He read the string of numbers slowly, and she entered them. When she hit enter, the screen changed to display a country map. Along the coast of a lake in Massachusetts was a blinking dot.
"Okay, let's see if we can figure out why Ralph Newsome is sending Gunner GPS data."
