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“Well, we can’t. First of all, it’s illegal to record without consent in the state of Washington, so it’s not admissible in court. That doesn’t mean I didn’t turn it over to my contact at the FBI, though.”
I placed my right ankle over my left knee in an attempt to keep my leg from bouncing. “So the FBI will take care of it?”
Compassion flickered to life in Pierce’s gaze. “There’s more.” Pierce rocked back and forth in his leather office chair, and it creaked beneath his weight, breaking the silence between us. “Tim is still in the area. He didn’t leave like he said he was going to.”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Zayne updated us after your meeting with him,” Pierce continued.
“Ah. That makes more sense. I knew I hadn’t told you.” I tapped my fingers against the sole of my tennis shoe. This was the only pair I owned now.
Mentally urging Pierce to spit it out before I had a heart attack from my pulse-pounding so fucking hard, I pressed my lips together in order to keep my mouth closed.
“Tim has made a few other calls from his car. Unfortunately, he doesn’t ever say the person’s name, so we’re not sure who is on the other side of the conversation. But he’s said a few things that lead us to believe that he’s not involved with River’s kidnapping.”
Time screeched to a halt. Tim might not be responsible for River’s disappearance, but to add to the shit show, we didn’t have any other leads to go on. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
“What about Logan?” I asked, desperation clinging to my words.
“Not from what we can tell, but that doesn’t mean it’s a no,” Sutton explained.
“Where does this leave us?” I gripped the arm of the chair as tight as I could.
“In good shape actually. Tim is aware of who took River.”
“What? I thought he wasn’t a part of her kidnapping!” I dropped my foot to the floor and scooted onto the edge of my seat.
“This is why I was late. I was transferring the recording.” Sutton tapped the screen of her cell phone and set it on the desk. Tim’s voice began to filter through the speaker.
“You fucking did what?” Tim asked, his dismay clear. “What in God’s name made you take River?”
I stilled and stopped breathing, waiting to hear more.
It had to be my River he was talking about. The name was too uncommon.
“Well fucking fix it. My son is out of his goddamned mind sick with worry. This wasn’t a smart move at all. You … Jesus … fucking fix it!”
Silence occupied the line.
“That just added another layer to why this was a horrible idea. And I’ll say this, she better not be hurt when she returns home. The FBI will start sniffing around, and I’ll be investigated right along with you. You’ll expose my dealings right along with yours.”
Silence.
“Make this right and fast. If not, you’ll be in prison pretty fucking fast, and I won’t bother to visit you. Fucking take care of it, now. I don’t want to have anything to do with this.”
The call went dead, Tim’s words ringing in my ears.
“River is alive?” I whispered as I sank to my knees. “She’s alive.” Tears pricked my eyes, and I stared at the floor, embarrassed that I wasn’t holding my shit together. I slid back into my seat and steadied my breathing. Oh God, she’s alive.
“Now Tim is involved, Holden,” Pierce said. “Give us a little more time. The FBI is on it. We’re going to find her.”
“Do we have any idea where River is? Is she hurt? Is the baby okay?” The questions flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I was so grateful for the news that I wasn’t thinking clearly.
“Not yet. I’m hoping he’ll continue to use his car for a while. He just crossed the state line into Oregon.” Sutton held her phone up to me and pointed to the red dot on the map.
Pierce stood. “Holden, we’re close. I know the hardest thing in the world is to wait while someone else is working on the case. But you have my word, we’re on it almost every minute of the day to bring her back as fast as we can. Sutton and I are running on very little sleep. We tag team so one of us is constantly monitoring Tim. Brian at the FBI updates me daily. I’m sure this has been the longest three days of your life, but hang in there.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Thank you both. I’ll do anything you want me to. If I need to meet with Tim and pretend that I’m joining him, I will.”
