“Shut up and stop moving or I’ll kill you sooner than I intended.” He drills his cold eyes into mine as he forces me inside. The door slams shut, trapping me in the confined space.
My heart stops at his words.
He’s going to kill me, just like he killed Nathan.
Chapter 34
Scott
Mark Glassier’s call. It was cryptic and rushed with terrible news. Now, I’m sitting at a small desk in the front office waiting for Michaels, a grizzled Coast Guard veteran. My gut tells me something is off.
“Rickter,” Michaels says, sitting down at the desk. “I didn’t expect to see you today. What’s up?”
“I got a call from Mark Glassier. He told me to come in.”
“Oh yeah? What did he want from you?”
“He told me you found a body in the Drop—Nathan’s.”
Michaels exchanges a glance with another officer before turning back to me. “Glassier? He’s out of town, had a family emergency. He won’t be back until next week.”
A cold knot tightens in my chest.
“And no one has found a body at the Drop. What’s going on, Scott?”
“What the?” I mutter. “Okay. This is important.” I take out an old business card from my wallet that has my number on it and hand it to him. “I need you to tell me who reported Nathan’sdisappearance. Find out who took Nathan out to the Drop that day.”
“What’s this all about?”
“Talk to Daniels. He’s reopened Nathan’s case.”
Without another word to Michaels, I bolt from the office and jump into my truck, adrenaline surging as I tear down the road toward my house. Worst-case scenarios race through my mind, each more gut-wrenching than the last. When I pull into the driveway, my stomach drops.
I dial Mark’s number. It rings before going to voicemail. “This doesn’t make any sense,” I mutter, trying Maddie next, straight to voicemail. My heart pounds as I scroll through my contacts, dialing Hannah. No answer. Wes. Nothing.
My unease twists into full-fledged fear.
The front door is ajar and swaying in the breeze.
I run to the porch. Maddie’s bag lies on the deck, her phone smashed beside it. I shove the door open, my heart pounding. Inside, it’s worse. Much worse. There’s blood all over the floor. It doesn’t take long for me to assess the source.
Denver. He’s on his side and he’s not moving.
“Oh, no. No boy.” My throat closes in. Looking him over, I determine he has a faint pulse. His wound has been wrapped in a tight blanket.
Maddie.
Like a madman, I search through every nook and cranny in the house. She’s nowhere.
The crunch of gravel snaps me out of my panic. I spin around. Wes’s Jaguar pulls into the drive, followed by Hannah’s compact car. They jump out, their faces etched with worry.
“What’s going on? Maddie called but didn’t tell me anything. She sounded spooked.” Hannah’s frantic as she storms through the door, her voice trembling.
She takes one look at Denver and screams, throwing her hands over her mouth.
“Maddie’s gone.” I gesture toward the chaos on the porch and inside. “She’s been taken.”
Hannah gasps. “No…” She picks up her phone and dials 911. “We’ve got to get him help. It doesn’t look like he’s got much time.”
