My rib cage constricted at the images flooding my mind, cutting off my ability to take a deep breath. Shay, shoved into the trunk of some car, hurting, scared, and alone. Griffin gripped my shoulders again. “Keep it together. Ford is on his way. We’re gonna find her.”
I met Griffin’s gaze. “You’re not trying to get me to stay put?”
He grunted. “Hell, no. I would never do that, and I don’t expect you to be any different.”
A luxury SUV pulled to the side of the road, and a window rolled down. “Hop in.”
I climbed into the passenger side of the SUV and turned to Ford. “Thank you.”
“Of course. The girls are calling everyone we know to help with the search or to tell them to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Crosby’s getting some flyers made up with Shay’s photo.”
I didn’t even know how they had a photo of Shay. I didn’t have one. Not a single picture of her or of the two of us together, marking the memories we’d made. All I had were dozens of paintings. But those weren’t realistic enough. Then again, neither was a photo. Nothing came close to the real thing. The curves of her body, the feel of her skin, that lavender scent that always clung to her.
“Where’s Hunter?” Griffin asked as he fastened his seat belt.
Ford pulled out onto the road. “He hasn’t called me back yet. He was going to check out the resort he’s thinking about buying, and you know how the service is up there.”
“Shitty on a good day,” Griffin muttered.
My gaze jumped all around as we drove. As if I might catch sight of Shay walking down the street, and this would all be a terrible mistake. “Where are we going first?”
Ford turned on a road that led out of town. “A few areas are known for having a lot of rentals. That seems like the most likely place to keep someone. But he’d need to have privacy. So, we’re going to focus on the places with some acreage.”
He’d already thought this out. While my mind had been reeling, Ford had been thinking logically. “Thank you. I’ll never be able to repay—”
“We care about her, too,” Ford cut in. “You guys are part of the family now. We’d do anything for you.”
My throat burned, but I managed to nod.
Griffin leaned forward in his seat. “You got your Glock?”
Ford nodded. “Better safe than sorry.”
“Good. We should stop by the farmhouse so I can get something, too.”
Ford made another turn, taking us down a road surrounded by rolling fields. “Your place is between house one and two, we can stop then.”
I looked back and forth between the two of them. I’d never handled a gun in my life, but I wasn’t about to complain about them being armed. Who knew what we’d face when we found Shay?
A phone’s ring sounded through the car’s speakers. Ford hit a button on his steering wheel. “Hunter, where are you?”
The line seemed to crackle, but we could just make out Hunter’s words. “I’m at the old resort. Someone’s been up here.”
My body locked. “What do you see?”
“I’m far away, but there’s an SUV. Two guys pacing and talking. One of them looks like he’s watching something on his phone.”
“Can you get a better look?” Griffin asked.
“Maybe.”
“Be careful,” Ford warned. “If you get yourself killed, Bell is going to be really pissed.”
I pulled out my cell phone. “I’m texting Parker just in case this is something.” My fingers flew across the screen.
Within seconds, my phone rang. I hit accept. “Are you sending someone?”
“I’m on my way with a deputy. Where the hell are you?” Parker barked.
“We’re on our way, too. Hunter’s already there. He’s trying to get a view inside the cabin.”
Parker let a slew of curses fly. “Tell him to fall back. He’s unarmed. We’re ten minutes out.”
But anything could happen in ten minutes. Including losing the person who meant the world to me. “We’ll see you soon.” I hit end. “Parker’s on his way.”
Breathing sounded over the phone line, but nothing else could be heard other than the wind. “I’m coming in from the back, there’s a little tree coverage here,” Hunter whispered. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get a line of sight—” His words cut off for the briefest of moments. “Hell, it’s Sam. He has Shay. And there’s another guy with a gun.”
49
Shay
Everything in me locked. Muscles and mind, frozen in shock. This couldn’t be real. Had to be some sort of horrible nightmare. I just needed to wake up. As soon as consciousness rose, I’d be safe in Brody’s arms instead of staring down the barrel of a gun.
“Cat got your tongue, sissy?” Michael asked, tilting his head and the gun to one side.
“How?” It was the only word I could seem to get out. But I did my best to keep my voice from shaking, not to show my brother the fear he got so high on as my gaze jumped back and forth between the two men.
Michael pulled a fake pout. “No hug? No, ‘I’ve missed you?’”
Part of me had missed him. Wanted to throw my arms around him and weep for the brother I’d only had glimpses of growing up. The one who played with me, and helped me convince Mom and Dad to let us stay up late to watch a movie and eat ice cream. But those flickers of a true brother had died right along with my parents. The man in front of me was a stranger.
Sam leaned against the counter, smirking. “She doesn’t look like she missed you.”
“No, she fucking doesn’t.” Michael lowered the gun so it was resting by his side. “But I know the truth. Deep down, she did. She doesn’t know how to live without me.”
I met his gaze dead-on, unwavering, not letting the blow his words delivered show. “How did you two find each other?”
Sam pushed off the counter and moved closer to me. “That hell hole of a treatment facility takes all kinds. And most of us are released when we turn eighteen.”
“But Parker brought you in for questioning. Ran you.”
He shrugged. “Juvenile record. It’s handy to have parents who can pay a high-priced lawyer to keep things sealed.”
I studied Sam, trying to put the pieces together. He looked closer to my age than Michael’s. Sam leered in my direction, his eyes roaming over my body. “I should look familiar, Shay. I’ve had eyes on you for years. I knew you were thinking of moving here before you even told good ol’ Aunt Georgie.”
Bile crept up my throat. The idea of Sam watching me for so many years made me sick. The fact that I never once remembered seeing him. I wanted to scour my skin clean. “Why would you do that?” The for him was silent but understood.
“Your brother saved me. Had my back when some gangbanger tried to shank me. Let’s just say we became a team after that.”
Michael stepped forward. “Did you really think I’d leave you alone? Wouldn’t care what happened to you?”