Clayton shook his head. “Nowhere to be found. There was a bullet hole in the wall of the motel room, but no shell or casing.”
“Whoever did this wanted us to know they shot Cooper,” Brice said.
Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s right.”
“Was there blood anywhere?” Caleb asked.
Ryan snorted. “It was everywhere. We’re not sure how much of it is Jace’s since he was bleeding profusely, or if it’s Cooper’s or whoever attacked them. Unfortunately, learning those details is going to take time.”
“Time we don’t have,” Abby whispered.
Clayton pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Whoever took Cooper must have called Marlee. That’s the only reason I can think of for her to leave without telling us.”
“Unless they threatened Cooper,” Caleb said. “If Audrey were threatened, that would get me to do anything.”
Abby nodded. “He’s right.”
“Someone call her,” Ryan suggested.
Clayton had been so wrapped up in everything that calling Marlee hadn’t even crossed his mind. Before he could reach for his phone, Brice was already dialing the number.
“It’s ringing,” Brice told them. After a few minutes, he lowered the phone to the island. “It went to voicemail.”
Abby turned to find her phone. “Then we all call her.”
One by one, they placed calls to Marlee, but she didn’t answer.
“I think it’s time we tracked her,” Ryan announced. He then made a call to the police station.
Caleb looked at Clayton. “What do we do now?”
“We wait,” Abby replied. “We let Danny and Ryan do what they do best, and we wait for when we can help.”
Brice sank heavily onto one of the stools. “What are the odds that this will end happily for us?”
“I don’t want to think about that,” Caleb answered.
Brice swung his head to his brother. “Well, I have to.”
“We do what we do best,” Clayton told them. “We be there for each other and our friends who are going to need us. Speaking of, has anyone called Betty?”
Ryan hung up the phone. “Danny had a sheriff’s deputy bring her to Jace. They’re hoping she can talk some sense into him because he wants to be brought here.”
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Abby said.
Clayton looked at her. “Jace needs to be in a hospital.”
“I agree with Abby,” Caleb said. “Jace was attacked. We have no idea if anyone else will be, as well. This ranch has always been our go-to when we need to regroup or gather.”
Clayton pulled Abby against his side and kissed the top of her head. “You’re both right. Call everyone. Get them here.”
“Clayton, the kids,” Abby said.
Ryan held up a hand. “I’ll get them here immediately. Same with Naomi and Nate.”
Brice let out a loud sigh. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
Clayton was used to everyone looking to him for guidance, but this time, he wasn’t sure he knew what to do—much less say. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were going to lose Marlee or Cooper. Maybe even both of them.
* * *
Each time her phone rang, Marlee fought not to reach for it and talk to them. She couldn’t be sure if someone had put a tracker on her phone, and she didn’t have time to look through it and find out. So, she decided to be cautious and assume that the asshole who had taken Cooper wasn’t lying.
She had less than thirty seconds to spare when she finally reached the thirty-mile mark and jerked the vehicle’s wheel to pull over. She slammed on the brakes, but that sent her phone flying off the center console to the floorboard.
Marlee let out a string of curses as she bent over, using her hands to search for it. She happened to glance up and saw that she was moving. With another string of curses, she put the SUV in park and opened the door to find the phone. Once she had it, she hit redial on her last accepted call.
“Cutting it close,” the man said as he answered.
She closed her eyes while trying to get herself under control. Getting angry with him would get her nowhere. “I’m here. What next?”
“You’re going to ditch whatever vehicle you’re in. Do it somewhere it can’t be found easily. Destroy the phone while you’re at it. Then start walking north.”
Marlee looked in the direction he mentioned. “It’s nothing but woods. And it’s raining.”
“Then bring an umbrella. But get moving. Time is running out.”
“I have another time limit? What is it this time?”
The man laughed. “Why would I tell you and make it easy?”
“Where north do I go?”
“I recommend you get a move on. Tick-tock.”
Marlee let out a scream of frustration when the line went dead. She slammed her hands repeatedly on the steering wheel as tears coursed down her face. Her hands shook as she thought about her parents. She wanted to send them a quick text, but she didn’t dare. Cooper’s life was on the line.
She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. No matter how much she wanted to tell her parents goodbye, she couldn’t. And maybe that was for the best. If she told them, it might do more harm than good. Both of her parents were in a fragile state right now. A call from her, telling them that she might die, could be the very thing that killed them.
Marlee took in a steadying breath and glanced around for a place to dump the Suburban. She put to memory exactly where she was and shifted the vehicle into drive then pulled back onto the road, looking through the rain for somewhere to put the SUV. She drove about half a mile before she found what she was looking for. The ditch was so steep that it would be easy for a car to go off the side where no one could see it, especially with the rain.
She backed up, thankful that the road was all but deserted at the moment. Then she put it in neutral and got out, immediately drenched and missing the warmth of the interior. She turned the wheel just enough to send the Suburban down the embankment and into the ravine. But if she thought it would be easy, she was sorely mistaken. She pushed against the large SUV with all her might, struggling to move it even an inch. Finally, she realized she didn’t have the strength to get it to budge.
“Shit,” she murmured, shivering as she got back in and out of the wet and cold.
Marlee left the door open as she put it in drive and let her foot off the brake. The Suburban began to move. She raised her foot off some more, and the vehicle picked up momentum. Just before it went over the side, Marlee jumped out. Except her feet slipped on the pebbles on the shoulder, and she landed hard, the phone slipping from her hands. As soon as she fell, she rolled, the back tire of the SUV barely missing her foot. She heard a crunch as the vehicle ran over her phone.
She pressed her forehead against the pavement for a moment to catch her breath. She had managed to keep from being wounded and had destroyed her phone as she was supposed to. She jumped up and ran across the road. She moved into the trees but worked her way back to where she had been when the man had told her to head north. She wasn’t a runner by any means, and soon, she had a stitch in her side. At least she was no longer shivering.