Page 78 of Searching Blind

“We know where they are,” Ash reasoned. “My deputies can surround them and?—”

“And they’ll kill the girls,” Sawyer interrupted. “Then themselves, just like Grant or Walker or whatever his name was. Whatever Pierce is twisted up in, it’s big enough that people are not only willing to kill for it but die for it. We don’t have a choice, Ash.”

Ash growled. “Then use Donovan as the decoy. At least he can see!”

Sawyer chose to ignore that last bit and pulled on the hood Zak handed him. “We have to assume they know what Pierce looks like. Donovan’s too big to pass as him. We’re the same height and roughly the same weight. They won’t know I’m not him until it’s too late.”

“Ash,” Zak said, and there was a rare note of seriousness in his tone. “When I married Anna, I promised you I’d always protect her, and I don’t plan on breaking that promise. I’ll bring your sister home.”

Ash groaned softly. Then, “Fuck it.” Something clattered to the floor. Through the gap at the bottom of his hood, Sawyer saw Ash’s badge spin across the floor, coming to rest by his boot. “I’m coming, too. Give me a gun that’s not police issue.”

Zak chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Careful, Ash. Your inner bad boy is peeking out.”

“Fuck off, Zak. Let’s move.”

chapter

twenty-seven

Sawyer sat in the cramped backseat of Zak’s truck, jammed between Donovan and Connelly, his hands loosely bound in front of him with a zip tie. When the time came, he’d be able to break free.

“Remember to put on a show,” Donovan murmured. “If we were really betraying Pierce, he wouldn’t go easily.”

“I know it.” His throat tightened.

Pierce had been missing for nearly a week now and nobody knew why, or where he’d gone, but Sawyer wanted to assume his friend had a good reason for disappearing. Pierce was… complicated, and often made decisions that were hard for others to understand.

But now those decisions had put them all in danger. Had put Lucy in danger, and Sawyer didn’t know if he’d ever be able to forgive Pierce for it.

If Pierce was even still alive.

“This is all so fucked up,” Connelly said.

“That coming from the horror writer,” Donovan said, a grim laugh rumbling in his throat. “You couldn’t make this shit up.”

“Wouldn’t want to,” Conn muttered. “I’m seriously considering a career change. Maybe children’s books.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just hope the ending is happier than some of your plots,” Zak said from the driver’s seat.

There was a shared silence, then a collective inhale as the truck pulled off the highway onto a rutted, dirt road. Coordinates had arrived in another message, and they pointed to an abandoned mill deep in the heart of the redwood forest. The place had a history of fires and accidents, which had eventually led to its closure—just the sort of eerie backdrop that fell neatly into Sawyer’s nightmares. A perfect setting for a horror story, not a rescue mission.

“Game faces on,” Zak said.

Sawyer nodded, his heart pounding hard in his chest. His palms were sweaty against the zip tie, and he told himself it was the cheap material, not fear. He was going into the lion’s den blind, and God knew if he’d come out of it alive.

But it didn’t matter, as long as Lucy and Anna survived.

The truck pulled to a stop outside the mill, and Sawyer was immediately shoved out of the vehicle without preamble or warning. Donovan’s big hand was rough on his arm, and he fought against it, making it look good.

A punch to his gut had him doubling over, breathless. The sharp pain was real, and it took a moment for him to recover.

“Easy,” he hissed.

“Gotta make it look good,” Zak said through his teeth.

Yeah, that was more than for show. Zak was pissed he’d dragged Anna into this. Rightly so, but… Jesus. His body was still one giant bruise, his knee singing with every step.

Someone shoved him and he stumbled forward, landing hard on his knees in the dirt. He felt the barrel of a gun press against his temple and although he’d been expecting it, fear still coursed through him, sharp and cold. He closed his eyes, drew in a slow breath, trying to keep his calm.

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