Page 66 of Jina

“I hear you.” Rhy grimaced and glanced behind him. “The local police are here and need your statements. When we’re finished, we can head back to the precinct to plan our next move.”

“Do you think setting Jina up at the Timberland Falls property is still a go?” Zeke asked.

“Unless we can come up with something better, yeah,” Rhy said. “I’m open to other options.”

“Jina’s not in the locker room.” Cassidy’s expression held concern as she joined them.

“Maybe she went into my office?” Mike turned to head that way.

“No, we’ll go.” Cole grabbed his arm to stop him. “We’re armed.”

“Yeah, sure.” Mike moved out of the way. “My office is on the left, and the storeroom is to the right.”

Cole took the lead, as he was closest, but Zeke, Cassidy, and Rhy were not far behind. Holding his weapon ready, he crossed the room toward Mike’s office. Finding the door hanging ajar, he hung back as he kicked it open.

Empty.

Without hesitation, he moved farther down the hall. The storeroom door was also hanging open, and when he kicked that door open, he found it empty too.

The knot in his stomach tightened as he continued down the hall to the rear exit. Maybe he was overreacting. Jina could have come this way solely to check the area for herself.

But that didn’t stop him from praying she was okay. He pushed the door open, then hung back to sweep the area with his gaze.

And found nothing.

Battling another wave of fear, he ran outside, looking from left to right.

“Maybe she’s out front, already giving her statement,” Rhy said, coming up beside him.

He nodded, turning to head around the corner to the front of the gym. There were lots of people milling about now. A few of the gym members they’d released from the locker room were still standing around, along with what seemed like even more cops than had initially shown up to the scene.

“I don’t see her,” Zeke said with concern.

“I don’t either,” Cassidy said. “Her blond hair usually stands out.”

Cole continued forward, taking his time to look methodically from one person to the next until he, too, understood Jina wasn’t out there.

Then he turned to glance back at the wooded area. Had something out there drawn her attention?

“We need to check the strip mall again.” Without waiting for a response, he broke into a run. Apprehension clawed at him, telling him something wasn’t right.

The same way it had when he’d been interviewing Henry and Erma Crow.

He burst through the trees, searching desperately for Jina’s blond hair or the black Honda. When he didn’t see them, he continued moving to the back of the strip mall, still praying for God to keep Jina safe.

He stopped abruptly when he noticed the area behind the strip mall was deserted.

Where could she be?

“Cole?” He turned to meet Rhy’s grim expression. “We need to head back to the gym. That’s the last place she was seen.”

The last place Jina was seen alive. A warning chill slid down his spine, and he glanced at his watch. She’d only been missing for a few minutes, but that was more than enough time for the perp to grab her, kill her, and dump the body.

Please, Lord, protect her! Please keep her safe in Your loving arms!

“Cole?” Rhy searched his gaze, as if sensing how close he was to losing it.

He managed to nod and quickly joined the rest of Jina’s teammates as they jogged back to the gym.

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