Page 121 of Counter Attack

“You got her number?”

“Better than that, I’ve already talked to her and had her send me a photo of her daughter and son, whose name, by the way, isn’t Phillip Denton but Phillip Wilson.”

“Madden...” Nathan growled as his phone alerted to a text coming in.

“He has a sister, Violet Wilson. I just sent you the photos.”

“Hold on. Let me look.” Nathan put the phone on speaker then opened Madden’s message. His heart almost stopped.

Violet Wilson was Kayla? And Phame. He tried to take a breath, but his lungs wouldn’t cooperate. Nathan looked again to be sure, but there was no mistaking—they were one and the same.

“I’ll call you back.” Without waiting for Madden to respond, he hit the end button and punched in Mark’s number.

“Lassiter.”

“Is Alexis with you?”

“No. She’s at the cave and I’m almost there. Did she get ahold of you?”

“I got her text about Kayla. She’s walking into a trap. Kayla Jackson hasn’t been kidnapped. She’s Phame.”

“What?”

“You heard me right. I’m on my way.”

“Other deputies are coming, but we were scattered all over the county so I called Jared, and he’s sending all your available officers.”

“Good deal.” Nathan disconnected and dialed Jared to get an update. “What’s going on?”

“I’m here at Eagle Ridge, but I haven’t seen Alex or Kayla Jackson.”

“Keep looking, but be careful—Kayla hasn’t been kidnapped, and she may have Alexis.” He explained what had happened. “I’m on my way.”

He’d barely hung up when he felt a presence at his side. Nathan cut his eyes to the right, and his heart seized.Kayla.

“Keep walking and act normal if you ever want to see Alex again. Alive, that is.”

He stopped in spite of her command, and something hard pressed into his side.

“Keep going.”

“Where is she?”

“You’ll see. My car is in front of the hardware store. Now walk.”

He forced his feet to move. “Why, Kayla? Because she killed your brother?”

“One of the reasons.”

“But Phillip Denton threatened to kill her.”

“With an unloaded gun? Gimme a break.” She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Wait. How did you know?”

“You gave us clues, and we’re not stupid, Kayla. Alexis didn’t want to kill your brother, but if someone pulls a gun on you, you have to assume they’re going to kill you. She had no way of knowing his gun wasn’t loaded.”

“She could’ve handled it differently. And shut up. I don’t want to hear anything else about it.” She pointed toward a blue RAV4. “I’m parked there. Get in the driver’s seat.”

He’d hoped she would drive. That way he might get the drop on her once he knew where Alexis was.

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