Page 199 of Burn the Wild

I race to the Bullshit Box, nearly ripping the door off its hinges. My brothers file in behind me, their faces hard and alert. They snap into action. Davis is on the HAM radio to Chief Richter, while Charlie pulls up the security cameras. Wyatt slams the two-way radios onto the charger.

“Cameras are down,” Charlie announces, hitting the screen over and over.

Face grim, Davis hangs up the phone. “Richter can’t get anyone out here until morning. The road going in and out of town is flooded.”

A tortured roar erupts from deep within my chest. “Fuck.”

My brothers eye me like I’m one second away from going on a murder spree and that’s what I feel like. Fucking insane.

Crossing the room, Davis grips my arm. “We’ll look, Ford. We’ll cover the ranch, no matter how long it takes.”

“It’s Gavin,” I grit out. “He’s here. He’s been checked in as a guest for two goddamn months.”

Charlie and Davis gape at me. Wyatt and I tell them about the scene at the chalet.

Davis swears.

“How did he get past us?” Charlie rumbles.

“He never tried. That day he surprised Reese, he never left. He checked in under an alias. We didn’t look at the registry because we didn’t know.” I seethe. “We didn’t fucking know.”

I check the clock on the wall. Minutes feel like they’re crawling by. It’s been an hour since Reese went missing. What is that motherfucker doing to her right now? What if she’s hurt and I can’t help her?

My throat grows tight. The possibilities scare me shitless.

I tear a hand through my hair. “What if he took her off the ranch? We don’t know a goddamn thing.”

The thought makes me want to put a fist through the wall.

A screw tightens in my chest. “He’s been here, watching her, waiting the entire time.”

“Waiting?” Wyatt asks. “Waiting for what?”

Reese’s voice sounds in my mind. The faintest memory from our swim at the lake. Reese laughing in my arms and saying,“If I die, Gavin gets everything.”

My head snaps up. “To kill her.” Icy terror settles in my bones. “He’s going to kill her. For her money.” I bend at thewaist, hands on my thighs, trying to breathe. It feels like my world’s falling all around me.

A big hand clasps my back. “Ford, you have to be strong,” Davis says. “For Reese.”

I straighten up, breathing shakily. “I failed her. I promised she’d be safe here.”

“You didn’t fail her.”

“I did.” My voice breaks. I rest my brow against the wall, fighting tears. “Fuck.”

“We’re gonna get her back, brother.” Davis squeezes the back of my neck. “You feel her, right? That woo-woo shit?”

“Yeah,” I say quietly. “I do.”

With every bone in my body, I feel her. Her heart. Her laugh. Her black hole when it hangs too low, and she fights something bigger than herself. She fought so fucking hard to be on this earth. This bastard won’t take it away from her now.

He won’t take her away from me.

She’s still breathing. She’s fighting.

And I’m going to find her.

“Hold on to that,” Davis orders. “We’re gonna find your girl. We have to.” He grins. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to your grumpy ass.”

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