Page 58 of Cold Case Discovery

“I’ll go first,” Jack murmured as they approached the rock. “Push Ry in after me, and I’ll pull. Then you.” He looked at her, right in the eye. “Got it?”

He was trying to be her anchor, and she appreciated it. Because she needed one, and if anyone could be one, it was him. Jack Hudson.

Who is in this mess because of you.Whose parents are gone because of yours.

And who loved her anyway, she reminded herself. Because he did. She saw it in his eyes, in his move to protect herandRy. So she would be strong for him as much as for herself.

Jack flattened himself against one side of the rock and shuffled in through the crevice, just barely making it. Chloe couldn’t see him, but she pictured his dark, steady gaze and helped Ry maneuver himself inside as well.

She glanced back at the trio of women with guns. She knew she shouldn’t do it, shouldn’t give her mother a chance to see her fear. But it was her mother she studied now.

“What are you doing, Mom?”

Mom’s mouth curved into a vicious smile. “Ruining as many lives as I can. Just like how your father and high-and-mighty Laura Hudson tried to ruin mine.”

It made no sense. It had never made any sense. Her mother’s unending well of anger, of blame, of needing to hurt anyone and everyone she could reach.

“Get inside, Chloe. Or I start shooting.”

Chloe nodded and then pushed herself through the crevice. Inside, it was so dark. Damp and cold and dark and—A hand clasped around her forearm and gently pulled her inside.

Jack.

She wanted to lean into him, but she was afraid to allow herself the weakness. Afraid of what her mother might see and use against her.

So she held herself upright and tried to allow her eyes to adjust to the dark. But not long after they’d all gotten inside, a light clicked on. A lantern, some battery-powered thing hanging from a hook dug into the rock face. The cave was much bigger than the crevice had let on and was full of things. Makeshift beds, a table, a whole little outdoor-kitchen setup. Like people lived here.

Mom had saidhome. Was this... Wasthiswhere she’d been living all these years? It didn’t make any sense, except that it explained why no one had been able to find her. A cave in a remote forest preserve.

But...why?

Chloe watched as Sarah settled herself in a chair at the entrance of the cave, gun pointed in their direction. Had the three of them been together all this time? She understood them conspiring to kill her father. And they’d clearly spent years planning it, as Mark had been in prison for six years now.

But Jack’s parents... So many years ago. It just made no sense.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Sarah said with a mean smile.

Mom entered, standing next to Sarah, scowling. “For the love of God, shut him up,” she said, referring to Ry.

Chloe looked down at her brother. His mouth was bleeding, and he was making little whimpering noises. Chloe felt a mix of worry and sympathy and bone-deep anger that he’d been part of this at all. “Come on, Ry, buck up,” she told him. Just like she had when they were kids and she had to be the strong one. The one to protect them both.

He glared up at her, anger in his gaze. Anger when he was half the reason they were here. For so many years, she’d given him a pass. Because their childhood had been rough. She’d blamed herself for not being strong enough, smart enough,goodenough to save him from all the troublehecaused.

But she’d had no one, and she’d turned out okay. Better than okay. She’d cobbled together a damn good life for herself, and Ry had complained and blamed and worn his victimhood like a second skin.

Chloe just wished she’d realized all this sooner.

“I thought you didn’t want the hassle of cops trying to find other cops,” Jack said, sounding so calm and in control. He couldn’t be, though. Not knowing the woman standing in front of him had killed his parents. He was holding on to their training. He was dealing with the crisis at hand.

Chloe felt like everything she’d ever learned about being a cop, about de-escalating a situation, about self-preservation, had deserted her. Her entire world twisted inside out.

Except Jack.

Jen smirked at him. “Sure, it’s a hassle when you don’t have time to do it right. When there’s too many witnesses. Now I have all the time in the world to make sure you all end up just like your parents, Sheriff. Because that’s what happens to people who butt their noses in where they don’t belong. Theydisappearwithout a trace.”

Chapter Nineteen

Without a trace. Those words landed like blows because it was true. His parents had disappeared without a trace. Jen had committed a crime that she’d escaped for seventeen years, and Jack still wasn’t sure what had prompted Ry to find those remains—accident, on purpose, it didn’t matter.

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