Page 121 of Reclaimed

“It’s what I have for you, Aiden. I’m sorry. We won’t stop looking.” Sutton’s gruff voice is unusual coming from him. He’s carrying the weight of this investigation on his shoulders. “Hang on.”

My palms sweat as silence pours through the line. There’s a rustle, as if Sutton’s on the move. An onslaught of devastating images rips through my head the longer he keeps me waiting. I refuse to believe my mind telling me they found something else.

Or someone.

“Sutton,” Lee barks, noticing the palpable anxiety filling the cab. He hits the gas, racing toward the flashing lights ahead.

A hundred feet back, he slows to a stop. My shoes touch pavement before he even has it in park. His footsteps thunder behind me, hot on my heels as I seek out Sutton or Silas in the group of blue and gray uniforms.

“Shit, Powell, I saidhang on.” Sutton scowls at me before flicking his gaze behind me at Lee.

“What is it?” I snarl.

“We have a call about the car. It was seen leaving the highway and turning right on Parkway Road. The caller lost sight of them after that, but a deputy is in pursuit.”

“They have sight of them?”

Sutton shakes his head. “Not yet, but there isn’t much out there. Once you get around Rainbow Lake, the road turns into a T. Local cops are blocking traffic on either end. They’re blocked in.”

My shoulders sink. “So now it’s only a matter of finding out where he’s taking her.”

“They’re pulling property records for the hunting cabins out that way looking for anyone named Henry.” Sutton’s hand falls heavily on my shoulder. “We’re doing everything that we can.”

While all I can do is sit and wait, Isla’s out there facing a gunman alone. I thought what I went through earlier this year was a nightmare, but this… This is infinitely worse. I’d rather take on Frankie’s gunman a thousand times. At least he was standing in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes. I don’t even know what this Henry fucker looks like.

A sudden flurry of activity yanks me back to reality. Radios crackle with disembodied voices. Sutton listens intently as he squints into the waning sun. When he turns to find his lead detective, I follow. Something is happening.

A stern man with white hair begins talking. “We’ve located the property of Henry Newton. Deputy Kramer reports seeing smoke in the vicinity. SWAT has been activated.” He continuesdiscussing staging and coordinates. As they disburse, I move to Sutton’s SUV.

“No,” he growls.

“I’ll stay in the car.”

“As if I can trust you to do that.” He drops his hand to his belt.

I snort, but there’s no humor behind the noise. Only desperation. “Are you going to tase me, Sutton?”

“Thinking about it.”

“Let me be there. When they bring her out, she’s going to need me. Don’t make her go through this without me.”

He jerks his head at the door. “Get in.” I dive into the passenger seat before he can say another word. Lee quietly slips into the back.

We whip down the highway in a quiet line of red and blue. About twenty minutes and a series of turns later, we come upon the area. I know because of the plume of black smoke rising from within the trees.

We’re close.

Sutton’s radio sparks to life.

“Confirmed sight on the suspect’s vehicle. Confirmed sight of one adult male and one adult female on a bed in the main room.”

Every muscle in my body locks. Lee’s hand lands on my shoulder from the back as if he thinks I’m about to run. “I’m okay,” I lie through my teeth to reassure him.

“No you’re not.” His fingers depress the muscle. “Just letting you know I’ve got your back.”

Time seems to stop. Sutton explains procedure but all I can think is fuck procedure. I know they all have families to get home safely to, but my family,my life, is a few hundred feet away in the arms of a homicidal maniac and there’s nothing I can do.

Not one damn thing.

---