Page 79 of Silent Deception
Not reassuring news.
Breathless, she stared at him, finally making out his familiar features. “What are you doing here? You scared me half todeath.”
“I didn’t mean to. I figured you were looking for me.”
“I—I guess I got here too late. E-everyone’s gone...and then you just came out of nowhere.” But it wasn’t just his sudden appearance that shook her. No longer knowing if she could trust him...wondering if he’dintendedto scare her, she bit her lip and tried to think of a good excuse for her arrival...but couldn’t think of a single one. “I think I’ll just head home, after all.”
He took a half step back, and she could see his deeply shadowed features. A frown furrowed his brow as he studied her. “I was out putting some miles on a colt and got back a few minutes ago. I thought I heard a strange noise over here.”
“I just pulled in, but I didn’t hear anything.” She hiked a thumb toward the other vehicle, which was now nearly invisible in the deepening shadows. “Maybe they would know.”
He looked over the hood of her truck. “I don’t know who that could be.”
Something about him changed as he scanned the area, then pinned his gaze on that car.
In place of a relaxed cowboy she saw what he must be like in the service, with an air of power and confidence that intimidated as much as any gun.
“You stay here, Kristin. Keep your doors locked. Or better yet, maybe you should go home.”
Going home sounded like a very good idea, but something made her hesitate. “What are you going to do?”
“Check everything out.” His mouth curved in a faint grin. “Like night patrol.”
Her premonition grew when he stepped into the light of the barn...and shot off the charts when he disappeared inside the office door.
Two minutes passed. Three. Four.
It would have been logical for him to step back into the hallway and wave or come out to say goodbye, but ten minutes went by without sight of him.
He could be making a phone call or answering one.He could have settled down to work on some accounts and won’t welcome you making a big scene.
Yet if something was wrong, who else was here to help?
Saying a silent prayer, she pocketed her cell phone and slipped out of her truck, thankful she’d worn her running shoes instead of her hard-soled boots.
The dark shadows beyond the reach of the security lights seemed to pulse with danger.
Her heart took up a staccato beat and her palms grew damp as she crept toward the side of the building, her senses on high alert. Every breath rasped in her throat. Every step seemed to echo in the building complex as she drew closer. Closer.
She eased into the barn, her hands and knees shaking.
A few more steps...just a few...
An angry voice spiraled out of control from inside the office, then she heard Ryan’s soothing tones.
When she leaned over a few inches to peer into the room, she saw why.
A tall man in a hooded shirt stood in the middle of the room with his back to the door. In one trembling hand he held the top of a large black garbage sack overflowing with manila folders. In the other—
He held a gun.
And Ryan was in the building.Defenseless.
Fear turned her blood to ice as she held her breath and eased just a millimeter farther, though every instinct screamed at her to run.
Horror replaced her fear when she blinked and focused on Clint lying in a pool of blood in front of the desk. Ryan knelt next to him, pressing a crimson-soaked cloth to his father’s chest.
For just a second, Ryan met and held her eyes, then he almost imperceptibly tilted his head, obviously wanting her to leave.
