“No. Work on your case. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay—” Cassidy stood and went to the door “—but promise me you’ll call me if you need anything or decide to go anywhere. If Evan is worried, there’s a reason.”
CHAPTER 30
The call came in as Evan was watching Cassidy and Mckenna have a heated conversation. He could barely see it since Mckenna’s office was down the hall, but he had a bad feeling it was about him. Cassidy was warning Mckenna to be careful with him. He’d break her heart, and this was a fling. He’d earned that with what had happened in his previous office.
He hadn’t been in a relationship with his partner like he was accused, but he did have a reputation for dating and dumping others he’d met. He’d realized this morning, when he saw that footprint in the dirt, that Mckenna was different. He couldn’t imagine going home and not having her there with him. His house had always seemed cold and lonely, but with her there last night, there was a warmth, and he didn’t want to lose it.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by his phone vibrating on his desk. The caller ID showed it was Officer Keith Warren.
“About time,” Evan muttered, picking up. “This is Agent Knox, have you found them?”
“Morning to you too,” Keith said. “Toby’s ankle monitor came back on. I don’t know where he was last night or why the monitor went down, but I finally had a ping on it this morning. I thought you’d want to come with me since you want him brought in. I figured you might want to take him to your office rather than mine.”
“Where is he now?” Evan asked.
“A picnic area in the national forest not far from his house. Close to the Clear Creek Ranger District. I’m going to go pick him up. I can bring him back to the probation office.”
“No, I want to meet you there,” Evan said. “I want to know where Rex is. Once we have Toby, you can take him to the jail for holding and I’ll go find Rex.”
“Okay, whatever you want.”
“Text me the address,” Evan said, hanging up.
Mckenna and Cassidy were still deep in conversation. He didn’t want to interrupt. Girl talk was always something he avoided. Having three sisters, he’d learned that the hard way. Instead, Evan texted Mckenna, hoping she’d follow his instructions and not question him.
As he rushed to his vehicle, he received a text from one of the evidence team members. They were done with Mckenna’s house, she could go back, and he had the type and size of boot that matched the print in his flower bed—Ariat. A men’s size 10. Unfortunately, they were common work boots and a popular size, which was why they were able to get him the information so quickly.
Evan put the boot size and type in his mental Rolodex and then hopped in the front seat of his bu-car and headed toward the mountains. If he could bring in Toby and Rex, this would all be over and Mckenna would be safe.
As he drove, Evan continued thinking about who could be coming after Mckenna. Who took Lily? He was more convinced that it was the same person, but he had nothing to prove it other than a hunch. Rex had obviously had feelings for Mckenna when he worked for her parents. It hadn’t been as innocent as Mckenna thought. Maybe it was more than a fling to Rex eventhough he’d been the one to break it off. Evan understood—Mckenna had gotten to him too and cast her spell. He’d never imagined that he would feel this way about anyone.
Maybe Toby was jealous of Rex’s relationship and he really did take her all those years ago and liked it. Or Rex and Toby worked together in some sick, twisted family deal.
Parking in the picnic area, Evan saw Keith outside his vehicle, staring around. The blue Jeep was also parked there. Could they both be up here? If they had decided to escape, they could hike deep into these mountains. Based on what Evan knew after reading through the sheriff’s files on the case, both brothers had grown up camping, hunting, fishing and living off the land. They could easily disappear for as long as they wanted.
“I see the vehicle,” Evan said. “Where’s the ankle monitor pinging?”
“I was waiting for you to arrive before I looked around, you know, just in case they’re both here. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t feel like being ambushed. The ankle monitor is pinging around that little gulch over there.”
Evan started traipsing toward the area that Keith had pointed. He pulled out his gun, just in case. He didn’t like anything about this. The mountains weren’t like clearing a room. The brothers could be hiding behind a tree or a boulder, with a high-powered rifle waiting for them. This could be a trap since Toby would know that having his ankle monitor go off the grid would start a search for him. Then having it suddenly start pinging again? That was too convenient.
Of course, if this were a trap and they did have a rifle, Evan and his Glock wouldn’t have a chance. He and Keith walked side by side, staying close to each other. Evan kept an eye to the northwest while Keith was making sure no one surprised them on the other side. They topped the hill and Evan glanced downbelow. There was a tree on the other side of the gulch and a man was sitting there. From this distance, he couldn’t tell if it was Toby, Rex or someone else.
“Think this is a trap?” Keith asked him.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Evan started looking around, trying to see where someone might be if they were waiting to shoot them. That would be the most likely scenario. “Let’s go and see who that is.”
“We don’t have anything to use for cover.”
“I know,” Evan said, “but I’m going anyway.”
He started down the hill, working not to slide on the loose rocks that dotted the hillside. This was when he didn’t appreciate the FBI suit and dress code. He’d rather have hiking boots and jeans on, not only for the traction on the boots, but also in case a snake was napping. He’d heard there were fewer snakes at altitude. But fewer didn’t mean none.
Continuing down, he kept an eye on the man sitting against the tree. There was no movement.
“FBI, put your hands up,” Evan called out, making sure to announce himself.