Page 90 of Matthew
Shit.His heart rocked. It wasn’t her.
“Nate?” He answered on the first ring, setting the call to speaker.
“Matthew, something’s wrong.” The man’s voice was low, urgent. “Callie hasn’t come back from the greenhouse. It’s been a while, so I checked the feed.”
His pulse flatlined. “What did you see?”
“There’s a live angle on the back greenhouse. Les was there, blocking her path.” Matthew jumped up, chair scraping against the floor.
“That’s not all,” Nate continued. “Another man showed up. Bigger. Resembles Les, but older.”
His blood turned to ice. “Stay on the feed. Keep it recording. I’m on my way.” He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “Callie’s in trouble.”
Mac didn’t waste a beat. “Go. Take Caspian and Bennett. Carter, tap into that feed, and get us more info on this brother. Briggs, you’re with me. I’ll call the sheriff on the way.”
Matthew didn’t wait for another word.
He was already moving, boots pounding through the corridor as Caspian and Bennett fell in step behind him. Adrenaline surged like a live wire through his veins. His mind ran ahead, calculating distance, obstacles, contingencies. None of it mattered if he was too late.
He should’ve never left her.
They veered left through the corridor, straight into the armory.
Caspian grabbed a vest and tossed it his way. “Standard loadout.”
Matthew caught it, strapping it on with practiced speed. Bennett was already checking weapons, silently efficient.
Matthew slid his sidearm into place, his pulse pounding harder with each second. “Let’s move,” he said, jaw tight.
They pushed through to the garage bay, the SUV already waiting. Caspian took the wheel, firing up the SUV with a growl of the engine. Bennett slid into the back, already on comms with Carter. Matthew climbed into the passenger seat, yanked his phone from his pocket, and opened the surveillance app.
The feed buffered for half a breath, then snapped into view.
There she was.
Callie stood rigid in the center of the greenhouse, hands clenched at her sides. Les was facing her, his expression tight. A second man loomed behind her near the back entrance, as Nate had informed. Taller, broader, same angular jaw.
The brother.
Matthew’s heart hammered against his ribs.
The audio crackled, but her voice came through clear enough.
“…then you picked the wrong greenhouse.”
A beat of silence. Then Les, quieter: “You don’t understand. We don’t make the rules.”
Callie’s shoulders stiffened. “You made the choice.”
The second man stepped closer behind her, and something about his stance made every protective instinct Matthew had snap to attention.
“I say we ditch her now,” the man said coldly. “She’s already seen too much.”
Matthew swore under his breath, his knuckles white on the phone. “They touch her—”
“They won’t,” Caspian said, his voice steel. “Not if we get there in time.”
The SUV roared onto the road, tires clawing for traction.
