Page 74 of CHASE: Captive to the Dark

A slow nod was followed by his face turning to look down the road. “Call me when you’re finished. You can dispose of him in Cedar. I’ll keep an eye on the road. You should be safe.”

Cedar. Untold’s twin if I couldn’t continue with operations and save this place.

“See you soon.”

I jogged toward my SUV, turning around to head back to my cabin. My hand instantly went in my pocket, pulling out my phone. I had to know how Kit was. Where she was. She couldn’t see this, not if I wanted her to move into the role of the other wives. She’d already seen enough when I ordered the hit on the first sheriff. I couldn’t make a mistake like that in front of her again.

Ringing sounded in my ear, ending with Max’s voice after the second chime. “Father, you okay?”

“Yeah, I got him. Get Kit upstairs. Tell her I said she’s not allowed to come down until I get her.”

Silence had my eyes narrowing.

“Uh…Father, she’s…”

“She’s what?”

The harshness in my tone couldn’t be mistaken. I didn’t like his hesitation.

“By the time we got there, Palo and Weston were already gone. She was, too. I thought maybe she’d gone to the hospital with them, but she hadn’t. Palo said he left her there to wait for us.”

“What?!” The road blurred before me as rage combined with fear. “Did you talk to any of the cops? What about the people watching outside?”

“I asked, no one saw her.”

“Someone had to have seen her. She’s a stranger here. She would have stuck out amongst the familiar faces.”

I rounded the turn, taking the fork in the direction of my home. Although cool air surrounded me, sweat beaded my face, beginning to slide down my temples. My mind was racing, my heart aching with the possibilities. Did Kit run because of what she’d been faced with? Had Jim or someone else taken her? Someone had to know something.

My stare lifted to the rearview mirror at the police cruiser behind me. I gritted my teeth, wanting nothing more than to decimate the restrained man. I knew he was somehow responsible for this.

“Father?” Max’s voice lowered as he waited. My hands were shaking violently while I tried to process what he was expecting. He was looking for direction. Orders on what I wanted him to do. But I didn’t have an answer. I was torn on whether I should shred the answers out of the stranger behind me, or rush to the airport to see if Kit was awaiting a flight back to Florida. Would she leave me? I could see the possibility. After all, her pregnancy had become amazingly real after hearing our child’s heartbeat. Maybe her motherly instincts kicked in and she was trying to protect the baby? Fuck. I just couldn’t see her leaving. She was afraid of what might be awaiting her if she left. She’d wanted to stay.

“I’ll see you at home.”

I hung up, slamming my fist into the dash. I had to look for her. I couldn’t just wait here while I sent someone off to Denver. Her life, as well as my child’s, might be in danger. The thought alone turned my blood cold.

Asphalt turned into the dirt road and I increased the speed until I rounded the turn bringing me to the cabin. Max was climbing out of his truck as I put the SUV in park and Ed was rising from one of the rocking chairs resting on the front deck. The slam of my door filled the air. I was still shaking from the multiple emotions plaguing me as I headed toward Dennis’ patrol car. He was barely coming to a stop as I lurched forward and pulled open the back door. The man was unconscious, no doubt from the pain of his broken leg and having it restrained as it was. But I didn’t care. I flung him from the vehicle onto the ground and began kicking his stomach.

“Where is she?!”

Harder, I kicked, putting all of my anger into the assault on the stranger who grunted and cried out as he began to wake.

“Where is Kathleen?” His weight didn’t register as I locked my arm under his and started for the house. Yells broke out from him again, echoing around the emptiness surrounding us.

“You’re going to tell me everything or I’m going to crush one bone at a time until you have none left for me to break. Do you understand?”

Ed’s eyes were wide as he held open the door for me and followed.

“Grab me a chair and a hammer. We do this right here, right now.” I made it to the middle of the living room, dropping the man to the floor.

“Hammer?” Ed spun around, scanning the room.

“Kitchen, in the dark green bag under the sink. Get the rope out of there, too.”

He took off in a jog and Max headed for the table, grabbing a chair. Dennis came closer, looking between me and the man.

“You say the girl is missing?”

---