Heather’s face reflected her growing horror as she understand just what was being said—and what wasn’t.
Behind them, Morty swore.
“Do I have the authority for that?” Heather sounded terrified. “He’s the captain.”
“We have the authority for it,” Cadence told her flatly. “If I’m wrong, it’s on me. But you get a team out there. Kyle and I will go back to the caverns to see if he’s there, back to the site where we found the bodies.”
There hadn’t been any booby traps there. Nothing to destroy—his home? Cadence sure seemed to think that was what the guy had meant.
He took the necklace—was he going to try to return it home?
The hell he was.
“If you don’t find the captain at his house, you meet us there.” Cadence reached for Heather’s arm. “Don’t let your guard down for even a moment, understand, Heather? Don’t think you can trust him. If he’s there, you put him in handcuffs and lock him in a cell until we can get to you.”
Heather whirled and ran for the stairs.
“He helped me look for Maria.” Kyle’s voice was strained. “No one else back then…no one else…”
“Maybe he helped you,” Cadence said grimly, “or maybe he just made sure you never found her.”
He flinched.
“I think he’s going to the caverns. To him, that’s home.”
There was only one way to find out if she was right.
In the darkness. With the girls. Only they weren’t there anymore.
During the interrogation, he’d seemed so controlled. But maybe the facade of control had been just that—a facade. With the recovery of the remains, with Susannah walking right into the police station, his world could be unraveling.
When a killer’s world unraveled, no one was safe.
They rushed back up the stairs. Cadence was already calling for Ben. They’d get as much backup on this as they could get.
Two dead. Two f**king dead. Ben glared at the bodies. At least the killer was one of the dead.
His phone rang. He grabbed for it, even as he turned and his gaze searched for Dani.
He needed her close.
She could have died.
There was a reason Dani wasn’t in the field. It wasn’t just about her fear. It was about his. He hadn’t pushed her to go back, and he knew it was wrong but—I need her.
He glanced down at the number on his phone. “Cadence,” he said, “I’m with the bodies.”
“James Anniston could be our perp.”
Every muscle in his body locked down. He remembered Susannah’s face. Her voice. Her eyes.
Not on Dani. On the man behind her.
“The evidence at the station has been destroyed.”
Fuck! He’d only been gone an hour!
“The destruction happened after Jason was already dead. The tapes were burned and Maria McKenzie’s necklace was stolen.” His head was pounding. “And you’re sure it was the captain? You already had the guy in interrogation.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t asking the right questions.” Intensity hummed through her voice. “We need to bring him in, Ben.”
He nodded even though she couldn’t see the gesture. If Cadence wanted backup, he’d give it to her. Always. “Where are you?”
“Heading to the site where the SOB held me. I think that’s where he’s going. Either to destroy more evidence or—”
The line cut out on her. Crackled. Finally came back.
“…Kyle and I are almost there…”
The connection was shit. “I’m on my way.” He whirled for the door.
Almost ran right into Dani.
He realized she’d heard everything he’d said.
“We’re on our way,” she told him.
Ben shook his head. “You need to get back to the station.”
“I’m not hiding anymore.”
Dammit.
“I’m not asking you for permission,” Dani said.
“I’m the senior—”
“As the director, you should have ordered me back in the field long ago.” Her breath blew out. “As my lover, you let me hide. I’m not doing that anymore. I won’t.”
His jaw locked. As her director and her lover, he wanted her protected. Always.
“Now let’s get out there and give them backup.” She pulled in a shuddering breath. Straightened her shoulders. Hurt his heart. “I won’t let you down. I won’t let them down.”
“I know you won’t.”
He’d make absolutely sure nothing happened to her.
James Anniston. James f**king Anniston.
Kyle could remember the first time he’d met the man. He’d raced into the station, fear like acid eating away at him.
“My sister! Please, I need someone to help me find my sister!”
The cops there had whirled in surprise, concern etched on their faces, but it had been James who hurried toward him.
“Mister, slow down.” James had been barely ten years older than him. “I’ll help you.”
Kyle slammed on the brakes. The headlights stayed on, cutting through the darkness. Shining right at the entrance to the caverns.
Two cops should have been there. Guards to make sure no reporters or anyone else wandered inside the gaping entrance.
They weren’t there.
“Where are the guards?” Cadence whispered, her thoughts obviously following his.
He pulled the flashlight from the glove box, then eased from the vehicle without answering her. His boots sank into the mud, thick mud still left from last night’s storms. The flashlight’s beam drifted around the area.
Two patrol cars were parked to the right. No sign of their drivers. His light swung back to the left. Yellow tape crisscrossed the entrance to the caverns, but nothing else was there.
“We need to check inside,” Cadence said as she exited the vehicle and came toward him.
She had a flashlight, too. A flashlight and a gun.
He stared down at her. She didn’t seem afraid. She was entering the place that had been her hell with the stoic determination that was just…Cadence.
I love you.
This wasn’t the place to tell her. Not the time.
So he just nodded. As he got closer, as the light swept over the tape and edge of the cave, Kyle saw the blood.
Cadence’s light joined his. Then he heard her saying into her phone, “We’ve got possible officers injured at the cavern entrance on the northern side of the mountains. No, no, Ben, we can’t wait. We need to head inside now.”