She was never going to get to tell Nate she loved him.
Dirt rained down on her face and she frantically shook her head backward and forward, trying to dislodge it.
But it was coming too quickly.
Raining down upon her.
Faster and faster.
There was no escaping it.
Rylla turned her head as far to the side as she could and tucked her mouth as closely as she could to her shoulder, hoping to carve out at least a tiny pocket of air.
Why?
She wasn't sure.
She knew she was going to die in this hole, there really didn't seem much point in dragging it out, in trying to scrounge just a few measly extra seconds.
And yet she couldn’t not fight.
The dirt was all over her head now. In her ears, covering her eyes and plunging her into darkness, edging closer to her mouth and nose.
Rylla was about to surrender to the fear and let death carry her away to join Josh and Elianna when she heard a voice.
* * * * *
8:12 A.M.
“That’s Rylla.” Nate intended to go running straight for her, but he was grabbed from behind and physically prevented from making a mad dash to the garage where Rylla was standing at an open door.
“Stop,” Matthew hissed in his ear. “You can't just go running blindly in there.”
“Ryllais in there.”
“Exactly. We have to play this smart. He could be in there too.”
“Then why would he be letting her stand at an open door where she could get to help?” he demanded.
“I don’t know, but we have to go in carefully, otherwise he could kill her.”
He was going to risk it when Rylla was suddenly yanked from view. A moment later the door was slammed closed.
The arms around him tightened and he struggled against them. He had to get to her, he had to save her, he couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t be this close to her and just stand here and do nothing to help her.
“Stop,” Matthew growled. “If you go running in there like this you’re going to get her killed. Is that what you want?”
Nate stilled. Not because he wanted to. Not because the fear swirling inside him like a blizzard had stilled. But because he knew that the longer he fought, the longer it was going to take to get to her.
“You are not a cop,” Matthew reminded him. “You don’t have to be here. I can have you removed in a moment. You’re hereonlybecause I know you love her, and because you’re trained, you know what you're doing, and you’ve done hostage recovery before. But if you can't keep your emotions in check and hold it together for Rylla’s sake, then Iwillcuff you and stick you in the back of the car. Understand?”
If agreeing was going to get them into that garage quicker then he would agree to anything. “Yes.”
“All right.” Matthew loosened his grip, and when he didn't make a move to dart toward the garage, Matthew released him altogether. “We go in slowly, and carefully.”
Guns drawn, they made their way down the drive toward the huge double-story garage at the back of the property. There was definitely enough space in there to hold someone captive. And if he had gone to the trouble of soundproofing then no matter how much the women screamed for help no one would ever hear them, even here in the suburbs.
At the garage door, Nate waited for a signal from Matthew then eased it open and stepped inside. The space was messy, and he could hear someone mumbling to themselves somewhere inside. He couldn’t hear Rylla. Were they too late? Had Beau already killed her?