“I’m getting Trick tacked up.” Shiloh started towards her horse.
“Shy, stop. I have to call in Forest Service and our search and rescue teams.”
Her hands clenched and flexed as she seemed to struggle to keep her breaths even. “And how long will it take them to assemble? I’ve got my rifle. I’ve got the sat phone and supplies.”
“And I’ll go with her,” my father offered.
A muscle in my cheek ticked. I was so damn torn. I wanted to go with them. But I also wanted to make a trip out to the Kemper ranch.
Dad’s hand came down on my shoulder. “We’ll start the search here. When you’re ready, get Calder or someone to have your back and take another direction. We’ll cover more ground that way.”
I knew he was right. But as I watched Shiloh put on Trick’s saddle, I couldn’t make myself move. I’d failed my sister once. Turned my back and almost lost her. How could I let her go now?
My father squeezed my shoulder, bringing my attention back to him. “I’ve got her. I’ll keep her safe.”
“Okay.” The single word was ripped from my throat.
“You find Everly. Love that girl like she’s my own. And love her even more for what she’s brought out in you.”
My eyes burned. “She’s everything to me.”
“I know. So, you’re going to get her back.”
“I will.” I clapped him on the shoulder and turned to head back to my SUV, but Ruiz stepped into my path.
“What the hell is going on? And where do you think you’re going?”
I ground my teeth together in an effort to keep my voice calm. “Dad and Shy are taking the horses to search. I’m going to talk to some people who might have seen her.”
Ruiz’s eyes hardened. “Don’t fuck up this case. We need to do everything by the book.”
“By the book doesn’t matter if we don’t get to her in time.”
“It will if we can’t charge the asshole.”
I knew he was thinking like law enforcement. The way I should be thinking. Only I couldn’t. Because Ev’s life was at stake. I’d never risk that for a conviction. “Do whatever you have to, and I’ll do the same.”
“You can’t say you’re there as the sheriff,” he warned.
“I know that.” I didn’t need the letters of the department behind me. I just needed a clue. A direction. Anything that would help me bring Everly home.
42
Everly
The pain woke me. The battering against my skull. As if a hardcore metal band were practicing in my brain.
My eyes fluttered the barest amount. Even the brief flashes of light those flutters let through hurt. I let out a low moan, rolling onto my back.
Something clanged, the sound ricocheting around in my head, picking up speed with the beat in my brain. God, everything hurt. Slowly, my brain started functioning again. Where was I? Had I been in an accident? Taken a fall?
I knew I needed to open my eyes. That was the only way for me to find answers. I tried again. The fluttering lasted for longer this time, but it still hurt like hell.
I got flashes of a room. Similar to my cabin but different. Rougher around the edges.
Finally, my eyes adjusted to the light. I had to squint, but I could see. It was a log cabin. Only one room, with a small kitchen that had a woodstove as a cooktop. There wasn’t an oven or a dishwasher, just the bare bones. Another woodstove stood in the opposite corner, with two wooden chairs in front of it. And beneath me was a bed.
My stomach cramped at that knowledge and what it could mean. I frantically searched to see what I was wearing, but all of my clothes were in place. Only on top of my jeans, on my left ankle, was a chain. And that chain was locked with a padlock. My gaze followed the length of metal to a bolt in the wall.