The urge to use my fists to get the information out of him was almost unbearable. My fingers flexed and tightened around the grip of my gun again. “You’re right, you don’t have to tell me anything. But if anything happens to her, you can be arrested and charged as an accessory. I’ll make sure that happens.”
Ian scoffed and spat off the porch in my direction. “Your lies and trumped-up charges don’t scare me.”
I pulled out my cell phone with my free hand and typed a text to Ruiz, letting him know to pick Ian up for questioning. Then I looked at Addie. “Do you have any idea where he would go?”
She glanced in that same direction again, out to the national forest land. “He has a place out there. He would never tell me where exactly. It was his emergency place. But it’ll be within a day’s ride from here. Likely, half a day.”
That was a hell of a lot of land to cover. And I knew this wasn’t property Ben owned. He was squatting and hoping not to be discovered by the Forest Service. “Anything else you can think of?”
Addie shook her head. “Can I come with you?”
Her voice shook as she asked the question. But the bravery beneath the trembling meant I would forever admire this woman. “Of course, you can.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Allen bellowed, charging forward. “And you’re going to answer for your insolence.”
I shoved him back, tightening my hold on my gun. “Step back. Addie is an adult. And she is free to leave whenever she wants.” I glanced at her. “Do you have anything you need to get?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but Allen cut her off. “If she removes anything from this property, she’ll be shot for stealing and trespassing.” His eyes narrowed on his daughter. “If you leave now, you’ll be cast out. Dead to me and everyone else in this family.”
Addie raised her chin. “It would be a sweet relief to be dead to you.”
Allen’s face turned so red, I wondered if he was having a stroke. I motioned Addie towards my SUV. “Get in. It’s unlocked.” I kept my gaze trained on the two men as I waited for her to get safely inside the vehicle.
Allen’s fists clenched and unclenched as he spluttered. “You’re going to
pay for this.”
“You won’t touch me or Addie. If you do, the department will come for you first. And this won’t be something you can get out of.”
Allen was silent but clearly raging as I walked backwards towards my vehicle. Opening the door, I climbed inside. “You know how to shoot?” I asked Addie.
“I know enough.”
I handed her my gun. “Take this, just in case.”
Her hands trembled as she took hold of the metal. “I’m sorry if I made trouble for you.”
I started the engine and took off down the drive. “Don’t be sorry. You were brave as hell.”
“W-where are you going to take me?”
“To my mom. You’ll be safe at our ranch, and your dad and cousin will likely think I have you at the station.”
Tears slipped from her eyes and tracked down her cheeks. “Thank you.”
I wanted to reach out and pat Addie’s shoulder, to give her some sort of comfort, but I could tell any sort of touch wouldn’t be welcome. I tore down the main road towards our ranch. It was still startling how close our land came to the Kempers’. A mere ten minutes’ drive. But it might as well have been a world away. And I was beyond grateful for that at the moment.
My phone rang just as we pulled onto our ranch road. Ruiz’s voice came through the speaker. “Tell me everything.”
I recounted the events of the past thirty minutes, including the fact that Addie was with me. “We need to coordinate with Forest Service and get search parties in that area.”
“We will, but we don’t know he has her.”
“It’s a direction. A possibility. We have to try.”
Ruiz let out a sound of frustration. “We split the teams. Half in that area, half working their way out from Everly’s cabin.”
It was a good plan. Sound. But it didn’t mean I could rest. “Tell the teams I’ll be in the area, searching. I don’t want anyone to shoot my ass.”