She led me towards a hose at the side of the house and turned it on. Hayes came to a stop next to us. “If Brandon has been watching the house, he knows I’ve had officers checking for unfamiliar vehicles and making nightly checks.”
“Hold out your hands,” Hadley instructed me.
“What?”
She softened her voice. “You’re covered in blood, Beck. I need to clean you up.”
I looked down. My hands were stained red. I wished it was the first time it had happened, but it wasn’t. I wished I never had to know what the sight in front of me looked like.
Hadley ran the stream of water over my hands, scrubbing away the stain as much as possible. “Rinse off your face,” she said quietly.
I cupped my hands and washed my face the best I could, letting the freezing water shock me back to life. “Are you sending someone to Allen’s? He could be hiding there.”
“I am. We can’t get a search warrant with what we have now. Brandon moved from staying with Allen to another friend two days ago, so we don’t have probable cause to search the ranch. We can still drop by to ask some questions, though. Ruiz is doing that. I’ve got another idea.”
“What?” I’d do anything. The idea of Addie at the hands of that monster had bile creeping up the back of my throat.
“I’ve been working with Koda on tracking scents. I want to see if he can pick up anything. Maybe we’ll find a trail.”
I blinked a few times at my brother. “Didn’t your dog fail out of K-9 training?”
Hayes scowled at me. “He failed because he was too friendly, not because he couldn’t do the job.”
“I’ll try anything. But I’m going with you.”
“Beck—”
I held up a hand to silence him. “I’m going.”
Hayes muttered a curse but then nodded. “We find anything? You stay back while I call it in.”
“Fine.”
“I’d like to come, too,” Hadley began.
“No,” we both said in unison.
She glared at us. “That’s a bunch of BS. Beckett isn’t any more qualified for search and rescue than I am.”
“You’re on duty,” Hayes reminded her.
She muttered a curse. “I want hourly updates.”
“Deal,” I said and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks, Hads.”
“She’s gonna be okay.”
“I know.” There was no other choice.
“Do you have a piece of clothing of Addie’s, or do you need to go back to the house?” Hayes asked.
“I might have something in my truck.” I strode to the vehicle and breathed a sigh of relief when I found it unlocked. I pulled open the back door to the cab.
“Don’t touch anything,” Hayes instructed. “Let me grab something.” He jogged over to his SUV and pulled an item from the back. He returned with a bag, flipping it inside out and covering his hand. “You don’t want to mix scents, or it’ll be harder for Koda to track.”
“Addie’s sweater is back there, but I’m sure my scent is on it, too.”
“That’s okay. We’ll make it work.”