Page 38 of Captive at Rescue Ridge

Instead of being laser-focused, he’d thought about where she was and how she was doing the entire walk. Keeping her at arm’s length emotionally was a good idea; physically, it didn’t work. Either way, she took up a lot of space in his head.

With her in sight, he could exhale again.

A dark thought struck. Since she no longer had the evidence in her possession, the bastard might not hesitate to fire directly at her.

She wasn’t a witness. She had no idea who the suspect was.

Would that mean anything to someone who had already killed?

He cursed the fact she wouldn’t stay back at the sheriff’s office or the main house where she would’ve been safe. With her mother’s life on the line, Annalee wouldn’t consider anything but being right here alongside him.

Archer had to see this through, as well. He couldn’t let Owen take another hit in his place.

“What now?” He mouthed the words to Travis, hoping his brother-in-law could read lips.

“We watch and wait,” Travis said, mouthing the words just like Archer had.

It was a smart move even though Archer wanted nothing more than to storm the damn building and get his brother back.

Travis brought his right hand up and used his index finger to draw an imaginary circle.Got it.Archer nodded. He turned and drew a circle, then forked his fingers and pointed at his eyes to indicate they would encircle the site and watch rather than enter. Hudson immediately acknowledged with a nod They were to gather intel but not engage.

If there was a getaway vehicle, Archer wanted to be the first to make certain the damn thing wouldn’t run. He couldn’t have the bastard escape when they were this close. Annalee wouldn’t be safe, and neither would her mother if the suspect made it out of there in anything but handcuffs.

With Travis by Archer’s side, it wouldn’t take long.

He checked his cell to see if there was coverage on this part of the property but got a weak bar. Still, it was enough. It made sense the trainer would request a spot that had cell phone access. Archer’s suspicion this was the location where Owen was being held against his will grew.

They had enough bars to send texts. From everything he knew about cell towers and phones, which admittedly wasn’t much, signals could be scrambled to make it look like it bounced off a nearby tower. Considering the sheer amount of information on the internet, it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to move a signal. Archer didn’t care for being online or staring at a computer screen more than he had to in order to accomplish his work. He much preferred to be outside, on the land, or working with the horses. Hell, mucking a stall was better than sitting on his backside, staring at a device like a zombie. Still, he knew enough that he believed the kidnapper could manage to hide his location.

He and Travis headed to the left while Hudson and company moved in the opposite direction. They had numbers on their side. Travis was armed and a trained shooter. One-on-one, Archer had no doubt in his ability to fight. A rifle was no match for a fist. Archer would lose against a bullet. No contest.

However, the person would have to be experienced at shooting under pressure in order to hit a target. Once adrenaline kicked in, hands shook. The trees would make it even more difficult to get off a clean shot. Those factors helped even out the odds.

No matter which angle he took as he cut through the trees without making a sound, he couldn’t get a look at what was going on inside the barn. Someone was going to have to get closer. He would volunteer.

Once they circled all the way around, Travis reached down to retrieve something from his ankle. Metal glinted. Archer realized a second later that Travis was wearing an ankle holster. Travis handed over the weapon. In barely more than a whisper, he asked, “Will you consent to being my deputy and my backup?”

“Yes, sir,” he said quietly.

“Archer Sturgess, I hereby deputize you.” Travis handed over the backup weapon. “I trust you know how to use that.”

“I do,” Archer said. He risked a glance over at Annalee, who was staring at her phone with an intensity that told him something was horribly wrong.

She came over two seconds later, keeping her gaze focused on Travis. And then she tilted the screen.

What areyou doing

RUN!

Archer’s gazeshifted toward the barn as the fear all hell was about to break loose nailed him.

Annalee didn’t knowwhat to make of the warning. The only thought she could allow was that her mother had broken free and was escaping. Becca must have realized Annalee was about to blow it for her by storming the barn to rescue her.

“Get behind a tree and stay down,” Archer said to her.

Travis immediately nodded in agreement.

“I—”

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