Page 129 of Echoes of You

“N-n-no, but I…” I had no idea how to answer that.

“It was your goddamned father. My P.I. caught it on film.”

My father. I waited for the shock to hit me, but it didn’t. Because I knew the evil that lived inside him. It was more sickening that Adam’s P.I. had taken pictures of my attack but hadn’t bothered to step in or call for help. What kind of monster did that?

Adam kept one hand around my throat but smoothed the other over my hair. “Don’t worry, baby. Your dad’s been dealt with.”

Bile crept up my throat. “Dealt with?”

A slow grin spread across Adam’s face. “No one touches what’s mine.”

“W-what did you do?”

He huffed out a breath. “Let’s just say some of the local wildlife will have a feast to snack on for the next week or so. How long do you think it takes for a corpse to decompose completely? I think the fact that I sliced him open will help.”

I bit my lip to keep from hurling. I knew Adam was a monster, had known it for years, but I’d never suspectedthislevel of psychopathy. “What are you going to do with me?”

Adam arched a brow. “No ‘thank you?’”

I just stared back at him, having no idea what to say. No idea what to feel. The man who’d tortured me for years was no longer walking this Earth. But the violence that took him from it made me sick.

Adam rolled his eyes. “I’m taking you home, of course. And if I can’t get you out of this godforsaken town, then I’ll leave you in the forest to rot. If I can’t have you, no one else can either.”

44

NASH

The world was movingaround me, but I could barely take it in. It was like watching everything through a slow-motion lens—the crime scene techs from County moving around looking for prints and tire treads, Lawson, Anderson, and a couple of other officers making a plan of attack.

My gaze moved to Grae. Caden had his arms wrapped around her as she cried into his chest. My eyes narrowed as he rubbed a hand up and down her back.

Someone gripped my shoulder. “We’ve got an update,” Lawson said.

All my focus was instantly on my brother. “Someone see her?”

He shook his head. “No, but I sent officers to the Byrne residence and the resort.”

I didn’t speak, waiting for Lawson to continue.

“Jimmy Byrne wasn’t home. Betsy finally admitted that she hasn’t seen him since yesterday afternoon.”

My gut tightened, knotting itself into a brutal arrangement. “His P.O. know where he is?”

“Nope, and he didn’t show for work today either.”

There wasn’t a word for the sensations sweeping through me. It was sickness but also more. I hadn’t pegged Jimmy for the type to make the effort to go after Maddie when she wasn’t within arm’s reach. But he’d had years inside to stew about the daughter who’d put him there.

“And Adam Westchester checked out of his cabin. Holt’s been working on tracking both their movements. He found a private plane manifest with Adam registered as the passenger leaving tonight.”

“Tell me you’ve got someone on that plane,” I gritted out.

“We do. There will be a full search of the aircraft before it takes off. And remember, we’ve got officers stationed at both ends of town, checking vehicles before they leave.”

They’d gotten those traffic stops in place quickly, but it might not have been quick enough. What if Adam or Jimmy had already escaped with Maddie? What if they’d done something so much worse? All because I’d left her alone.

“Don’t think like that,” Lawson said in a low voice, likely reading my expression.

“Someone hurt her because I left. Because I let something get in my head that I shouldn’t have.” I’d never forgive myself for it as long as I lived.

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