Page 61 of Outlaw Ridge: Griff
Behind them, the cruiser pulled to a stop with Jesse and Hayes. Griff turned and mouthed—around back.Jesse gave a nod, and both men broke off to flank the building.
Griff’s focus snapped forward again. Whoever was here had likely gone in through the front. But whether they were still inside… that was about to be answered.
The silence inside Langston Holdings pressed in like dead weight. Griff moved carefully down the hallway, his steps slow and deliberate, gun raised. Lily was just behind him, mirroring his pace.
Room by room, they cleared the space.
A supply closet. Empty. The breakroom. Also empty. Then, they reached the bathroom door. Griff leaned in, keeping his voice low. “Holly?”
“I’m in here,” came the quiet, tense reply from inside.
Griff tested the knob. Locked.
“Stay put,” he told her.
Lily swept behind him, already scanning the next stretch of hallway. They moved forward, toward the two remaining doors. Everett’s office and Catherine’s.
Everett’s was first.
Griff reached for the knob. Locked.
He gave Lily a look, and she nodded, then motioned toward the next door. Catherine’s. The door was closed but not all the way. A faint gap. Just wide enough for Griff to see a sliver of light.
Then—movement. A soft scrape. The unmistakable shift of someone inside.
Lily’s eyes met his. She’d heard it too.
Griff eased up to the edge of Catherine’s office door, his heart pounding with quiet precision. He exchanged one last glance with Lily, then lifted a hand and nudged the door open just enough to see inside.
“Deputy Griff Abrams,” he called out. “Come out with your hands up.”
Silence.
A long, taut heartbeat passed.
Then, the gunshot slammed into the doorframe inches from his head, splintering the wood.
“Down!” he barked, instinctively dragging Lily with him as they dropped to the floor on either side of the hallway.
His pulse surged as he peered around the frame, but the angle was wrong. He couldn’t see anyone. Just shadows and a desk.
No movement now.
The shooter had gone still.
Or they were waiting.
Griff kept low, his back pressed to the wall, the splintered doorframe just inches from his shoulder. He ducked his head, pulled out his phone, and fired off a quick text to Jesse.
Keep eyes on Catherine’s office window. Don’t let anyone slip out. Shooter’s inside.
The response came fast.
Copy. Hayes is covering the side. We’ve got it.
Griff tucked the phone away and met Lily’s eyes across the narrow hall. She gave a quick nod, her jaw set. She was ready but pinned, just like him.
He shifted, trying to angle for a better line of sight. Whoever was inside was smart. Using the layout of the office to stay out of view. If it had been Everett… Griff figured he would’ve responded when he called out. Unless Everett had something to hide and was desperate enough to keep hiding it.
