Page 24 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
Ryker gave her a look but didn’t rise to the bait. He walked in, dropped his go-bag on the neatly made bed, and gave the room a quick glance. Neutral tones, clean lines, and a dresser that hadn’t seen much use. Functional. Comfortable. Like the rest of the house.
Without another word, they crossed to the home office.
It was tucked into a corner near the back of the house. One window, blinds pulled halfway down. A simple desk, laptop, lamp, and a single bookshelf that held a handful of proceduraltexts, case binders, and a framed photo of her academy graduation. No clutter. No wasted space.
Emma immediately lowered the blinds the entire way. Something he would have done if she hadn’t. He hadn’t gotten a good look at the backyard, but it was usually a weak spot when it came to security. He didn’t want to give a sniper easy targets if the asshole decided to take shots at them again.
“I want to take a closer look at the photos Charlotte sent,” she said, already pulling out the USB cable and connecting her phone to the laptop.
Ryker nodded and took out his phone. While she transferred the photos, he tapped out a quick message to one of the night deputies, Griff, who was pulling late shift.
Need Dr. Maris Colvin brought in tomorrow. Interview. Discreet pickup if necessary.
He added the basics and hit send.
They needed answers. About the photos. About the therapist’s connection to Ethan. About whether her name belonged on their suspect board.
When Ryker finished his text, he moved to the desk and dragged the extra chair closer. It gave a low scrape across the hardwood as he sat down beside her, their shoulders brushing lightly.
She didn’t shift away.
Emma opened the first file with a few quick taps on the trackpad. The soft hum of the fan filled the space between them, underscored by the quiet, steady rhythm of her breathing.
Ryker didn’t speak.
He didn’t need to. His focus was locked on the screen, on the woman in the background of the photos, Dr. Maris Colvin, watching Ethan like he was her whole world one minute, and then like she wanted to bury him the next.
He could feel the questions stacking up. Not just about Ethan.
About her.
And how deep she was in this.
Ryker leaned in a little closer, his eyes narrowing on the screen as Emma flipped to the second image, the one taken mid-argument.
“In a way,” he said quietly, “this photo has all our top suspects.”
Emma glanced at him, but he kept his focus on the screen.
“There’s Ethan,” he went on. “Dr. Colvin standing behind him. And Janette, front and center on his phone.”
Emma didn’t respond, but he could feel the shift in her posture, the slow tightening of her jaw.
Ryker pointed to the edge of the image. “And there,” he added, tapping gently against the glass, “is Charlotte. Reflected in the mirror behind the buffet table.”
Emma zoomed in, and sure enough, Charlotte’s faint reflection was looking back at them. Her phone was raised, snapping the photo. She was watching the fight unfold, her brother unraveling in front of a crowd, and still, she kept taking pictures.
Ryker shifted his attention back to Emma. She hadn’t said a word, but the look on her face twisted something hard in his gut. Shock. Betrayal. Anger so deep it looked like it had rooted in her bones.
She blinked, slowly, her mouth pressed in a tight line, and Ryker hated that he couldn’t do a damn thing to erase what she was feeling. All he could do was sit next to her while the worst parts of her past came back to life on a screen.
He turned back to the photo, zooming in tighter on Charlotte’s reflection. What he saw made his stomach turn.
“She’s smirking,” he said. “Look at her mouth. Right there.”
Emma did look, and her frown deepened.
Ryker sat back slightly. “She wasn’t just documenting the moment. She wasenjoyingit.”
