Page 52 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
She saw it in the way his jaw flexed. In the flicker of something raw behind his eyes.
Ethan Ross, his former friend, his brother in arms, had tried to kill them.
The weight of that reality settled over her again, heavy as lead.
“Is there any chance…” she began, voice quieter now, “that itwasn’thim? That someone wore a mask, disguised their voice?”
Ryker’s answer came after only a second.
He shook his head. “No. I know how he moves. How he breathes under pressure. That was Ethan.”
Emma nodded slowly, the certainty sinking deep into her bones.
Then that meant he was still out there.
And next time, he might not miss.
Ryker’s phone buzzed, breaking the fragile quiet between them.
Both of their phones had been going off for hours, texts from deputies, updates from Hallie, check-ins from people who cared. And then there were the messages that hit a little closer to home.
She’d already responded to one from her mom earlier, typing out a lie with fingers that still felt numb.
Everything’s okay. I’m safe.
But she wasn’t. Neither of them were.
Not with Ethan alive. Not with the weight of what they nowknew.
He wanted them dead. That much was crystal clear.
Ryker glanced at his phone, then turned the screen toward her. “It’s from Griff. Traffic cam footage from Charlotte’s street in Austin.”
Emma leaned closer, watching the grainy image load on his phone.
The timestamp matched the window Charlotte had given them. And in the corner of the feed, half-shrouded by a privacyfence and trees, a figure moved. Quick. Intentional. Masked in darkness and grain, but clearly real.
“There,” Ryker said, pointing. “Slips around the side of the house. Right through the backyard. Right where the wine would’ve been.”
Emma stared at the still frame as he paused it. “So… Charlotte might’ve been telling the truth. About being drugged. About someone stealing her blood.”
“Maybe,” Ryker said. “If that’s Ethan, it tracks.”
“But why frame his own sister?” she asked quietly. “Why draw that kind of attention to her if she’s not a threat?”
Ryker’s brow furrowed. “Or maybe it’s a setup. The whole thing, a way to make us think Charlotte’s innocent. That she’s being framed when she’s actually helping him.”
Emma didn’t respond right away.
Because either possibility twisted her stomach. And neither one ended with Ethan Ross giving up quietly.
Emma let out a low groan and dropped her head back against the seat.
It was all too much, Ethan alive, the blurred figure in the traffic cam, the lies, the blood, the bodies. Every time they thought they’d gained ground, the rules shifted, the game changed. She wasn’t sure who was helping Ethan and who was just another pawn in his twisted narrative.
She closed her eyes, trying to breathe through the frustration.
Then she felt Ryker’s hand on her arm.
