Page 18 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
Ryker took the phone from Emma’s hands, his gaze lingering on the blurred photo for a final second before he passed it back to Janette.
“Forward that to me,” he said, rattling off his number.
She nodded and typed quickly, the whoosh of the message sending breaking the silence. A second later, Ryker’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, checked the file, then forwarded it straight to the lab with a brief note to enhance and run facial recognition if possible.
When that was done, he looked up at Janette. “When was the last time you’re sure you actuallysawEthan?”
Her eyes flicked to Emma, then back to him. She shifted her weight, her shoulders tightening like she wanted to vanish into her oversized jacket.
“The afternoon before the wedding reception,” she said finally. “The one where he and Emma fought. I saw him a couple of hours before they left to come to Outlaw Ridge.”
Emma didn’t say a word, but Ryker could feel the change in her beside him. Ethan had been with his lover right before he’d stepped back into his fiancé role with Emma.
Janette went on, avoiding Emma’s gaze. “He called me afterward. Said there’d been a blow-up between them. That she’d dumped him in front of everyone. He was,” she hesitated “, spiraling.”
Ryker kept his voice level. “And?”
“He blamed me,” Janette said, voice smaller now. “For sending the photo. For everything falling apart. I thought maybe he’d show up at my door again, angry, demanding something. But he didn’t.”
Then her gaze finally landed on Emma, and for a beat, she held it.
“Of course, he blamedyoueven more,” she added softly. “He said… he said he was going to make you pay.”
Ryker saw the weight of that hit Emma square in the chest. She didn’t flinch. Didn’t respond. But Ryker saw the shiftin her eyes. And it told him one thing with certainty, if Ethan really was alive…
He wasn’t done.
Still, there were too many blanks she hadn’t filled in.
“It’s been four years since Ethan disappeared,” Ryker said. “If he’s alive… why come back now? Why hang around outsideyourhouse?”
Janette exhaled hard through her nose. “Because of that case Emma overturned. Ruiz.”
She said his name like it was obvious. Like it explained everything.
“Ethan worked that case,” she continued. “Thought it was solid. Thought it proved how good he was. And then Emma reopened it and tore it apart. Got the guy released. I figure… Ethan has to be pissed about that.”
Ryker narrowed his eyes. “So he vanished for four years and came back because of professional embarrassment?”
“No,” Janette said quickly. “I mean, maybe not just that. The cops asked me the same thing back then. Why he disappeared. I didn’t have an answer then, and I don’t really have one now.”
Janette shrugged and continued, “Maybe he snapped. Maybe he needed to regroup mentally. Or maybe he just wanted to vanish and see how people reacted. When the rumors started… that Emma had killed him?” Her voice lowered. “I think he liked it. I think heenjoyedit. Letting her twist in it. Watching.”
Ryker didn’t respond. Just let that settle in the space between them. But he felt it. The cold certainty of it sliding into place.
Thatfit.
Two men Emma had dated, one mugged, one had his car set on fire. The stalking. The fear. The way Emma had slowly cut herself off from anything that looked like happiness.
Maybe Ethan had been in the shadows the whole time.Not gone. Not dead. Just waiting. Watching. Making her pay for walking away.
And the Ruiz case? That might’ve been the final crack that made him crawl back into the light.
Ryker watched Janette closely as her eyes flicked between them, her posture shifting slightly, shoulders lifting, chin angling just a little higher.
“I think his shrink might know the truth,” she said. “About where he went. Why he snapped. Has anyone talked to her?”
Emma frowned. “His shrink?”
