Page 46 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
Emma stepped away from Ryker just as voices echoed from the hallway, raised, tense.
She turned and crossed the cold case room, opening the door just as Dr. Colvin tried to push her way past Deputy Jemma Salvetti, who had planted herself firmly in the threshold like a steel door with a badge.
“I need to speak with them,” Dr. Colvin insisted, eyes wide and voice too tight to be casual.
She looked relieved the second she saw Emma and Ryker, like her whole body let out a breath.
Emma didn’t buy it. Not completely.
That expression, it could’ve been relief. But it could also beperformance.Especially if Colvin had something to do with the explosive. Especially if she’d come to see if the job had finished them off.
Emma kept her expression neutral and glanced at Jemma. “It’s okay. We’ll talk to her.”
Jemma stepped aside without a word, though she gave the doctor a long look as she passed.
Dr. Colvin stepped inside quickly, clutching her phone like it was something fragile. She held it out to Emma and Ryker.
“I got this,” she said. “I’m sure it’s from Ethan.”
Emma took the phone, Ryker moving in beside her as they both looked at the screen. She read the message once, then again, the words digging in deeper the second time.
I always knew you’d come back to me. But you’re talking to them. That hurts. You know how this ends, Maris, just you and me, clean slate. Like we planned. Watch your six, angel.
A chill slid down her spine. Beside her, Ryker muttered a curse under his breath. His jaw tightened as he read it, but his focus was razor-sharp.
Dr. Colvin’s voice broke the silence. “That’s how Ethan used to end every message he sent me.Watch your six, angel.” Her eyes lifted to Emma’s. “It has to be him.”
Emma didn’t answer right away. She scrolled back on the phone, checking the number. Unknown. No contact saved. Just like the others.
“Unknown sender,” she said aloud, already thinking ahead to digital forensics, data pings, tower hits.
Dr. Colvin gripped the strap of her purse tighter. “You believe me now, don’t you? He’s alive.”
Emma didn’t answer.
She kept her expression neutral, eyes still on the message. Because yes, it waspossibleEthan was alive. The phrasing, the sign-off, it was convincing.
But it was just as possible Ethan wasdead, and someone else was using his words, his style, even his contacts, to keep the game going.
Maybe someone who’d loved him. Maybe someone who still did. Maybe someone standing in this room.
Emma finally looked up at the doctor, unreadable. “We’ll have the lab work on tracing the number.”
Because right now, she didn’t trust anything. Not even this woman’s fear.
Dr. Colvin’s fingers fidgeted with the strap of her purse, her voice suddenly softer, almost eager.
“It’s obvious he wants to communicate withme,” she said. “He reached out. That means he still trusts me on some level.”
Emma kept her arms folded, watching every flicker of expression on the woman’s face.
“I want him to know I haven’t betrayed him,” the doctor continued, glancing between Emma and Ryker. “That I’m not the enemy. Maybe I can get him to meet. Maybe if he sees me, alone, he’ll come forward.”
Emma’s pulse ticked up. “You’re suggesting we use you as bait,” she said, flatly.
Dr. Colvin nodded, her eyes lit with something that made Emma’s stomach tighten. Devotion. Guilt.Obsession,maybe. “I can do it. I want to do it. He’ll come to me.”
Or Ethan would kill her to shut her up.
