Page 63 of Outlaw Ridge: Ryker
“Perfect,” Ryker muttered. “Tell them to stay low. No movement unless we call it.”
“I just saw the drone feed,” Hallie informed them. “That’s Ethan behind the tree?”
“Yeah,” Ryker said. “He’s armed. Watching. Waiting.”
“And the hostages?” Hallie pressed.
“Janette and Dr. Colvin.”
There was a pause on the other end, then Hallie exhaled sharply. “Not who we thought.”
“No,” Ryker muttered. “He flipped the script again.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Not head-on,” Ryker said. “We’ll circle around, come in from the side. Keep watch for cameras, sensors, possible secondary shooters. And explosives.”
Hallie was quiet for a long moment. Then, her voice came softer, grim. “If you can’t neutralize him before time’s up… you’ll have to pick one.”
Ryker looked at the feed again, at the women tied and kneeling in the snow. His jaw locked.
“I’m not letting it come to that.”
“Understood.”
He hesitated, then asked, “Any word on Charlotte?”
“Nothing. She’s not answering her phone, and she hasn’t shown up at the station.”
Ryker rubbed a hand down his face, tension coiling tighter in his chest. “She could be dead.”
“Or out there in those woods,” Hallie said, “ready to help her asshole brother.”
He didn’t say it, but the same worry was clawing at his gut.
Beside him, Emma shifted. “How are things at the station?”
In the background, Ryker could hear it, dozens of phones ringing nonstop.
“Flood of calls,” Hallie said. “Most are in support of you and Emma. Some are threats. Others are just trolls. Either way, we have to answer all of them. One could be real.”
“Ethan wanted chaos,” Emma muttered. “He got it.”
Ryker ended the call, slid the phone back in his vest pocket, and stared again at the trees. Ethan had built his storm.
Now they had to find a way through it.
Ryker had barely ended the call with Hallie when Emma’s phone buzzed beside him.
They both glanced down at the screen. Unknown Numberand a one-word text.
Showtime.
Ryker didn’t say anything. Just tapped his own phone and silenced it. Emma did the same. And then Ryker attached his phone to his vest so they would still be able to see the drone feed if needed. Hayes and Jesse would also be monitoring the feed and would let them know if there were any changes.
He checked his weapon. Extra clip. Backup holster. Kevlar snug.
Emma opened the cruiser door, the cold slamming into them like a wall. They both ducked out fast and low, their boots crunching into the shallow layer of snow.
