Page 119 of Whispers of You
I searched our surroundings. “Just hitting town now.”
Nash blew through the picturesque street, his lights flashing but without the sirens.
“Good. Call me when you get to the access road. Every minute you’re late, Wren will pay the price.”
Jude hung up before I could get another word out. I slammed my fist into the dashboard.
“Tell me you’re not actually doing what this asshole is asking,” Nash growled.
My pulse was the only thing I could manage to feel beyond the terror that had me in a vise-grip. “There isn’t another option.”
“Not going in there alone would be a start,” Nash shot back.
My head jerked in his direction. “And what would you do? If it was the woman you loved more than life, what would you do?”
Nash’s throat worked as he swallowed, but he didn’t say anything.
“We’re going to play this smart,” Dad said, his voice remarkably calm.
“Jude said any hint of cops and he’d kill her.” The words dug the terror in deeper. Because I believed him. The man I’d thought was a friend. A brother. And for half our lives, he’d harbored the kind of hatred that ended in death. Something that had festered, turning into an obsession.
All of this pain… Because I’d brought a monster into our lives.
Dad squeezed my shoulder. “You’re going to take my phone and put it on speaker. That way, we can hear everything that’s going on. All you have to do is give us enough information to make out the location. Then we’ll come for you.”
My throat tightened. My dad had always been good in a crisis. Maybe it was the decades of SAR experience. Perhaps it was just an innate calmness that settled in his bones. But all I could think in the moment was that I couldn’t imagine facing this without him—without my family at my back.
“It’s a good plan.”
Dad tried to force a smile. “See, your old man’s not so useless, after all.”
“No one has ever thought you were useless a day in your life,” I said.
He patted my shoulder. “Doesn’t hurt to hear that now and again. Lawson and Roan are meeting us at the access road.”
“Jude could see—”
“Just them. No one else. But you need backup when it’s time. And Roan knows these woods like no one else.”
Dad had a point. Roan could’ve made his way through the forests surrounding the lake blindfolded if he needed to.
I swallowed hard, hoping this was the right move. “Okay.”
Nash turned onto the road that would’ve taken us to the cabin. Home. To where Wren should’ve been. But instead of veering left toward the lake, he went right and up the hillside toward the access road.
Gravel spit as he pulled to a stop next to Lawson’s SUV and Roan’s truck. The vehicle wasn’t even off before I was out and checking my weapon.
Lawson strode toward me, tension lining his jaw. “You can’t go into this alone—”
I held up a hand to halt his words. “Don’t. I’m going in. Dad has a plan that should work, though.”
Because if Jude wanted me dropped off here without a car, they were within walking distance. My gut tightened as Wren’s face flashed in my mind, and I imagined her scared and alone with a monster.
Dad relayed the plan to Lawson and Roan as I slid my weapon back into its holster. Jude would know I’d come armed, and he’d be prepared. But he hadn’t spent years working on his marksmanship and reaction time. I’d had nothing but time to hone the skills that would help me keep the people in my care safe.
Roan strode toward me, his expression stony. “This was all Jude?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.” There were too many pieces unassembled in my mind. “I’d say it’s likely.”
