“Bren, I’d love to keep talking, but I really need to get to the cabin. It’s getting dark and I don’t want to drive on that road at night. Call you soon. Bye,” Jude said as fast as he could.
He could still hear both Bren and Rylee screaming his name when he hung it up, looked at Rain, saying, “Okay, we’re going to head to my cabin. We can figure out what we need to do from there.”
“O… Okay,” Rain said, looking even more terrified than he had before the call.
It couldn’t be easy to know that a killer was looking for you. Jude knew that feeling, and he also knew that if there was anything he could do to help the man through this, he’d do it. Even if it meant contacting Casper.
CHAPTER 3
“River, we didn’t get anymore information from Rain’s employers or co-workers. He came into work as scheduled and went to the back to grab some stock. No one saw him after that,” Wyatt said.
“The people I spoke with said he stuck to himself and didn’t really talk to anyone,” Ryan added.
There was silence on the other end of the phone, and Wyatt had to look down to ensure they hadn’t been disconnected.
Nope, the line was still open. “River?”
“Just give me a minute,” River grumbled as sounds of tapping on a keyboard were finally heard. “What did his neighbors say?”
Tandris sat forward, answering, “He was quiet and kept to himself. No visitors that they ever saw coming or going.”
“No car either. He took a bus or Uber to and from work,” Asod said from the back seat.
Sighing, Tandris said, “This guy knows how to stay off the radar. He isn’t going to be someone that rents a car or even takes a bus.”
“Why are we looking for this Rain guy anyway? He isn’t the bounty,” Ryan grumbled.
Wyatt sat back, “No, but he is in Danny’s line of sight. I know that if we find Rain we’ll find Danny. I feel it in my gut.”
“Well, take an antacid, Wy. This is a dead as fuck end,” Ryan muttered.
“I found him!” River shouted, making Wyatt and his men snap to attention.
Wyatt sat forward, asking, “You found Danny?”
River scoffed, “Uh, no, I found Rain Sterling.”
“What? How the hell did you find this guy when you never left your desk in the office?” Tandris asked in a huff.
“I left my desk at the office. I have you know I’m in my room right now,” River said with a snicker.
“Fuck you, River,” Tandris grumbled.
Wyatt rolled his eyes, and used the tone that said “enough shit, get on with it,” “Both of you knock it off. River, where is he?”
“Okay, I’m going to warn you. I didn’t exactly follow the law here, but I can tell you that his workplace has outdoor cams facing the parking lot. Rain got a lift from one of the customers and from there he was dropped off at a truck stop. He got a lift from a trucker that was going to Montreal. He was let out at a Shell and then got into a brand new Buick Encore GTX owned by one Doctor Jude Riddle, a visitor from Pennsylvania.”
“Damn, okay,” Wyatt murmured.
“Here’s the thing, Wy, Rain is not human,” River said.
“What? How do you know?” Ryan asked.
River huffed, “Maybe because I saw him shift… well, I didn’t see what he shifted into, but whatever it is, is small because one second he was there, the next he was stripping and gone. Anyway, Jude went shopping at a grocery store, and I guess somehow he found Rain stowed away in his back seat. I only know this because his naked ass reappeared and he was soondressed and sitting in the passenger’s seat. Now here’s the weird thing…”
“Because the fact that the doc didn’t kick his ass to the curb wasn’t weird,” Ryan muttered.
Thankfully River ignored Ryan, saying, “They sat in the car for a really long fucking time. I mean like forty-five minutes long…” River stopped talking a few moments, then said, “…not saying a word to each other at all.”
