“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened, but it looks like he had help from an officer.”
“An officer?” I said, incredulous. “How does that even happen?”
Reid shook his head, seeming as lost as I felt. “I—I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. I knew that officer. Jackie has worked for the county for years. She was the director of corrections and was about to retire.”
I gaped at him. Jackie…I’d seen her at the jail before. I didn’t know her, but Reid had been a detective for Ember Hollow, so he’d know her better than I did. “How do you know?”
Reid opened his mouth to answer, but August stopped his pacing, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and walked to the middle of the room. Everyone focused on him.
“He’s been gone for eight fucking hours already,” he spat, his body almost convulsing with rage.
Mom drew in a sharp breath. The rest of the room went so silent I didn’t think anyone was moving.
“Everything Detective Whize told Reid seems to be true. Jackie Black helped him get out of the jail. She said she was bringing him to the hospital for some kind of medical emergency and walked out the back door with him.”
Someone grabbed my hand. It was Quinn. She was pale, too. I gripped her fingers tight.
“She took him out by herself? How?” Reid snapped. “That requires at least two officers.”
August gritted his teeth. “I have no idea. The only thing I can think of is they were careless because she was a trusted superior. She took him out in a patrol car and picked up a getaway vehicle in the parking lot of the grocery store. They left the squad car and no one noticed for hours.”
“How the hell did they go unnoticed for so long?”
It was Roman; he had drifted close to where Mom was sitting with the kids, his toe almost touching Hailey’s as he stared daggers at August.
“I don’t know,” August growled. “Negligence? Slow Sunday afternoon that no one was paying attention until the last moment?”
“Transferring him back to Ember Hollow was a mistake,” Reid muttered.
My brothers’ eyes took turns darting toward Quinn, and I instinctively stepped in front of her.
“This isn’t her fault,” I said automatically.
“Of course it’s not her fault.” Roman shook his head.
August’s hand clenched and unclenched at his sides. “I know it’s not.” But he didn’t look away from Quinn. “But has Amos mentioned anything about this? Any hint this was planned?”
Her hand grew slick in mine. I clutched it tighter.
“He’s not my client anymore,” she reminded him, not a waver in her voice. No hint of fear or intimidation. I chanced a glance at her. Her shoulders were pushed back, head held high. “But no, there was no indication of this. Not to me. I can contact the firm and see what they say, but if they had known anything, it would have been reported.”
August held her stare a beat longer before he nodded. “Fine. Contact them to confirm.”
What steel had rodded his spine melted as he dragged his gaze to the couch, to Emersyn. He looked lost for a moment as he stared at her, as if his heart were breaking.
She didn’t say anything to him, but I couldn’t see her face clearly from where I stood.
When he addressed the room again, he returned to his normal posture. A born leader. Though wariness lingered in his eyes.
“I’m taking Emersyn to a safe house out of state. Lark and Reid are coming too. We have no idea where Anderson went, or what he’s planning. We can assume he’s getting as far away from Ember Hollow as possible, but until he’s caught, we cannot risk it. Emersyn and Lark are too big of targets.”
I stiffened. I wasn’t surprised that August had a safe house somewhere; he’d been in the security business for a long time. He had a network at this point and he would know where it was safe for them. Still, my heart rate spiked.
“Fox,” August continued, head snapping to his twin. “I’ll need you to collect as much security footage as you can from the jail and around town. I want to know the exact vehicle they left in and where they were going. It’ll be faster if you do it. I don’t want to wait for the police.”
“Skye and I are coming to the safe house,” Fox said. “I can work from there. I know—” He took in a shaky breath, and another wave of fear rolled down my spine. Fox rarely showed his emotions. “I know that Skye isn’t a target like Emersyn and Lark, but she was too close to him for my liking. With the documentary out and all that, I—need her someplace safe.”
August nodded, not questioning at all.
