“Thank you,” she whispered.
He turned to head to the door when something winked at him from the floor next to the French doors. He walked over and picked it up, then caught his breath.
A gold cross with a broken chain. And a bent fastener. Like it had been jerked off her neck, not simply come undone.
He turned to face Ellie. And found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Once the zap of shock faded, he blinked. “You deserve an Oscar.”
She smiled. A tight, hard smile that didn’t reach her cold blue eyes. “I sure do.”
“But why?”
“I’ve already explained all that to Maya. I’m not going into it again.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe for the moment.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I’ll take you to her if you like.”
“I like.”
“Then don’t try any funny stuff or she’ll die. I won’t have to do a thing but just leave her where she is and she’ll die. Understood?”
“Understood. One question.”
“Just one?”
“At the moment. Why break into her cabin? What were you looking for?”
“Vance saw her working on something at the café. She had papers and the laptop. He thought she’d sold the ranch. I told him no way, but he insisted she had. I told him to find the proof.” She rolled her eyes. “And then he had a conversation with her andlearned what she was really doing and proved me right. So enough small talk. It’s time to go.”
She stepped away from him and set the weapon next to her but out of his reach while she shrugged into her coat and gloves. If he moved, she could easily beat him to the gun. Once she was dressed, he allowed her to prod him out the French doors and into the woods behind her cabin.
He could take her down. He had the skills, even with her holding a weapon on him, but he had to know where Maya was. Assuming Ellie was telling the truth about taking him to Maya. But she hadn’t put a bullet in him yet. “Does Vance know about all of this?”
“Of course.”
“What do you have against Maya? Why do you want her dead?”
“Move.”
He moved. “Where’s Vance?”
“Don’t worry about Vance. He’s doing as I’ve instructed.”
Which meant Vance knew where Maya was? So, if he disarmed Ellie, he could find Vance and get him to talk. But what if he wouldn’t? Or what if Ellie was lying?
Gideon kept his mouth shut and kept walking. The dense trees closed in around him and the undergrowth snagged at his jeans. Where in the world was she taking—
“Stop.”
He stopped and turned to face her. “What now?”
“Open that door.” She gestured with the gun, and he almost acted to take it from her, but she had it back up and pointed at him so fast he blinked.
“What ... ?” He looked down, and it only took him a split second to spot the black handle poking up out of the previously disturbed snow. He leaned over, grasped the handle, twisted it out of the iron hook, and pulled. The door creaked open.
