I swallowed hard, praying my voice wouldn’t creak as I spoke. “That will happen, regardless.”
I love you.It was right there on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it back. This wasn’t the time.
She laughed softly. “Be safe. Call me when you can.”
We hung up, and I got Jolly back into the truck.
Rawlings would coordinate with Vance. The team would assemble. Jolly and I would be there when the doors went in.
And the people who had built a distribution network in this town, who had killed Ashley Moran and multiple others with their designer poison, who had operated with impunity because they’d always been one step ahead of the law, would find out what it felt like when the law finally caught up.
Jonathan Porter and whoever worked for him were going down tonight.
I started the engine. Jolly settled in, his chin on the console, his tail thumping once against the seat.
“Almost there, boy.”
For the first time in weeks, I believed it. The good guys had finally caught a break.
Chapter 29
Kayla
I heard the knock on my door and hopped up. Maybe Ben’s situation had resolved itself and we could get our date in after all.
It was too late for the planetarium, but he and I could jump to the really fun part of the date.
I checked the side window near the door. Not Ben.
It took me a second to recognize him. He was one of the officers from the day William went missing. Vance. I hadn’t talked to him much, but I remembered him looking me in the eye and sayingWe’ll find him, ma’amwith the kind of quiet certainty that made you believe it. And he’d been right.
I opened the door.
He stood on the porch in jeans and a dark jacket, hands at his sides, his posture easy and unhurried. The badge wasn’t visible, but the authority was.
“Hi, Kayla. I’m Eric Vance, from the police department.We met the day your son went on his little unauthorized hike.” His voice was warm. Apologetic. “I’m sorry to bother you this late. Ben asked me to come by.”
Cold ran through me for just a second. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. There’s a situation at work. Things are moving faster than expected tonight, and he’d feel better knowing you were somewhere safe while it all gets sorted out. He asked if I could bring you to the station.”
Ben was okay. That was what was important. I let out a breath.
“Just give me a second.”
I grabbed my jacket from the hook, slipped my phone into the pocket, and pulled the door shut behind me. The porch light caught the frost on the steps, and beyond it, the neighborhood was dark and still.
Ben wanted me safe. He’d sent someone to get me to make sure I was okay. I didn’t know what sort of situation was going on with the police force, but he’d cared enough to send somebody for me.
Vance walked me to his car, a dark, unmarked sedan, and opened the passenger door. “Watch your step.”
I settled into the seat. He closed the door, came around, and pulled out of the driveway with the unhurried ease of a man who didn’t find any of this remarkable.
The streets were quiet. Early evening in Summit Falls was headlights and shadows, the mountains visible only as the place where the stars stopped. Vance drove with one hand on the wheel, his attention split between the road and conversation.
“How’s your son doing? William, right? After that scare in the woods.”
“He’s great. Resilient.” I watched the storefronts slidepast my window, all of them dark at this hour. “Just wanted to be near Jolly.”
