Krista nodded and hugged Chad. “Please be careful.”
He brushed her hair back and my heart swelled as I looked at the two of them. “It will be fine. Don’t leave, okay? Stay here, the guys will watch over everyone.”
“Okay.”
Chad turned and looked at Liam. “Let’s go.”
Liam pulled me to the side and leaned down so only I could hear him. “I want you to be careful. Don’t go outside alone. Idon’t think Jonathon would be stupid enough to come after you, but I don’t want to let my guard down. Not until we find him.”
I nodded. “Liam, I love you.”
He smiled. “I love you, too, Mallory. I’ll keep you updated.”
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes as I watched him and Chad leave. Krista went to pick up the bags, but Billy got them and carried them upstairs for her.
“I’ll finish up breakfast,” I called out to her.
“I’ll help finish up in the kitchen,” MaryAnne stated as she wrapped her arm in mine.
I nodded and exhaled. “Let’s get these men fed!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Liam
Chad and I pulled up and were stopped by a police officer. I put the truck in park and rolled down the window. “Liam Sanders, Officer Sanders knows I’m going to be showing up.”
He nodded. “Right, he instructed me to tell you to wait here. They’re searching the entire barn now.”
I glanced over and saw officers walking in and out of an old barn. Some in police uniforms, some in suits.
“The FBI is here as well,” the officer said.
“The FBI?” I asked.
He simply gave me a nod.
“Do you mind if we at least get out of the truck. We won’t leave this spot.”
“That’s fine. I’ve been instructed to stay with you once you arrived.”
Chad and I both got out of the truck and stood near the officer.
“Why is the FBI here?” Chad asked.
“Not much I can tell you, other than they’ve been investigating a sex-trafficking ring that’s been working in the north and up through Canada.”
Chad turned to me. “Do you think Jonathon is part of that?”
I shrugged.
“That place is creepy as hell,” Chad said. “I still can’t wrap my head around Jonathon being a part of this.”
“We still don’t know for sure if he was the one keeping Mallory in the basement. She didn’t recognize him, and she’d seen him a number of times.”
“Hopefully you’ll find something that tells us who did this.”
We stared at the barn. It looked like it was at least fifty years old, if not older. The dirt road we drove in on turned to the right of the barn and went off in another direction. I looked over at the wooded area and shivered. That must have been where Mallory ran to. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what it must have been like for her.
