Once inside, Brantley glanced around to get his bearings. All the curtains had been drawn, making the place feel dreary and cold. The good news was, the house was clean and smelled like lemon, not the sickly scent of death he’d imagined it would have.
“Ms. Steiner?” Reese said softly, moving slowly. “My name’s Reese Tavoularis. I was here yesterday. Would you mind if I sit and speak with you a moment?”
Gloria Steiner was sitting on the edge of a couch cushion, her elbow resting on the arm, her hand over her mouth. She was trembling, her gaze swinging to the back of the house as though she was going to bolt at any moment.
“Ma’am?” Reese repeated.
Finally, Gloria nodded, a somewhat nervous action that made her head bob even as her gaze darted to the back of the house again.
“We’re with Sniper 1 Security, and we’re friends of Magnus Storme. He’s a friend of Ava’s,” Reese explained as though talking down a wounded animal.
Her gaze slammed into him then bounced to Brantley. “How do I know y’all aren’t the ones who hurt that poor girl?”
“Because we’re givin’ you our word,” Reese said, his tone ripe with sincerity. “We’d like to understand how Ava ended up here. We know somethin’ bad happened to her, and we’re tryin’ to ensure the person responsible is held accountable for their actions.”
“How do I know you boys aren’t the ones who did this?” she repeated, her gaze bouncing wildly once again.
Brantley could feel her tension. Throughout his military career, he’d encountered people from all walks of life, those who’d experienced trauma a thousand times, those who’d been on the periphery of it their entire lives. From his experience, they were dealing with a woman who’d once been through something similar to what Ava was going through now. It made so much more sense now. Why Ava was here. Why Gloria was hiding her.
He stood back, let Reese maintain control of the situation.
“We’ve been searchin’ for Ava for several days now,” Reese explained. “We were led to this area by suspicious actions. I’m the one who came to your door, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” she grumbled.
“We were tipped off that Ava might be out this way because we were keepin’ tabs on her husband.”
Gloria stared up at Reese, narrowed her eyes. “He’s the one who did this,” she declared.
“Did you see him?”
She shook her head. “She told me. Begged me not to let him find her.”
That explained why Gloria had lied when Reese had come to the door.
Reese forged ahead, joining her in the living room, easing down on the edge of the couch cushion at the opposite end from where she was. “During our search, we came across a rug in one of the fields not far behind your house. Can you tell us if that’s where you found Ava?”
Gloria shook her head again. “I saw her walking,” she said, her voice husky. “I think she was lookin’ for a place to go.” Some of the tension in her body eased as she angled toward Reese. “Is that where he dumped her?”
“We believe so,” Reese confirmed. “We followed him this way, found him searchin’ the field. Figured he might’ve come back for her. Can you tell us how bad her injuries are?”
Gloria nodded, and this time when she looked at them, Brantley noticed tears in her eyes. “It’s bad. It’s real bad. I told her she needed a hospital, but she begged me not to make her go. Said he’d find her.”
Brantley’s gut tightened. He wanted to wrap his fucking hands around Harrison Rivers’s neck and choke the life out of him. He wanted to watch that smug expression turn to fear for his own life. Any bastard who laid hands on a woman deserved to suffer the way their victims suffered.
His attention shifted to voices coming from the front porch. He walked over, invited Charlie and Jay into the house.
They walked in silently, and Brantley took a moment to introduce them to Gloria. “Charlie works for me. She’s gonna stay with Ava,” he explained. “She’s armed, and she won’t let him anywhere near her.” He turned back to Charlie. “They’re in the back. I need you to go back there, introduce yourself to Ava, then send anyone else out who’s not critical. The last thing she needs is to be surrounded by a bunch of men.”
“Of course.” Her eyes swam with understanding.
Without asking for details, Charlie ventured in the direction Brantley pointed.
He glanced back at Reese and Gloria, still chatting quietly. Hoping Gloria might open up a little more if she didn’t feel Brantley looming over her, he headed toward the kitchen with Jay. Sheriff Paul Starr was standing at the island, his hands planted firmly on the butcher-block countertop, head hanging down.
“How is she?” Brantley asked, glancing in the direction of the soft hum of voices.
When he looked up, Brantley got all the answers he would ever need, and what the sheriff relayed with just a look was enough to chill his bones.
