“This was no accident.”
“The flat tire?”
He shook his head. “You don’t get nails in your tires like that unless you drive through a construction site.”
“You’re saying someone wanted her to end up on the side of the road.”
“This is someone who knows enough about vehicles to figure out how long you could drive like that until the tire would blow,”he hissed. “There was a nail in the sidewall of the tire. Driving at that speed, I’d give it maybe fifty miles.”
“Far enough to get away from civilization. Did you get a look at anything else?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Anything that might give us some clue as to who we’re after,” I snapped.
“I’m not a fucking detective, Parker. That’s your job.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He got in my face, his anger palpable. “We had a fucking deal. I fulfilled my end, but you haven’t told me a damn thing yet about my wife!”
“Because we haven’t found anything yet.”
He laughed humorlessly, spinning away from me for just a second before that anger in his eyes returned. “You said your guys could find anyone. You said you could get me something.”
“And we will,” I snapped, keeping my voice low. “But I’m kind of in the middle of a crisis right now, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“You’re always in a crisis,” he hissed. “Pay up, or you’re not gonna like the fucking consequences.”
“Is that a threat?”
“You bet your ass it is.”
Turning, he stormed out of the hospital.
“What the hell was that about?” Pop asked.
I wasn’t about to tell him the deal I’d made with Wyatt. He would only tell me I was stupid to trust anything a Callahan had to say.
“The tire on Ellie’s Jeep was filled with nails.”
“How is that news?”
“Because they were brand new.” I slowly turned and faced my old man. “This was a setup. Somebody wanted Ellie, and until Jeff wakes up, we have no way of knowing who that was or why.”
“Which means Ellie’s in more danger than we realized.”
I nodded, glancing back over at Ryder. “Do what you can to keep him calm. If he goes off half-cocked, he’s gonna get himself killed.”
“We’ll stay by his side until Jeff wakes up.”
“Pop…” Fuck, he was gonna be pissed at me. “I need to be the first one in that room. I know Ma’s gonna want to see him, but I need information. The longer we wait, the worse it’ll be for Ellie.”
He grit his teeth, but nodded. “I’ll let your mother know.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
Time slipped past as I waited for news on Jeff’s condition. I fielded calls and checked in with Mav as he led the investigation, but nothing new came in. We were at a stalemate.
