Everything here was polished. Controlled. Expensive enough to feel unreal against the surrounding mountains.
Troy stepped out immediately.
The guard took one look at Burke’s face and lost his casual posture.
“Sheriff.”
Burke shoved open the truck door hard enough it nearly bounced back.
“Where’s Cal?”
Troy frowned instantly.
“Haven’t seen him since earlier this morning.”
Grant came around the front of the truck fast.
“His SUV’s sitting wide open at Bridlepath and Izzy Moreno’s missing.”
Troy’s expression changed completely.
“What?”
Burke stepped closer.
“When’s the last time you talked to him?”
“Couple hours ago maybe.” Troy glanced toward the estate now, uneasy. “What happened?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
Grant was already moving toward the gate.
“Open it.”
Troy hesitated only long enough to grab the radio clipped to his vest.
“Main house,” he said. “Sheriff Scott’s here.”
Static crackled.
Then Wade Hollis’s voice came smooth through the speaker.
“Let them through.”
The gate rolled open silently.
Burke got back behind the wheel and accelerated immediately.
The truck wound through the estate past white fencing, massive horse barns, and rolling green pasture glowing beneath landscape lighting.
Luxury mountain empire.
Grant hated every inch of it.
The main house rose ahead, all stone and timber and glass overlooking the ridge like it owned the sky itself.
Wade Hollis was already standing beneath the covered entrance when they pulled up.
