A man with a gun and nothing left to lose.
Sadie sat inside with her dad.
The lights were off.
The curtains closed.
But I could see her through the kitchen window.
She looked small sitting at the table.
Too still.
Too pale.
Every time I looked at her, something inside me twisted tighter.
I should have found him sooner.
I should have stopped him before he ever got near her window.
I should have?—
Wolf came up beside me.
“Don’t.”
I looked at him.
He nodded toward the house.
“She needs you steady.”
I hated that he was right.
I hated that I couldn’t go tearing through the woods until I found Gerald.
But Sadie needed me here.
So I stayed.
For now.
Trigger came out of the darkness near the barn.
“No tracks past the creek.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
“He either doubled back or he had a vehicle waiting.”
Sheriff Cooper heard him.
His jaw tightened.
“Put roadblocks on Twelve and Highway Seven. Check every vehicle leaving town.”
A deputy nodded and hurried away.
