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This hadn’t been random. It hadn’t been bad luck or a string of coincidences.

It had been him.

It had always been him.

Harvey’s laugh was soft, almost gentle.

“Bad girls don’t get to check on their friends,” he murmured, stepping closer as his jaw clicked again. “They get punished. And Sienna…I’ve heard you’ve been a really bad girl.”

CHAPTER 44

STERLING

Istood with Ryder outside The Hollow, the neon sign buzzing overhead like it was mocking us. My boots were planted wide, and I had my arms crossed tight to keep from punching something.

Gwen’s sobs were still echoing in my head. When we’d arrived, she’d been curled on the couch, clutching a framed photo from their wedding like it was the only thing holding her together. The last time she’d seen Daisy, she’d been right here, laughing and throwing darts like she always did.

Gwen had left early, with a headache settling in and an early shift waiting for her, but Daisy had stayed behind, needing another drink and a little more time to bleed off the stress of losing a dog at the clinic that day. She’d promised she’d follow soon.

She obviously never had.

Ryder’s fists were balled tight at his sides, his knuckles white like he was already imagining them wrapped around someone’s throat. He was feeling it as hard as I was.

“I’m sure the whole bar was here last night,” he growled. “Someone had to have seen something.”

We pushed through the door together, the familiar creak greeting us like an old friend. The place was quieter than usual, a mid-afternoon lull that included just a few regulars nursing beers and the jukebox playing some slow country tune that felt too soft for the rage boiling in my veins.

Babs was behind the bar, wiping down the counter with sharp, aggressive swipes, her face tight with worry that she was trying, and failing, to hide. She looked up as we walked in, and her eyes narrowed.

“You boys find her yet?” she asked roughly, the rag in her hand pausing mid-wipe. She hadn’t been herself since Kelsey. This wasn’t going to help with that.

Ryder shook his head, leaning on the bar. “Not yet. We just got done with Gwen.”

Babs cursed under her breath, tossing the rag down hard enough to make glasses rattle. “Whole town’s buzzing. Daisy’s good people. Too good for whatever the hell this is.”

“What’d you see last night?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

She sighed and crossed her arms, that tough exterior cracking just a little. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” she said. “She came in around eight and blew off steam after a tough day at the clinic, same as always. Played darts for a while, kicked Kendra and Earl’s asses. Laughed a lot. Had a little tequila after she sank that last bull’s-eye.”

Ryder’s voice was steel. “Who did you see her talk to?”

Babs thought for a second, her brow furrowing. “The usual crowd. Kendra, Earl, a couple ranch hands.”

“Anyone else?” I pressed, leaning in.

She hesitated and pursed her lips as she tried to think. “You know…she talked to Harvey for a while. He’s been rough since the anniversary of Emmy-Lee’s death. Real rough. Daisy’s always had a soft spot for strays, human or otherwise. I did see her sit with him for a bit. She bought him a drink and let him ramble about his wife. You know how she is.”

I nodded, thinking of how we’d seen Daisy consoling Harvey, how Sienna had also been worried about him. She’d insisted on dropping food off for him the other night.

Ryder kept pressing Babs on what else she’d seen, but I tuned it out for a second, pulling my phone from my pocket and pulling up the camera feed again.

At first all I could see was the empty kitchen, and I was about to switch to a different camera when movement caught my eye from the hallway just off the room. It was shadowed…low to the ground.

Was that a hand?

I stared, frozen, as pale fingers scraped weakly against the floorboards. Then, inch by agonizing inch, Marvis dragged herself into view. Blood matted her hair, pouring from a deep gash at her temple and streaking dark across the floor as she hauled herself forward. She was gasping, her eyes wild and unfocused, and every movement driven by pain and terror.

Fuck.