Page 43 of Shadow of Doubt
He zoomed in. Nothing. Moved to the next camera. Caught the tail end of the truck. Zoomed in again. More nothing. He moved two cameras down the road. Grabbed a screenshot of the front of the truck. Then the back on the next camera.
He slammed a fist into the back of Ryan’s seat. “No plates on the vehicle. None at all.”
“Dude,” Ryan said, ending the call. “Someone’s sitting in this seat.”
“Sorry, it’s just?—”
“I get it,” Ryan said. “You wanted something. Maybe he’ll turn off, and we’ll intercept the vehicle on this road.”
“Maybe,” Colin said, not expecting to have such luck. “Megan have any problems?”
“Nothing,” Ryan said. “But she wants Reid there now. She’s worried about the girls.”
“Understandable.”
“And I want to be there”—Reid clenched the wheel tighter—“so it’ll be my first stop. One of you can take over and drive down to the other cabin.”
Colin didn’t want to waste even a second of time before getting to Brooklyn, but he understood Reid’s need and would respect it. “When we get closer, I’ll open the gate remotely so we don’t have to stop.”
“Good plan.” Reid glanced in the mirror and gave a tight smile.
Dev looked between the seats. “I’ll take over driving to our place.”
Colin nodded at his brother. “Any problems there, Micha?”
“We’re good. I got this, bro.” His confidence took away a fraction of Colin’s concern.
Plan in place, they all fell silent. Colin continued to watch the feeds. The others were watching the road, looking for that jacked-up pickup.
“Get that gate open now,” Reid said.
Colin tapped the right buttons. “It’s open. No need to stop.”
“You better hope you’re right.” Reid whipped into the driveway, tires squealing.
“I’ll go in with Reid,” Ryan said, his body bouncing over the rutted drive, “then head home to be sure this guy didn’t decide to go to Pinetree.”
“Go check on your family.” Ryan lived at the next-door resort with his wife and young son, and Colin understood wanting to go home. If he had a family he would be doing exactly what Reid and Ryan were doing.
The vehicle bounced over ruts, and they flew through the open gate. Colin closed it behind them. Reid barreled ahead toward the large lodge that had been in the family for years and screeched to a stop out front, the back of the SUV fishtailing on the gravel drive.
He had his door open and was taking the wide steps two at a time, before the vehicle stopped rocking. Ryan slammed his vehicle door and charged behind him. Dev had bolted, too, and got behind the wheel, shifting into gear and winding their vehicle down the drive to their cabin. Colin prayed God had spared everyone from any harm.
Brooklyn’s body was tight with worry. Her muscles stiff and cramping. Tender to the touch. Stretching would help, but shewouldn’t show Sandy any hint of her stress. At least, she would do her best not to. Sandy didn’t need any additional tension, as it could further aggravate her lupus. Brooklyn would hate for this sweet woman to be penalized by Kane, who’d come after Brooklyn. Or at least it made sense that it was Kane who tried to breach the gate, as no one else in the compound had someone stalking them.
Sandy shifted on the closed toilet seat, her eyes glazed in pain.
“Is it time for more Tylenol?” Brooklyn asked.
She shook her head and put on a brave smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” Brooklyn searched Sandy’s gaze. “You’re in pain. Where?”
Sandy held up her hands.
This wouldn’t do. Not if Brooklyn could do something about it. “Would it help if I got a hot washcloth and wrapped your hands in it?”
“I’ve never tried that, but heat sometimes feels good, so it might work.” Sandy gave a weak smile. “For a moment anyway until it loses its heat.”
