Page 77 of Nowhere to Hide
The offering came too fast, and paired with his comment about being vulnerable earlier, Sandra wasn’t buying a word of what he said. Why would he leave the guns inside with Ashley and the teenage girl? Presumably, he planned to return there after the interview, and that would put him at risk. “The guns are in the house? That’s good, Ryan. Shall we do the interview?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll just need to open the gates?—”
“No. I’m staying right here, on this side.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”More like anunderstandingthan a deal but…She’d failed to specify the newscast was going to be filmed outside of the gate.
“Things have changed.” Ryan strengthened his hold on Brayden, and the kid cried out.
“Help me!”
His desperation sliced Sandra’s heart. Thoughts of her twin brother, Sam, wedged in, unwelcomed. “Ryan, you’re scaring him.”
“Too bad.”
“You scare him, you can bet you’re scaring them.” She jacked a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the undercover officers, though Ryan would see them as a reporter and her cameraman. “We assured them of their safety because you told me they would be safe. Was I wrong to trust you?”
“No. No, you can trust me. I can’t trust anyone else.”
“Ryan, listen to me. You can trustme.I’ll help you through this. Will you come to this side of the gate for the interview?”
Seconds ticked off in silence.
Eventually, Ryan nodded.
“You turned off the ability to open the gates from the gatehouse though. Do you need me to call Ashley Hanson?”
Ryan nodded, and she called the house and made the request. As the wrought-iron gates swung back, Ryan moved his way through with Brayden.
The kid’s steps were hesitant, and Sandra could only imagine how terrified he was. “While you talk to the reporters, Brayden can stand to the side with me.” She put that out there as if she were doing Ryan a favor, so that he could focus on what he had to do.
Ryan shook his head. “No, he stays with me.”
“Okay, whatever you wish.” She walked back toward the undercover officers. “This is Emilia Rose and her cameraman, Tyler Carson.” Sandra told him what station they were with again. “Ms. Rose, this is Ryan Crawford. He’s why you’re here today.”
“The world deserves to hear the truth about the Hansons,” Ryan rushed out.
Brayden’s cheeks were a bright red, making it hard for Sandra to pry her eyes from him.Is he still breathing?But she saw his chest rising and falling.
“We’re here to help you with that,” Emilia told him. “If you just want to stand a bit more to your right.”
“I’m not moving. You film from where I stand.”
The plan had been to get Ryan positioned more to the right to make it easier for officers to move in from the sidelines when an opportunity permitted. But nothing was going according to plan. This was something Sandra had feared all along, but forward was the only way through this to bring the situation to an end. Ideally, a peaceful one. What gnawed the most was he likely hadtwo guns on his person, and for now there was nothing they could do about it.
“Yes, okay, that’s fine,” Emilia said. “It’s just where the sun is in the sky behind you?—”
“I’m staying put,” Ryan seethed.
Emilia held up a hand. “We’ll get started then. Are you ready?”
“I am.”
Emilia turned her back on Ryan and spoke for the camera. “This is Emilia Rose, reporting live from outside the residence belonging to Edward Hanson, sole heir of late billionaire Timothy Hanson. Timothy left a legacy of prioritizing family values. His generational company, Hanson Property Development Inc., founded its brand on ‘Building homes, not houses, since 1941.’ But we’re here today because shocking information has come to light. This is Ryan Crawford”—Emilia turned and gestured at him—“and he’s here with the real story about Timothy Hanson. Please, Ryan, tell us more.”
Ryan’s eyes flicked to Sandra, before settling in the direction of the camera. “Timothy Hanson was a killer and a rapist.”
