Page 121 of Temptation
“He took Sloane. He won’t hurt her.”
“—because you finally let yourself care about someone?”
Preston nearly ripped the steering wheel right out of the vehicle.
“I’ve been watching you with her. You…if you try, if you let down that guard of yours, you might actually be happy. Happy. And not just be the broody bastard that you normally are.”
The Range Rover hit a puddle of water. The splash went wide.
He didn’t respond to Noble. What was he supposed to say? Yes, I care about her. Yes, I think I could be happy with her.
Yes…I think that I might…love her.
Only there was no might about it, was there? His heart was about to break out of his chest. Every breath hurt. And he could not remember ever being this afraid in his entire life. Not even when he’d faced off with the Last Breath Killer.
He was afraid, he was terrified that he would get there too late. That’d he’d find Sloane, but she would be still and pale. Unmoving in a coffin.
Gone from his life. Gone far too soon.
He didn’t want to go back to being in a world without her in it.
The miles vanished. Time slipped past.
Then he saw the ambulance. He braked the Range Rover. Preston bounded out of the vehicle, grabbing for the gun that had been tucked under the driver’s seat. Frankie always kept a gun under the front seat.
Noble had his own weapon.
They ran for the ambulance. Jerked open the back doors. “Sloane!”
But no one was inside the ambulance and…
“Want to tell me why a deputy’s patrol car is here?” Noble asked, voice soft. “Because I thought we were in the lead on the way here. The Feds are coming, but any deputies are supposed to be behind them. That means all deputies should be behind us.”
Yes, they were in the lead. They should have been the first to arrive on scene. The patrol car sat empty, nestled underneath a tree. When he peered inside the vehicle, Preston saw the standard issue radio that the deputies in the area normally kept strapped to their belts.
There was no sign of a deputy, though.
“You think a deputy beat us?” Noble wanted to know. “You think he’s out there searching for her?”
Preston backed away from the patrol car. He stared down at the ground near the ambulance. He saw the tracks in the mud.
Boot tracks. Big. Far bigger than Sloane’s little feet. He didn’t see her footprints at all. But two pairs of boot tracks sunk into the muddy earth and headed toward the trees on the right.
He headed for those trees, too.
“Do you know what a pain in the ass it was to dig in this mud?” Adam shook his head. He motioned to the hole. The grave that waited. “Sloshing and slippery as a mother. But we got it done. Had it waiting even before I found you at the hospital.” He pointed to a silent Eugene. “You settled the coffin in like I asked?”
“It’s in.”
Mud covered her body. Her jeans. Her shirt. Her arms. Eugene had zip tied her hands together. And her ankles. They’d carried her through the woods to this spot, and now the grave waited.
“Sorry about the zip ties.” Adam did not sound the least bit sorry. “Figured they’d help ensure that you didn’t do anything crazy like, oh, dig yourself out again.”
Her gaze shot to Eugene. A deputy. “Don’t do this.”
He stared back at her. No emotion showed on his face.
“You’re supposed to protect people. That’s why you are wearing that badge. Please, help me.” Her zip-tied hands moved to the right side of her body. Her fingers sank into the mud. Nice and deep.
