Page 110 of Secrets in the Deep

She nodded, but the move was jerky.

He cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t break in the second I got to the door.”

“You didn’t know.”

The second she didn’t answer his call, heshouldhave known. “What happened?”

Before she could respond, an engine sounded from the front of the house.

“That was quick,” Joel said under his breath.

Ryan stood. They didn’t have to wait long for Ward. He stepped into the house, a young male deputy behind him.

“Hi there. I heard we’ve had some trouble.” He looked around the living room, then down the hall. “Is the house clear?”

“Yes,” Ryan said between gritted teeth. “He’s gone.”

“You let him go?”

Did the assholereallyjust ask that?

Luckily for Ward, Emily spoke before he could give the guy a piece of his mind. “Would you like to take my account of what happened?”

“Sure.” He tilted his head toward his deputy. “Take notes.”

Emily went through everything, from the first knock at the door to Ryan’s arrival. Ryan hated every word. Every fucking one.

Someone had broken in. Attacked her with a knife. What would have happened if he hadn’t arrived when he did? Would they have killed her?

They could have. They’d had a fucking knife to her throat.

Shit, he needed to hit something.

“And is this some scene from that movie?” Ward asked, almost looking amused.

“Yes.” There was no hesitation from Emily. “There’s a scene where the killer attacks the heroine in her own home. Preston arrives at the door and the killer shoves her and runs.”

“And she doesn’t die?”

“No. She doesn’t.”

The sheriff nodded. “Guess you have no idea who did this?”

She shook her head. “They were about the same height as me. That’s all I know.”

“Rules out these guys then.” Ward chuckled, but no one laughed with him. “So it might be a female.”

“Maybe. They kind of smelled…floral.”

Ryan held out the pin. “Found this by the open window outside.”

Ward nodded. “So, female.”

As Ward turned to the deputy and told him what to note down, Ryan caught the flicker of Emily’s brows. The way she looked into space like she was deep in her head.

He lowered in front of her and touched her thigh. “What is it?”

“We’re getting to the end of the script. Everything’s happening in the exact order it does in the movie.”