Silas’s expression tightens. “Rhett?—”
“She thought I didn’t trust her,” I bite out. The words taste like poison. Because after last night… after this morning… after she looked at me like I was safe… I should’ve protected her from that suspicion. I should’ve—damn it.
Wyatt’s voice cuts in. “She made it off property. No perimeter alarms. She used the woods.”
Gavin’s face goes hard. “Track her. Now.”
Wyatt nods. “Working on it. I can’t tap town CCTV directly without access, but?—”
Silas is already moving. “I can. Give me two minutes.” He grabs his phone, steps aside, barking into it low.
My pulse is a drumbeat in my ears. Every second she’s off this mountain is a second Mark can grab her. I fucking hate this.
Wyatt pulls up the road cams near the base. “Wait—got her vehicle? No. She’s on foot.”
“On foot?” Chase blurts. “Shewalkedinto town?”
“Looks like it,” Wyatt says.
Silas comes back, grim. “Town cameras are up.”
He gestures at Wyatt. “Send me the timestamp.”
Wyatt does. Silas taps in credentials I don’t want to ask about. The monitor flickers again—new footage.
Timber Creek street view. And there she is again. Walking fast. Head down. Bag over her shoulder.
My chest tightens.Fuck.
“She’s heading toward the diner,” Silas says.
The footage switches—interior feed from the diner. Grainy but clear enough. Emma slides into a booth. A waitress approaches—Greta, probably. Hands her coffee.
Emma looks… wrecked. Like she’s holding herself together with duct tape and pride.
I feel something crack in my ribs. Then—movement near the door. A man steps into frame. Clean-cut. Familiar posture. A face I’ve only seen in photos but instantly recognize because I’ve been hunting him in my head for days.
Mark Renshaw.
My blood turns to ice.
Emma stands. He grabs her arm. She jerks back. A van door slides open outside— And in the next second, she’s yanked out of frame like she’s nothing. The camera catches her feet kicking. Her head thrown back. A muffled scream. Then the door slams. The diner footage holds on the empty doorway like it’s stunned.
Silas swears under his breath. Harper makes a broken sound. Even Poppi and Aidan hold their breaths like they know what’s going on.
Kayley’s hand goes to Aidan instinctively, like the world just proved how fragile safety is.
I don’t breathe. I just stare at the screen, watching the moment she disappears replay in my head.
She’s gone.
Taken.
Because I didn’t keep her close. Because I let suspicion touch her. Because she ran… and ran straight into him. The rage that rises in me is violent and pure. It’s not tactical. It’s not measured. It’s primal. Mine.
Gavin’s voice is a hard cut through the room. “We go now.”
Wyatt’s already tracking. “Van headed east. No plates on camera. But I’ve got a route based on traffic cams.” He taps keys. A map flashes on screen with a moving line.