“Here you go.”Anastasia brings me a cup of coffee.I barely taste it as I sip from the paper cup, my mind already formulating a plan.Who could have taken her?Why?Was it random?Or does it have something to do with why she’s here in the first place?
I consider her evasive answers.The way she and Thomas have moved around constantly since he was a baby.
Add that up, and it’s proof that she’s running from someone.
But who?
Thomas’s dad is dead.
The front door opens, and both Weston and Ryker move into the small house.
“Sawyer’s not answering the door,” Weston says, crossing his arms.
“He didn’t answer my call either,” Anastasia offers.Her eyes are red and swollen from crying, her jaw set.“But a lot of times, he’ll go for a run after work.He usually calls me back by ten.”
I check my watch.“That’s in an hour.We can’t wait.”
“I left my brother a message, but I don’t know when they’ll get it.”Anastasia sniffles.“Do you think she’s?—”
“We’ll find her, Anastasia,” Ryker assures her.
She nods.“I’ll make more coffee.”
“Any idea who might have taken her and why?”Ryker asks.
“Random abduction?”Weston offers.
“That’s what Leopold is leaning toward.”
“But you think something different,” Weston says to me.It’s no surprise; the guy is great at reading people.The only member of our team who’s better is Zane.
How much do I tell them?I don’t want to betray Katelyn, but if something happens to her because they don’t have all the pieces— “Katelyn’s ex-husband was abusive.She left him when Thomas was a year old.”
“You think it was him?”
I shake my head.“According to her, he’s dead.”
“We need to look into that,” Ryker says.He withdraws his cell and taps on the screen before putting it up to his ear.“Come on, Sawyer.”When there’s no answer, he shoves it into his pocket.
“Call Elijah Breeth and Tucker Hunt.See if they can both dig into her past.”
“On it.”Ryker steps away and taps on the screen again.
“What do you want me to do?”Weston questions.
I turn toward him.“I’m going to pick up Thomas from camp.He needs to be protected.”
“I’ll keep him safe.He can stay on the ranch.”
Nodding, I check that off my mental task list.Next, I need to find out exactly where that van went.I turn toward Ryker, who places his phone on speaker.
“I’ve got Elijah and Tucker on a call,” he says.
“What can we do?”Elijah asks through the speaker.
“I need to know everything you can find about Katelyn, her ex-husband, and her former brother-in-law.”
“Brother-in-law?”Ryker asks.