Addy.His body ached with agony. Wyatt refused to even entertain the notion of losing her again.
Not again.
He would find her.
And when he did, he was going to give her a good shaking for scaring the hell out of him. And Clay, well, Clay was going to pay for a long time to come.
46
11:50 p.m.
“If you’re lost,” Adeline threatened, “I swear to God I’ll kick your ass.”
“I know where I’m going,” Clay groused.
She hadn’t taken his weapon. If they came up on Jamison, they would both need firepower.
She hoped like hell that wasn’t going to turn out to be a bad decision. Unfortunately, this whole night was leaning in that direction.
Her phone had buzzed a dozen times. Wyatt. When she determined whether or not Clay was telling the truth, she would give Wyatt their location, or at least the general direction they had taken. She sure as hell wasn’t going to have him dragging all of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department out here if this was some bullshit Clay had trumped up. He didn’t appear to be drunk. Stone-cold sober, the best she could tell. But she knew her cousin too well. This could be some sort of elaborate hoax designed to make her look bad or to scare the shit out of her. If that proved to be the case, maybe she would kill him.
“That’s it.” Clay pointed through the trees to a small shack maybe fifty yards ahead.
“You’re sure?” The shack was dark. Moonlight filtered through the trees, making the outline visible in the near darkness. But she couldn’t see shit else. Singing River whispered in the background, the sound much quieter than in the summer and fall.
“I’m positive. That’s it,” he urged.
Adeline considered the options. It was best to go in under the assumption that Jamison was inside. “You move wide around the back. I’ll make my way to the front. Keep your eyes and ears open.” She sent him a hard look. “And for God’s sake, don’t shoot anywhere near my position.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
This still felt wrong. But maybe it was the whole idea of working with Clay. The last time she’d been involved with a member of the Cooper clan, Gage had ended up dead.
Some part of her kept screamingsetup!
If there was any chance Prescott and Arnold were in there, she was seeing this thing through.
Clay disappeared into the darkness. Adeline did the same. She hunkered low, moved through the saw grass and underbrush. She wasn’t going to make being a target easy for either of those bastards. She cringed at the sounds Clay continued to make. Damn it. Did the guy not know how to move with any stealth?
Making scarcely a sound, she eased closer to the front of the shack. Anticipation seared in her blood, making her heart pump faster. There appeared to be a window on the side closest to her position, but it had been boarded shut.
When she’d reached the west side of the structure, she moved in close, flattened against the rustic wall. She held her breath and listened. The cold night air stirred, rubbing the branches of trees together. The constant hum of the river filled the air with its melody beyond that. Clay muttered a curse, the sound carried in the darkness. Dumbass.
No sound inside the shack.
Keeping her back against the wall, she eased around to the front. The door didn’t have a knob or lock. Just a loop of rope hooked over a wooden dowel protruding next to the opening.
Still no noise other than those nature made. She crept to the left side of the door, reached across it and unlooped the rope. She held her breath. Still not the slightest noise inside.
Using her left hand, she slid her flashlight from her back pocket. She slammed the butt of the flashlight into the door, sending it flying inward.
No reaction.
If this place was deserted, Clay Cooper was so screwed.
She rolled her body toward the edge of the door opening, roved the flashlight’s beam over the interior.
The light pooled on a body.