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“No need.” Gavin raised his hands. “I’ll cooperate.”

She gestured for him to walk ahead of her.

Chapter Twenty

Samanthaperchedherselfatopa picnic table outside the park office and crossed her arms over her chest. Ranger Stone stood with one foot on the bench of the picnic table, an amused look on his face.

Gavin didn’t see what was so funny.

“What were you thinking?” Sam asked.

“My thought process shouldn’t be too hard to discern. My sister could be in there. And what about you? You didn’t mention a stakeout when you dropped me off. When did you come up with that plan, and why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not in the habit of sharing information about official investigations with civilians.”

“Is that why you and I staked the place out together earlier?”

“That was a mistake. I never should’ve let you know where that cell phone was found. And I should’ve kept the information about the drone to myself.”

“I’m going to find her, Sam. You won’t keep me away from that place.”

Billy stood to his full height and narrowed his eyes. “If you tell us you’re planning to break the law, we’ll have no choice but to prevent you from doing so.”

“You two remind me of a couple of cats fighting over the last bite of tuna,” Scott said.

Gavin drew in a breath and glared at his friend and employee. “I’ll tell you when I want your input.”

The corner of Scott’s mouth turned up. “Testy. You know it’s true. Just tell the girl how you feel already, so we can get back to work.”

Billy smacked Scott on the shoulder. “Maybe we should give them a minute to work out their domestic dispute.”

Scott laughed and the two of them walked away.

The moment they were alone, Sam lifted her eyes to his. “We’re not a team if I can’t count on you not to go rogue.”

“That’s not what happened. You know I have to find Cate. You, of all people, should understand.”

She rubbed her temples. “Understanding doesn’t equal approval. You can’t take chances out of desperation. What you did tonight wasn’t smart. You almost let them know that we were watching them. If they are holding the girls there, They could’ve moved them. Thanks to Billy’s quick actions, I think we kept them from knowing any of us were out there, but what if they did hear us out there. They could be moving those girls right now.”

“We should get back there.”

“Do you hear yourself, Gavin?” She threw her hands up. “Go home. Get a few hours of sleep. We’ll regroup in the morning.”

“Will we, or are you planning to attempt a take down on your own?”

“Honestly, I think it’s time we call Wade. Working for the state police, he can do far more than either of us can.”

“You’re right. We should’ve called him before we flew back here.”

“And we would’ve if either of us had been thinking clearly. Between Cate going missing, and whatever was going on between us, we both lost our minds. Let’s see if we can get refocused.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Samanthaawakenedtoarooster crowing outside her window. Her neighbors chickens wandered over each morning to dig around in her mulch. This time of year she didn’t mind so much. Once she planted her gardens, it was a different story entirely.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. It was time to tackle the day, but right now a hot shower was calling.

Twenty minutes later as she was swiping some mascara onto her lashes, her house phone rang and announced a call from Emily. She almost let it go to voicemail, but decided to grab it. “Hey, Em. What’s up?”