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“T hanks, Shane.” Libby tugged her hand from his and scooted out of the booth. “Excuse me.”

She ducked into the restroom, used the facilities, then stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long moment. As touching as it was for Shane to try cheering her up, she knew that once they found her grandfather, the local police or the FBI would arrest him.

Hopefully, they’d arrest the kidnappers too.

She turned away, tunneling her fingers through her hair. This entire situation was surreal. Why on earth had her grandfather decided to rob the armored truck in the first place? The man she’d known for the past thirty years had never been greedy. He’d seemed happy and content with his simple life.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d kept the money all this time or slowly spent a little here and there to avoid detection. The federal government had a way to track the serial numbers on stolen money, so it seemed unusual that her grandpa could have avoided being caught if he’d used the cash.

Yet what was the point of taking the money if you weren’t going to use it?

So many questions without answers.

She headed back out to the table. Shane stood as she approached, his blue eyes searching hers. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t, but there was no point in belaboring the point. She slid back into the booth and stared at her half-eaten sandwich. Maybe she should take the rest back to the cabin. If—no, when her grandpa came back home, he might be hungry.

“It’s going to work out,” Shane said in a low voice.

She managed a nod.

“Okay, Griff is on his way,” Paul announced as he returned to the table. He looked relieved to have the feds involved. “But you’re right that it’s going to take him at least seven hours or more to drive here. He doesn’t want to fly because he wants his own vehicle.”

“That’s understandable,” Shane said. “I’m glad he’s coming. Now I think you should see if you can find an early photograph of Ward Engler and match that with our suspect, Harry Stern. Maybe Engler isn’t his real name. They could be one and the same.”

“You watch too many movies,” Paul grumbled. He remained standing near their table. “It’s not as easy to use a fake ID as you think.”

“Yet we know now that Grandpa was able to accomplish that very thing,” she pointed out. “And for nearly fifty years.” She had no idea how her grandfather had managed that feat but tried to stay focused. “I agree with Shane. Ward Engler deserves some intense scrutiny. Especially after the way he took off leaving half his meal behind when Shane and Bryce showed up at the café.”

“I’ll work on that angle.” Paul eyed them somberly. “I’d like you to head back to Libby’s grandfather’s cabin. That way I’ll know where to find you if I learn anything new.” He stepped back, then glanced at Bryce who was lying beneath the table. “We’ll likely need your K9 to assist with the search.”

“I’d like nothing more than to use Bryce to help find Marvin.” Shane pulled cash from his wallet for the bill. “I’ll take Libby back to the cabin. But please keep us in the loop.”

“Will do.” Paul nodded, then turned and left.

Libby leaned forward. “I think we should see if we can find Ward Engler ourselves.”

“We can’t do that. It’s not safe.” Shane left cash on the table, then slid out of the seat. “Come, Bryce.”

The large shepherd crawled out from beneath the table and eagerly followed Shane to the door. Libby hastened to keep up. Shane paused and held the door for her. She waited until they were striding toward the SUV before saying, “Drop me off at the library again. I’ll search for more information about Harry Stern. There’s probably an article somewhere that mentions him getting out of jail.”

Shane sighed. “I have a better idea. We’ll buy a laptop and use my phone as a hot spot so we can use it at your grandfather’s cabin.”

“That’s a waste of money,” she began, but he waved her off.

“I consider it an investment. I could use a new laptop anyway. We passed a computer repair store. I’m sure they have new and refurbished laptops available.” He opened the back hatch for Bryce, then reached for the passenger-side door. “We’ll be more comfortable at the cabin.”

Watching as Bryce jumped into the back, she realized he was concerned about his dog more than anything. She relented with a nod. It was his money to waste, and for all she knew, he really did need a new computer. “Okay, that’s fine.”

A moment later, they were back on the road driving through town. She kept her eyes peeled for the black truck, but she didn’t see it. She didn’t have confidence in Deputy Paul’s ability to dig into the possibility of Harry Stern being Ward Engler. She wasn’t an expert at searching either, but she had found the article about her grandfather. Stood to reason she might be able to dig up info on Engler.

The computer repair store was bigger than she’d expected. The guy who sat behind the main counter gave Bryce a wary look but didn’t complain. Smart move as Shane headed straight for the new computers set up along one wall.

She checked out the used machines and was impressed at the selection. She made a mental note to check back here if she needed to replace her current laptop, as the prices were reasonable.

Yet she wasn’t surprised Shane chose a brand-new top-of-the-line computer, the most expensive of the bunch.

“Hey, it’s a good price,” he said when she arched a brow.

Maybe so, but it still seemed extravagant. The Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch must be doing better than she realized. How, when they only accepted dog food as payment for services, she had no clue.

His problem, not hers. Once Shane had tucked the new laptop beneath his arm, they headed outside. Bryce trotted alongside, sniffing the air with interest.

“It’s amazing he doesn’t get distracted while doing searches.” She opened her car door as Bryce jumped into the back crate area.

“He’s well trained and likes to play the search game.” Shane closed the back and went around to tuck the new laptop on the floor of the back seat. “I’ll work with him while you work on the computer. He needs to burn off some energy anyway.”

“Good idea.” That would be better than having Shane hovering over her shoulder to watch her work. Libby knew she was growing too attached to him. This forced togetherness wasn’t real. Once they both went back to their regular lives, she wouldn’t see him again.

Especially if she had to visit her grandfather in jail. The thought made her wince. Would he be taken to a large federal prison far away from Cody? She had no idea where the various penitentiaries were located.

The thought of seeing her grandfather on a limited basis while he was behind bars was depressing. She did her best to shake it off. First, they had to figure out who kidnapped her grandfather and get him back.

Then she’d worry about the repercussions of her grandfather’s actions.

The drive back to the cabin didn’t take long. Shane pulled into the driveway and stopped the vehicle. He put a hand on her arm when she reached for the door handle.

“Not so fast. Bryce and I need to check the place out first.” He pushed a button on the key fob to open the back hatch for Bryce. “Once it’s clear, we’ll let you know.”

Since the kidnappers had been there before on more than one occasion, she didn’t argue. In fact, she found herself holding her breath as Bryce trotted forward, sweeping his nose from side to side as he took in the scents.

When Bryce began to growl low in his throat, Shane reached for his weapon, and shouted, “Come out with your hands up where I can see them!”

She watched the front door of the cabin intently, but nobody emerged. Bryce’s growling grew louder, then he let out a couple of short barks.

“Last warning,” Shane called. “Don’t make me sic my dog on you.”

Still no movement from the cabin. But then she heard an engine roar to life. Without thinking it through, she scrambled from the car as Shane and Bryce bolted around to the back.

“Stop!” Shane shouted. “Get him, Bryce! Get him!”

Her heart was in her throat as she rounded the cabin in time to see a man disappearing on a mini bike into the woods. Her first thought was that he wasn’t riding a four-wheeler as they’d thought.

Her second thought was to be afraid for Bryce as he barreled into the woods after the intruder. What if the bad guy shot him?

Shane must have had the same concern, because he called out, “Stop, Bryce! Come!”

A long thirty seconds later, the large shepherd emerged from the woods. Shane ran forward, dropping to his knees to examine the dog.

“Is he okay?” she asked breathlessly.

“Yeah.” Shane took a minute to hug the animal, then stood. “I don’t like the way the bad guys keep showing up here. I don’t think we should stay.”

She was torn by indecision. If her grandfather was able to get away, he’d come straight here.

But Shane had a point about the bad guys showing up every time they left the place. The fact that they returned to the cabin so often made her realize they wouldn’t stop until they’d found the money.

And worse, once they had what they wanted, they’d likely kill her grandfather.

* * *

“Come on, Libby.” Shane frowned when he noticed she was staring blindly out into the woods where the bad guy had vanished. “You need to pack a bag.”

“I’m not leaving.” She finally turned to look at him. “Did you notice he was on a minibike? Not a four-wheeler?”

“Yes.” He had been surprised by that, although he shouldn’t have been. These guys seemed to have a variety of vehicles at their disposal. “The engine sounds higher than a typical four-wheeler.”

“He’s staying somewhere close by,” Libby said with a frown. “Maybe even close enough to watch us. To take advantage of the moment we leave to come back to search for the missing money.”

“That’s possible,” he admitted. “But it doesn’t change the fact that we aren’t safe here.”

“I can’t leave.” She rounded on him, her eyes flashing with temper. “Don’t you get it? If they find the money, they’ll kill him. If we stay close, they’re less likely to come back.”

Or they’d come back with guns to take them out of the picture, for good. But the new determined-to-be-optimistic version of Shane couldn’t bring himself to point that out. Instead, he considered their options. “Let’s get inside the house. I’ll call my siblings.” He belatedly remembered several of them were out on other searches, leaving limited resources behind. “I’m sure Joel and Alexis won’t mind helping again.”

Libby gave a jerky nod and turned to step around him. He caught her arm again. “Me first, with Bryce. Stay behind me.”

She didn’t argue. As he walked toward the patio doors, he noticed the cellar door had been left open. This was where the bad guy had been when they’d arrived. Not in the house, but in the cellar.

Bryce trotted alongside him. He growled low in his throat, sat at the top of the steps, and let out a sharp bark.

“Good boy!” He tossed the rubber ducky in the air for Bryce as a reward for alerting on the bad guy’s scent. Obviously, he was the same one Bryce had chased earlier.

So much for thinking the guy would be forced to seek treatment for his dog bite.

He pulled his weapon and slowly took the stairs down into the cellar. This time, he stopped abruptly when he noticed there was a large hole along the back of the wall. And the shovel that had been used to make it was lying inside the opening.

He knelt to peer inside. The hole appeared to be at least three feet in height and maybe four feet in depth. Just enough room for a man to crawl inside.

He stared at the hole for a long moment. Marvin Tolliver must have told his kidnappers that he’d buried the stolen money in the cellar. He couldn’t imagine they’d go to the effort of digging without knowing where to start.

What he didn’t know was if Marvin was being honest or if Libby’s grandfather was giving them a fake destination to buy time.

His gut leaned toward the buying-time theory. Yet the cellar was a good place to bury stolen cash.

Backing away from the hole, he stood, then abruptly turned to stare at the shovel. He reached for his phone to call Paul. The deputy answered on the first ring.

“One of the bad guys took off when we arrived back at the cabin,” he said, getting to the point. “He was digging in the cellar and left his shovel behind. I need someone out here to get fingerprints off it ASAP.”

“Okay, I’ll send the crime scene techs, but it’s going to take a while.” Paul’s voice sounded grim. “There was a bad two-vehicle crash on the highway between Cody and Greybull, one dead on scene, and the other was sent to the hospital in Cody. I had to respond here rather than digging into your suspect, Ward Engler. You may have to wait for Griff to do that. Looks like I’m going to be stuck here for at least a couple of hours.”

Shane suppressed a sigh. One of the reasons their SAR services were in high demand was because their local law enforcement resources were limited. “Okay, I understand. I’ll close the cellar door, and we’ll hang here to wait for the techs.”

“Later.” Paul quickly ended the call.

Shane mounted the steps, blinking as his eyes were forced to adjust to the sunlight. As he closed the cellar doors, Bryce bounded toward him. “Hand.” Shane waited as Bryce dropped the ducky into his palm. “Good boy,” he praised. The dog wagged his tail, acknowledging a job well done. “Come, Bryce.” He turned and walked up to the house. He still needed to call his siblings, too, and hoped they could find a route to the cabin that wouldn’t be blocked by the two-car crash scene.

It bothered him that he and Libby may be hanging out here at the cabin without any outside support. He stepped through the patio doors to discover that Libby had already grabbed his new computer from the SUV and had set up a temporary office at the kitchen table.

She glanced at him as he crossed over. “What took you so long?”

“The guy spent his time here digging through the back of the cellar.” He crossed to the kitchen sink to pour water into a bowl for Bryce. The dog lapped at the water, then stretched out on the floor. “The good news is that he left a shovel behind. The bad news was when I called Paul, he was at the scene of a serious crash on the highway. One dead, the other seriously wounded. He won’t be able to help us for a while, but he promised to send the crime scene techs to see if they can lift prints from the shovel.”

Her expression turned sad. “That’s awful about the crash, but surely the state police can handle it?”

He shrugged and reached for his phone. “I can only assume they’re tied up with tourist stuff too.” He scrolled to his sister Alexis’s number and pressed the call button. She answered in two rings. “Hey, Alexis, any chance you and Joel can bring your K9s out to the cabin this afternoon? You’ll have to avoid the highway, though, as it’s been temporarily shut down because of a serious crash.”

“Sure, we’ll leave now,” Alexis agreed. “Are you still thinking you need Denali to search for human remains?”

“No, but bring Denali along just in case.” He agreed with Libby’s thought about how the bad guys were probably keeping Marvin alive long enough to find the money. “Also, you and Joel need to pack your side arms.”

“Okay, we can do that.” Alexis paused, then added, “Have you reached out to Doug?”

“No, but Griff Flannery is on his way from Cheyenne.” He quickly filled her in on the discovery that Libby’s grandfather had stolen money from an armored truck almost fifty years ago and the recent discovery of digging being done in the cellar.

“Wow, that’s crazy,” Alexis said, when he’d finished. “You really should clue Doug in on what’s going on. I realize this doesn’t impact his job with the DEA, but he’ll want to be involved if possible. Maya and Chase are still in Jackson but should be heading back soon. They found the missing hikers, and everyone is doing fine.”

“Good to hear Chase and Maya had a good outcome on their search. I’ll contact Doug.” He glanced at his watch. It was already one o’clock in the afternoon. By the time his siblings arrived, it would be closer to two. He felt as if they were running out of time, but there wasn’t anything he could do to speed things up. “Drive safe and we’ll see you soon, Alexis.”

“Yep. Soon,” she agreed, and ended the call.

Shane sent Doug a brief text instead of calling. In truth, he didn’t want to get into the whole story again. When Doug responded a moment later, he said he was tied up with a case but would call later. Shane sent the okay sign and turned back toward Libby. She was using her phone as a hot spot to access the internet. “Find anything yet?”

“I think so. This is the article about Harry being released from prison.” She frowned. “There’s a grainy photo here of his mug shot. Come see what you think. I can’t find a good resemblance to Engler.”

Shane crossed over to peer at the screen. Harry Stern had a thin, angular face with close-cropped dark hair. Picturing the round facial features of Ward Engler along with the older man’s thick hair, he was inclined to agree.

“You’re right. I hate to say it, but I don’t think they’re the same person.” He frowned, wondering why on earth Engler had acted so strangely. It didn’t make sense that he’d bolt from the café without a good reason. When they’d spoken at the overpass, the guy hadn’t acted as if he were afraid of dogs. Then again, Engler had demanded they stay back, or he’d shoot.

“So now what?” Libby sounded dejected. “I was so sure they were one and the same man.”

“Let’s focus on Engler himself rather than Harry Stern,” he suggested. “For one thing, we know Engler is here in the area. Harry Stern could be here, too, or he could be on the other side of the country. The fact is Engler acted suspicious. Maybe the two guys know each other, and Harry asked Engler for help. Stern may have hired Engler’s kids or other relatives to help him find the money.”

“Kidnappers for hire?” She grimaced. “I guess that’s possible.”

He was about to say anything was for hire when he heard a high-pitched engine. The minibike? Had the guy who’d been digging in the cellar decided to come back to finish the job? Maybe he’d assumed they’d taken off.

“Take the laptop into the bathroom and lock the door.” He pulled his weapon and turned to find Bryce was already on his feet, his ears pricked toward the sound.

“Wait, what about you?” She grabbed his arm. “Come with me.”

“I can’t. Call 911 so we have backup. Bryce and I will handle this.” He spoke with confidence, even though his gut was clenched with fear.

“Be safe.” Libby pocketed her phone, picked up the computer and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

“Come, Bryce.” He kept his voice low, listening as the high-pitched engine grew louder. There was no question in his mind that this guy was coming back.

Did he have reinforcements with him? Shane strained to listen, trying to determine whether there was more than one rider heading to the cabin.

Keeping Bryce close to his side, Shane moved through the living room to the edge of the patio doors. He took a deep breath, then peered around to the woods beyond the backyard clearing. He couldn’t see anything moving, but the engine indicated the guy was close.

Bryce’s ears flickered from side to side. Then he began to growl low in his throat.

The seconds ticked by slowly. Shane continued to scan the woods and thought it was strange that he didn’t see any movement.

Just as he was wondering if the guy was sitting out there, waiting for someone else to arrive, he caught a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off glass.

A rifle scope? Reacting on instinct, he ducked as the crack of gunfire rang out. The patio doors shattered beneath the force of the bullet.

What in the world? Shane huddled on the floor, his arm around Bryce as another shot rang out. This time, the round penetrated the wood siding to the right of the now-shattered patio doors.

In that moment, Shane understood this guy wanted them to flee. To get as far away from the cabin as possible.

A third round punctured the wall about two feet over his head. Shane knew this guy was sitting somewhere well out of their reach, using a rifle to keep them pinned down and so that Shane couldn’t send Bryce out after him.

“Heel, Bryce,” he said in a low voice. In a low crouch, he moved quickly across the room and into the kitchen, taking shelter behind the cabinets. He tried to think of a way out of this mess. They had two options, stay and wait for the sheriff’s department to get there or to get as far away from the cabin as possible.

“Shane?” Libby called from the bathroom. “Who’s shooting at us? Are you and Bryce okay? What’s going on?”

Libby’s choked voice made the decision for him. If the bad guys wanted them gone, then he didn’t see much of an alternative. “We’re fine, but this guy isn’t going to stop anytime soon. We need to make a run for it. He’s hiding in the woods to the back of the house so we’re going out front to the SUV.”

There was a long pause before Libby responded. “Okay. I’m coming.”

“Bryce, heel.” Once Bryce came to his side, he dug the key fob from his pocket and double-clicked the button to start the engine. Then he quickly pushed another button to open the back hatch. The silence from the gunman was unnerving. He hoped the guy wasn’t making his way closer. “Libby, we need to go!”

“I’m here.” She peeked around the corner, the laptop clutched to her chest. Another round struck the back wall of the cabin, and she instinctively ducked.

There wasn’t a moment to lose. He darted toward the front door and wrenched it open. Bryce stayed close, and Libby was quick to follow.

“Get inside, hurry!” He waved toward the SUV. “You, too, Bryce. Get up!”

On command, Bryce ran forward and leaped into the back crate area. Shane punched the button to close the hatch, determined to keep his dog safe. He made sure Libby was in the passenger seat before making his way to the other side and sliding in behind the wheel.

“Stay down,” he advised Libby as he gunned the engine. Expecting more rounds to strike the SUV, and silently thanking his brother Chase for adding bulletproof glass to their vehicles, he sped down the driveway toward the highway as fast as possible.