Page 54 of Shades of Mercy

What if he was involved with Cross? What could she do, though?

Mercy set the phone on the desk, staring at it.

She couldn’t call him. Mateo saidtrust no one.

But Howie wasn’t just anyone. They’d started the infiltration business together, sharing personal information. If he were involved with Cross, what would he do to SMH Security while she was gone?

The temptation got the best of her.

She sent the encrypted email…

“I’m laying low. How is everything at SMH?”

“The door came open, and Bones strode in. “It’s hot enough to scorch an iceberg out there.”

Mercy hurried and discreetly dropped the phone into her lap. “I saw you working on the fence. Or rather, doing Jag’s bidding by keeping an eye on me.” Why beat around the bush?

Bones blinked twice. “Mercy—”

“I won’t tell him that I know. Since you’re my babysitter until he returns, I need your help. Could you take me into town so I can buy some supplies?”

“Would Jag be okay with you leaving the ranch?”

She sighed. “Am I a prisoner?”

“I’m not suggesting that, I just—”

“I can ask one of the other cowboys.”

Bones shook his head. “I will, but we’re going to town and back.”

“Give me a minute here to shut down, and I’ll meet you outside.”

Bones stepped out.

She sent McKinley an email.

Please send me the drone photos taken at the Cross party.

Chapter Fifteen

Jag saw the shoe print in the mud and the hairs on his neck lifted. The size of the print told him what he needed to know. Jacob had been there.

He’d been up on the mountain for almost two hours and the dark clouds were moving in.

Jag was able to pick up the kid’s trail a mile back, which didn’t make sense. If the boy had walked away from camp at the trailhead, how did he get so far so quickly? Jag agreed with the sheriff that there was more to the story, but his only mission was to save the boy before it came to a body retrieval.

If a storm were to come, things could get ugly in an instant.

“Mother Nature, behave yourself.”

He stood and rubbed his fingers together to remove the dirt. Glancing up ahead. The tracks led into the woods.

Instead of mounting his horse, he would have to go on foot for the rest of the way. Tracking in the rain-soaked woods would require being up close and personal.

He tied his horse to a tree. “Good girl.” He rubbed her nose.

He glanced below at the fast-moving ravine. The water flowed over rocks and downed trees, echoing through the valley. If the boy fell in…