Page 96 of The Last One You Loved

I could barely hear beyond the blood pounding through me. Only my training kept me going as I listened to the immediate response over the radio. Every law enforcement agency in a hundred miles as well as the fire department and search-and-rescue were gearing up and heading toward the ranch, but it was McK and me who arrived first.

I slammed my brakes in front of the farmhouse, next to Sadie’s car, leaving black skid marks on the pavement. McKenna and I jumped out, and Gemma came running down from the back porch.

“Any sign of them?” I asked.

Gemma shook her head, tears pouring down her face. “What…what do you think happened?”

I stalked over to Sadie’s car. “Don’t touch anything,” I barked as McKenna reached for Mila’s backpack through the back passenger window. “Back away from the car,” I told them both, and they did.

I scanned the drive, trying to see any trace of what had happened, but I wasn’t a tracker, and there weren’t any obvious prints.

A gunshot echoed through the air, and my body froze, heart forgetting to beat, lungs forgetting to breathe as dread filled me followed by a litany of curses and prayers. And then, I was in motion, running back to my truck and unlocking the rifle that hung in the gun rack. I threw the strap over my shoulder and raced in the direction of the sound while fingering the Glock I had tucked at my back.

It took me a second to realize McKenna and Gemma were both on my heels as I cleared the barn.

“Stay at the goddamn house. Let the others know when they arrive that shots were fired, and I’ve headed out,” I hollered while not even slowing down.

I didn’t wait to see if they listened. I just kept running, pulse slamming, chest aching.Please be okay, baby girl. Please be okay.The thoughts raced through me, making it difficult to stay clear-headed and calm as the situation demanded.

I jumped the fence instead of opening the gate, and I realized McKenna was still with me as she did the same. I slowed, not for her but so I could listen to anything besides the racing of my heart, hoping I’d hear something to point me in the right direction.

“Go back, McK,” I growled.

“No!”

I didn’t have time to argue with her. “I can’t be worried about you, too.”

“That was a gunshot, Maddox. If someone is hurt, I can help.”

The thought of Mila or Sadie being wounded almost made my knees buckle.

Then, I heard it—a tiny scream followed by another gunshot.

I took off, heading in the direction of the creek. “Mila!” I screamed, not caring if I announced to the world I was there, just needing my daughter to know I was coming for her. Fucking let the asshole point his gun at me just so it would mean it wasn’t directed at her. I knew what to do when faced with a gun. My tiny baby did not.

I heard the sirens in the distance by the time I hit the creek, and what I saw there had my stomach lurching and my knees quaking. Sadie was crumpled on the bank, and there was blood pouring from her.Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I slid onto the ground beside her with McKenna instantly at my side.

“Sads…Sadie, you with me?” I said, taking her hand. She was breathing, thank God. McKenna went into action, ripping at Sadie’s pant leg where the blood was spurting from a hole in her thigh. My throat bobbed.

Sadie’s eyelashes flickered.

“Talk to me, Sadie. Who has her? Where’d they go?” I demanded.

Sadie fought to open her eyes. “Gold…” she breathed out before she passed out.

“Fuck,” I frowned.

“Go,” McKenna said. “Go, I got this.”

“McK…” I shook my head, trying to concentrate, trying to figure out what Sadie had meant.

“Gold, Mads. Fool’s gold. The hollow. That’s where Sadie probably told her to run.”

Shit, she was right. My head was so clouded with fear and hatred for whoever had done this I wasn’t thinking straight.

“Go!” McK yelled, and I did, leaving my sister bleeding on the shore with the woman I loved and hoping whoever this was didn’t circle back around and finish what he’d started.