Page 97 of The One Night Match

Because she has to be.

The alternative is unthinkable.

I walk for a few minutes before I start wondering how far I should go without backup. The ledge I’m walking along could give way at any second, considering how wet and muddy it is, but I don’t want to stop if it means finding Riley.

A piece of fabric caught on a rock catches my attention, and my stomach bottoms out.

The light pink sock is tattered and torn from a night of running through the forest in suboptimal conditions, but I know without a doubt that it belongs to Riley.

Which means she’s in the water.

“Colten?”

“I’m here.”

“How far down does the ravine go?”

“Miles. It winds through a few properties, but I’d have to check where it comes out.” He pauses. “Why?”

“I’m almost positive Riley’s in the water.” My voice cracks as emotion crashes over me. I’ve never felt quite as hopeless as I do right now.

Not when I was a kid watching my dad beat my mom. Not at any point since we realized we had a rat in the organization. Not when I decided to marry a woman I’d never met. And not when I signed those goddamn papers, thinking Riley would be better off without me.

“The chance of her being able to swim against the currents is low, but she could have grabbed hold of something.”

I press my eyes closed, fighting against the sob that climbs up the back of my throat. “She’s not a strong swimmer.”

“Just keep looking, Cruz. Backup will be at your location in the next half hour, and Hugo is on his way down now. Don’t give up yet.”

I nod, even though he can’t see me, and I start walking again.

Every step is heavier than the last as my mind and body struggle through the gravity of the situation, thinking through every what-if that presents itself.

What if I had shot Jeremy when we first walked into the clearing?

What if I had never signed those papers?

What if Riley had just stayed in bed instead of going in search of me?

What if I had never left the house?

What if I had never brought her into this life?

What if I’d let her go when she first asked, when she first told me all the reasons she didn’t want to be a part of the Mafia?

It’s a little too late for any of it, and yet my mind throws them at me faster than I can push them away.

Footsteps jog up beside me, and Hugo gives me a sorrowful smile.

No one’s saying it, but we’re more than likely looking for a body rather than a rescue at this point.

We walk in silence for what feels like forever, but considering the conditions, it’s probably only a few minutes.

Hugo stops dead in his tracks, his eyes squinting toward something caught on a boulder in the center of the ravine.

Following his eye line, I move closer to the ledge before I catch sight of long auburn hair moving through the water.

“Riley!” I shout.