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Forty-five

GREYSON hit his knees.

Father , I have always been so certain of my path in life. In how to protect loved ones—by not having them. But that hasn’ t seemed to work. I’ve fallen even harder than I thought for Riley. What I didn’t anticipate was her returning my feelings.

He took a deep inhale and released it.

She’s asked me to pray , so I’ m here. Show me the way , Lord. An unknown future is difficult to grapple with—especially in my case. That’ s why I’m doing this. Protecting her.

Protecting yourself.

Swallowing, he opened his eyes. Was that true?

Riley’s footsteps padded in the other room. He got to his feet as she opened her bedroom door to the main living space of their hotel room. Her eyes, red and puffy, gave away her tears.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, knowing he was the cause. The thought of hurting her, even if it was for her best, gutted him.

She shook her head. “Just something from the past, and I like to keep it there.”

Vegas.

He hated the idea of taking her someplace where she’d endured so much trauma. All of the siblings had been traumatized by horrific, criminal parents who used them rather than raised them. But Riley, being the youngest, took the brunt of it. She was the sweet little girl, so no one saw the scams coming while she was in tow.

He moved to sit beside her on the couch as she took a seat. “I could just go if it leads to Vegas.”

“No way, mister. I will see this case through, wherever it leads.”

He got it. At some point, you had to face your demons, and Vegas was hers. He reached over and tipped her chin up a notch. “You are the bravest woman I know.”

Her gaze darted to the floor. “That’s hardly true.”

“Look at me,” he said, his voice gentle.

She met his gaze, moisture brimming in her eyes.

“It’s very true. I promise, and you know I never make a promise I don’t mean.”

A tentative smile slipped across her lips, then something caught her eye over his right shoulder.

He followed her gaze to his open laptop.

“Were you working?” she asked, her voice soft. “It’s four thirty in the morning.”

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t sleep.” Not after the pain radiating in Riley’s eyes when he’d told her there wasn’t a way. He’d prayed hard, but unless God was going to answer in a completely different way than he anticipated, he had to stand by what he thought was best for her. “I was doing some searching while you slept.”

“You need rest too,” she said, rubbing his shoulder.

“I’ll get some.” When this was over, or when it felt safe enough to sleep. For now, it didn’t.

She cocked her head.

“I will.” He gave a sideways smile. “At some point.”

She sighed and shook her head, then looked back to his laptop. “Did you find anything?”

“Actually, yes. I just got a hit on the fake identity Kelly used at the Kayenta clinic. I’ve been keeping an eye on transportation options, and Joel followed up on it for me. Kelly just rented a car from the Flagstaff airport under her assumed name last night.”

Her cell rang.

“I better get that. If Deck is calling this late, it’s for a reason,” she said, seeing her brother’s name on the screen. She grabbed it and answered. “Hang on, putting you on speaker.”

“It’s late. Why are you still up?” Deck asked.

“How do you know you didn’t wake me?” she countered.

“Because I know what you sound like when you first wake up.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t think that was a compliment.”

“I’m just saying...”

“Any news?” Grey asked, anxious to hear. Ri was right. Deck wouldn’t call this late just to chat. In fact, Deck never called just to chat.

“Yeah, Joel just called. A kid working the counter at a Circle K called in a tip. He spotted a woman who looked like Kelly.”

Riley shifted forward. “That’s awesome.”

“What’d the kid say?”

“That she came in, bought some snacks and a pair of sunglasses, and left.”

“He recognized her from her photo on the news, I’m guessing?”

“Yes. I think it helped they added a rendering of her with short dark hair.”

“Did he see Jared too?”

“No, that’s the interesting part,” Deck said. “He said she was alone and there was no one else in the car.”

“That is interesting.” Ri’s brow furrowed. “I wonder why they split up now?”

“My guess is Brent may have gotten too close, and they split for a better chance to escape. Or Jared let the man trail him so Kelly could get away.”

“Where was this?” Grey asked.

“That’s the other interesting part,” Deck said, his voice extra gravelly with slumber.

“Oh?” Riley shifted again, planting her feet on the floor.

Grey smiled. The woman could not sit still when she got hold of a clue.

“Kachina Village.”

“Kachina Village?” Grey repeated Deck’s words. “It’s the opposite direction of Vegas.”

“I know. Maybe they’re headed for Phoenix after all.”

Maybe. But it didn’t sit right with him. Vegas made sense. Phoenix did not. Not compared to a place where they had lived, where they had connections, and that was a known hot spot for money laundering.

“I guess so.” Greyson shrugged. “But it doesn’t—”

“Feel right.” Ri finished the sentence for him.

“Well, let me know what you guys decide,” Deck said. “I’m going to catch some winks. We can catch up more in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan. Night, bro.”

“Night, kid.”

Riley ended the call, then stood and moved to the laptop.

“Whatcha doing?” Greyson moved to stand behind her, longing to rub her shoulders, but he kept his hands by his sides. He’d made the hard choice, and now he had to stick by it.

“As much as I’d love for it to be Phoenix, it just doesn’t feel right,” Riley said, typing away.

“Agreed, and I also agree with Deck about why they split. I bet Brent got too close, and Jared tried to lead him away from Kelly.”

“I hope Jared’s okay.” Ri glanced over her shoulder at him. “I mean, I know what he and Kelly did was wrong, but I don’t want any harm to come to them.”

“Of course not.”

“It’s weird.” She sighed, her shoulders dipping. “I just can’t get over Kelly being a thief. I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Maybe there’s a reason behind it we’re not seeing.”

“Yeah, could be, but to break into a safe, you have to have some experience.”

“Everyone has a first time,” he said as she turned her attention back to the computer.

“Very true.” She pulled up a map of the state and zoomed in on the area in question. “Huh. I wonder...”

He waited, but she just kept moving ahead, pulling up Facebook and clicking on Kelly’s profile. She scrolled down through pictures of Kelly and a couple—skiing, hiking, kayaking. Then she settled on a house by a river.

“Whose place is that?”

“Kelly’s friends Gus and Amy.”

“The ones who are in Europe?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You think she’s headed there?” He furrowed his brow. “Where is there ?”

“Just outside of Cottonwood on the Verde River. There’s a lot of pics of Kelly on Facebook kayaking there.”

“And Deck said Jared had a kayak with him when he left his place.”

“Which makes me curious. Did they bring the kayak for part of their exit strategy, or was it just to make it look like Jared was heading on an adventure like he said?”

“Could go either way. Losing someone by river is a solid strategy, especially if the river has lots of exit points.”

“Which the Verde River does.” She pulled it up on Google Earth and scrolled through them.

“Or is heading away from Vegas just a diversion?”

“I’m sure they had a meet-up point just in case anything went awry.”

“True.”

“And what better place than your friends’ house where you’ve spent a lot of time—and with the house now empty.”

“So we’re heading to Cottonwood?” he asked.

“Yep. I better get changed.”