The Rogue (Hideaway Springs #3)

30. Levi

30

I t’s been a long day. But productive. We finally put a hard stop to any more changes for the Barley family wedding. And the following week will be the fall festival. Then we close out the season with a Harvest Moon Hayride on the last day of October.

I pick up my phone from the front office before heading back to the house.

Shit.

Several missed calls from Sheriff Bradshaw. Did I forget a meeting?

I dial him back on my walk. I barely get a word in before he starts howling. “Reeves. I thought we agreed your wife doesn’t leave the house. Now you’re taking her out of town?”

“The fuck are you talking about? Tessa’s home.”

“Our signal alerted us that she’s off premises. Levi, we’re dealing with the FBI here. I’d really like to not piss anyone off.”

My stomach twists, and I pick up speed. “What signal?”

“Her wedding band. We’ve got a tracker on it.”

I race up the steps to the house, bursting through my doors. She’s usually in the kitchen at this time. “Tessa? ”

I don’t know why I call. I got a gut feeling she’s not here. My feet are lightning as I move to the front door.

“Kenny’s gone too. So is my truck.”

Wyatt curses. “I’ve got to brief my team. Get a few cars on the road. They’re over forty-five minutes out.”

My stomach sinks. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Dad sends me a text that he’s got Jackson, as planned, and I call Noah to pick me up asap.

Feeling like I might come out of my skin until my brother gets here, I search for clues.

I curse when I find Tessa’s phone on the counter. Swiping it open, I scan the call log. One from an unknown number but didn’t last more than a few seconds.

Another call to the school that didn’t last long either.

Then I look at her texts.

Scrolling past the exchange between her and Chase, I click on the unknown number.

The fuck is this?

“Shit.”

I ring Dad the second I get in Noah’s car to find out if anything was off at dismissal today. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. "Except Ms. Miller said Jackson's nanny came by today to confirm he's in school. Everything alright?"

I curse again. "Tessa's missing. I'll call you back." I hang up as he calls my name. I don't have the stomach to go through details.

“Did you know about her wedding band?” I finally ask my brother.

Noah nods. “Yeah. I wasn’t sure Tessa would like the idea of it. Thought I’d save you from having to lie to her.”

“Getting sick and tired of people keeping things from me,” I mutter .

He stays quiet on the longest drive across town. And I know what he’s thinking.

If Eddie got to her, chances are he’s not going to miss this time.

I grip the steering wheel tight, my knuckles going white. My heart still drumming erratically as I glance at the clock again. 6:03 p.m. He’s had my wife for over three hours. I wasn’t taking no for an answer when it came to following the tracker to wherever Eddie Graves is taking her. They’ve got a solid hour on the road ahead of us and reaching them seems impossible at this point.

Luckily, we’re driving behind the three police cars they’ve got heading in that direction.

Noah wanted to drive, given the state I’m in, but I need to be in control.

“As far as we know, she’s alive,” Bradshaw told me as we were leaving. Apparently, the ring also has a pulse monitor. Tessa is still breathing.

It’s the only thing keeping me moving.

That and the radio one of the officers handed me on our way out of the station. Chatter from each car ahead of us keeps me in the loop on what’s going on. Phrases like “suspect vehicle”, “moving eastbound”, and “eyes on target” fill the dark void of my racing imagination.

“She called me,” I mutter. “She called me for help and I didn’t answer.”

Noah stares ahead. “She called you to ask about Jackson. Not this.”

“She risked her life for him. And I let her. ”

“That does it. Get out of the car.”

“No. I’m not stopping.” We drive in silence for a few minutes. “What did Frank say when you called him?”

“He spoke to Vince. Judging by the route, this is Eddie proving himself before disappearing for good.”

“Any clue where he’s taking her and why?”

“Vince says it could be one of two places that belong to the Brunetti family.”

“Reeves, keep right. Comin' up on an unmarked exit. It looks like he’s taking her through some backroads.” Sheriff’s voice is calm, measured.

I follow them to the next exit, trying to keep up but I'm losing focus. My mind swirling to dark places.

To the pain I felt when they told me my mother was gone. To the confusion and agony I suffered when Elliot died.

Frank’s voice comes on the line, bringing me back to the present. “We’re almost there. Coming from the other side. You got a visual yet?”

Officer Sharpe, a rookie I met a few times, responds firmly. “No. We’ll keep you posted.”

I want to scream. They’ve done nothing for her for three years, now they roll in and start making demands? I slam my fist over the dashboard and grit my teeth.

Noah’s unfazed.

Another voice comes on the line. “How do you know this isn’t a trap?”

Sheriff comes on the line. “You can hang back if you’re scared, Agent Andrews, but we’re going in.”

I sigh with relief as Noah laughs beside me. “Asshole.”

“Reeves, think he’s taking her to some logging site. It’s too far off the grid—dead zone for communication,” Sheriff says.

“What does that mean?” I snap, my patience worn.

“Need you to stay back, I don’t need to worry about another— ”

I slam my foot on the gas. “Like hell. He’s got my wife.”

“Levi, I don’t need another dumb move today. Hang. Back.”

Shit.

I hit the brakes and throw my head back against the seat. Counting the seconds while the radio is silent.

“They’re on the move.”

My pulse spikes. “Do you see her? Is she hurt?”

Static.

A mixture of voices come through the speaker. And it’s hard to tell if it’s our local police or the FBI anymore.

“Fuck this.” I hop out of the car. Noah jumps out too, but isn’t stopping me. He swings around to the driver's seat of his car. “I’ll keep it running.”

Leaves crackle under my boots as I follow the team going in on foot. My advance startles Officer Sharpe. He whips around, gun drawn in a fluid motion. Every muscle tense as he aims in my direction.

I freeze, throwing my hands in the air.

“Mother—” he curses silently. “Scared the shit out of me, Levi.”

This is the guy Sheriff handpicked? Really?

I shake my head, keeping my voice low. “I’m not staying behind.”

Static on the radio again. Then voices. “I see her. She’s restrained. He’s taking her into the shed.”

My stomach twists. Tessa. Trapped with the monster that put a bullet in her back.

Sharpe curses. “Stay behind me,” he grits. Then lowers the speaker volume.

I nod. My eyes sharp, breath shallow and heart in my throat.

I hear a sharp crack of a door being forced open. It’s followed by a burst of activity and shouts. I listen for her voice but it never comes .

A fucking horse can scare her silly but all this and she doesn’t make a sound?

Sharpe turns up his speaker. “What’s going on?”

Silence.

“Sheriff, Kingsley, come in.”

This is ridiculous. Leaving the nervous officer behind, I race around to the shed, finding the cracked wood on the floor.

My blood runs cold. Tessa’s on a wooden chair. She’s stiff as a board with a gun held to her head by a psychopath.

I lock eyes with my woman. Then the man who has her.

He smirks. “Look at that, Red. More witnesses. What do you think boys, one bullet or two?”

“I repeat. Drop the gun. You’re surrounded. You’re not leaving here a free man,” Sheriff’s voice cuts into the silence as he stands with a gun pointed.

As much as I want this fucker dead, he’s got my wife inches from his frame.

Eddie laughs. “I haven’t been a free man for a long time.” He flips the gun between his fingers. “But I always finish what I start.”

Tessa swallows hard, and it takes everything I have not to run to her. From the corner of my eye, I watch Sharpe go around the side of the shed. The small windows are dusty and cloudy and there’s no telling what this man thinks he’s doing. But he's going the wrong way.

The distant thrum of a helicopter fills the air.

Eddie looks up. “Time’s up.” He points the gun sharply at my wife and my vision blurs.

A shot is fired, and the air is knocked out of my lungs. Tessa screams and it’s a beautiful sound. One I needed to hear .

Eddie is on the floor, bleeding out. The squad breaks into action, and Sheriff is on his knees in front of the criminal. “There’s a pulse. Who fired?”

“I did,” Sharpe calls from outside the cracked window in the back of the shed.

Sheriff cocks a grin. “Nice shot, Rookie.”

Fueled with adrenaline, I charge toward her.

“Indie,” my woman cries as I free her from the ties around her wrists. They wrap around me, and I lift her into my arms.

“I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She clings to me with all her strength, broken sobs into my neck. I pull her off knowing I’ll be holding her all the way home. “Are you hurt?”

Tess shakes her head. It wobbles slightly before she collapses into my arms.

“Tessa?”

“Shock and exhaustion. I’ll get you an escort to the nearest hospital,” Sheriff offers like he’s seen this before. FBI agents surround the area, inspecting every building on the premises.

“Thanks, Wyatt.” I cock my head at the men in black uniforms. “We through with them?”

He shrugs. “As far as I know.”