covered every possible location in the area.”
“You’re the natives,” Cadence said. “I told you this before…you know the area. Look at that map. Where haven’t we been? Where could the abductor take Lily? An isolated spot that we’re missing. A place where—”
“No one would hear Lily scream,” Kyle finished, voice rough.
Heather flinched.
“The storms are coming,” Kyle added. “The weather will work against us even more. Now is the time to be out there.”
Jason Marsh had titled his head. His eyes were on the map.
“It wouldn’t just be an outdoor spot,” Cadence continued. She walked through the small room, her body sliding through the line of chairs. Her gaze met each officer’s, held, then moved to the next. “She’s not out in the open. She’s in a contained spot, in a place that the perp can control.”
“Like a cabin?” Heather said as a furrow appeared between her brows. “But we’ve been searching them…”
“What about a cave?” Jason Marsh asked. He rose from his seat. Headed toward the map.
A cave?
Marsh tapped the map. A location about twenty miles away from Lily’s abduction site. “Most outsiders don’t even realize we got the caves up here.”
Kyle sure as hell hadn’t known about them. And he’d been to this town before. He’d searched , and never learned about them.
Marsh rolled his shoulders as he studied the map. “The caves have been used plenty over the years. Indians used ’em for some rituals, Confederate soldiers hid in them and stored weapons in there. Hell, the story goes that even some of Jesse James’s men stayed in them once, when they were running from the law. The caves stretch for miles and miles. The areas I know about, anyway.”
Miles and miles . “You’re taking me to those caves.” Because from what Kyle was hearing, they sounded like the perfect spot for the killer.
Marsh scratched his chin. “You wouldn’t have to worry about hunters finding her in those caves. Hell, you wouldn’t have to worry about animals getting to her, either. Not in there.”
“The caves are dangerous,” James said, stepping forward with a hard shake of his head. “There was a cave-in there a few years back. Geologists said the whole place could collapse at any moment. Sending men in there—”
“I’ll take the risk,” Kyle said. No hesitation.
“So will I,” Cadence added. He’d known she would say that.
James exhaled and gave a slow nod.
“And I’ll lead you.” Marsh had straightened his shoulders. “I’ll show you the area, and if Lily is there, we’ll find her.”
Damn straight they would, but Kyle wasn’t about to let the task force lose focus. He pointed to the map once more. “Anniston, you keep a team searching near the south ridge area. Officer Crenshaw, you keep interviewing the folks from Striker’s. Someone knows something, someone saw something .”
They would all keep working. And they would find Lily.
I just want to find her alive .
“How come tourists aren’t flooding to these caves?” Cadence asked Jason as they headed deeper into the woods and toward the entrance to the caves.
Kyle kept steady pace with them, not about to be left behind. He knew Cadence was worried about him, but he had this.
He finally fucking had this.
I’m going to find you . He was going to find the man who’d taken Lily—the same bastard he believed had taken his sister, and he would make the guy pay.
Cadence had asked him, Who were you killing? In his dreams—his nightmares—there was one person Kyle killed again and again. The man who took Maria .
“Captain was right about the caves being dangerous. We had some geologists come in a few years ago. They did some tests, said it wasn’t safe for folks.” Jason came to a stop before a heavy slab of stone. “Up in Kentucky, they have Mammoth Caves. Mammoth stretches for over a hundred miles.”
Kyle damn well hoped the caves in Paradox weren’t as vast. If they were,
“You’re the natives,” Cadence said. “I told you this before…you know the area. Look at that map. Where haven’t we been? Where could the abductor take Lily? An isolated spot that we’re missing. A place where—”
“No one would hear Lily scream,” Kyle finished, voice rough.
Heather flinched.
“The storms are coming,” Kyle added. “The weather will work against us even more. Now is the time to be out there.”
Jason Marsh had titled his head. His eyes were on the map.
“It wouldn’t just be an outdoor spot,” Cadence continued. She walked through the small room, her body sliding through the line of chairs. Her gaze met each officer’s, held, then moved to the next. “She’s not out in the open. She’s in a contained spot, in a place that the perp can control.”
“Like a cabin?” Heather said as a furrow appeared between her brows. “But we’ve been searching them…”
“What about a cave?” Jason Marsh asked. He rose from his seat. Headed toward the map.
A cave?
Marsh tapped the map. A location about twenty miles away from Lily’s abduction site. “Most outsiders don’t even realize we got the caves up here.”
Kyle sure as hell hadn’t known about them. And he’d been to this town before. He’d searched , and never learned about them.
Marsh rolled his shoulders as he studied the map. “The caves have been used plenty over the years. Indians used ’em for some rituals, Confederate soldiers hid in them and stored weapons in there. Hell, the story goes that even some of Jesse James’s men stayed in them once, when they were running from the law. The caves stretch for miles and miles. The areas I know about, anyway.”
Miles and miles . “You’re taking me to those caves.” Because from what Kyle was hearing, they sounded like the perfect spot for the killer.
Marsh scratched his chin. “You wouldn’t have to worry about hunters finding her in those caves. Hell, you wouldn’t have to worry about animals getting to her, either. Not in there.”
“The caves are dangerous,” James said, stepping forward with a hard shake of his head. “There was a cave-in there a few years back. Geologists said the whole place could collapse at any moment. Sending men in there—”
“I’ll take the risk,” Kyle said. No hesitation.
“So will I,” Cadence added. He’d known she would say that.
James exhaled and gave a slow nod.
“And I’ll lead you.” Marsh had straightened his shoulders. “I’ll show you the area, and if Lily is there, we’ll find her.”
Damn straight they would, but Kyle wasn’t about to let the task force lose focus. He pointed to the map once more. “Anniston, you keep a team searching near the south ridge area. Officer Crenshaw, you keep interviewing the folks from Striker’s. Someone knows something, someone saw something .”
They would all keep working. And they would find Lily.
I just want to find her alive .
“How come tourists aren’t flooding to these caves?” Cadence asked Jason as they headed deeper into the woods and toward the entrance to the caves.
Kyle kept steady pace with them, not about to be left behind. He knew Cadence was worried about him, but he had this.
He finally fucking had this.
I’m going to find you . He was going to find the man who’d taken Lily—the same bastard he believed had taken his sister, and he would make the guy pay.
Cadence had asked him, Who were you killing? In his dreams—his nightmares—there was one person Kyle killed again and again. The man who took Maria .
“Captain was right about the caves being dangerous. We had some geologists come in a few years ago. They did some tests, said it wasn’t safe for folks.” Jason came to a stop before a heavy slab of stone. “Up in Kentucky, they have Mammoth Caves. Mammoth stretches for over a hundred miles.”
Kyle damn well hoped the caves in Paradox weren’t as vast. If they were,
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