Chapter 4
Cole drove past the county jail.
I watched the familiar turn disappear behind us.
“Where are you taking me?”
He said nothing.
My wrists burned against the cuffs.
The road narrowed as we headed into the hills.
“You know Daniel will blame you when this ends.”
Cole’s jaw tightened.
“He already has insurance.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means evidence points to you.”
He turned onto an abandoned logging road.
There were no houses.
No traffic.
No witnesses.
I forced myself to breathe.
Then motorcycles thundered in the distance.
Cole checked his mirror.
Six headlights appeared behind us.
Bear had followed.
Cole accelerated.
The patrol car struck a deep rut, throwing me against the door.
He grabbed his radio.
“I need backup.”
Only static answered.
Jo’s motorcycle pulled alongside us.
She pointed toward the hood.
Smoke poured from the engine.
Cole cursed and stopped.
He dragged me from the back seat as Bear and the others surrounded the car.
“You’re interfering with an arrest,” Cole warned.
Bear removed his helmet.
“County jail is twelve miles behind us.”
Cole put a hand on his weapon.
Jo raised her phone.
“You’re live.”
Cole froze.
Hundreds of people were watching.
He uncuffed me and stepped back.
“This was a misunderstanding.”
Bear looked down the empty road.
“Misunderstandings don’t need isolated locations.”
A biker named Luis searched the patrol car.
He returned holding a syringe sealed in plastic.
Cole’s face went gray.
“I’ve never seen that.”
The label carried my name.
Daniel had planned to make my disappearance look like an overdose.
My phone rang inside Cole’s pocket.
He reluctantly handed it to me.
Daniel’s voice came through.
“You chose strangers over family.”
May you like
Then Sophie cried in the background.
“Grandma, please find me.”
