Not only was she exhausted, but her body ached—and she felt like she was wasting time.
Obviously, word about yesterday’s zipline accident hadn’t spread quite as quickly as Ansley had assumed. They’d already had three families walk up, ready to check in for today’s adventures. They had to break the bad news to them.
As Ryan and Ansley had been giving two tourists ideas for other things to do in the area, Luke had been talking to his deputy. Ansley was surprised Dustin hadn’t at least sent another employee out here to handle matters.
But when the going got tough, the tough got going, as the saying went.
“Dustin isn’t at his house.” Luke put his phone back into his pocket and stomped across the deck toward them.
“So where is he?” Ryan asked, tossing his empty coffee cup into a trashcan. He placed the lid back on—bears were a problem out here. “You don’t think he skipped town or something, do you?”
Luke raised an eyebrow, his expression saying it all. “You know what that means if he skipped town—it means he’s probably guilty.”
Ansley shook her head. Policework wasn’t her thing. But reading people? She was pretty good at it. Her dad had trained her well. He’d been sheriff here in town before Luke.
“I can’t buy that,” she said, swiping her hair out of her eyes as the wind kicked up and sent a scattering of leaves around them. “There’s no way Dustin would sabotage his own business. What could possibly be his motive?”
“I’m not saying he did this himself,” Luke said. “But I’m saying that he could have been negligent in some way, and now he’s running out of both guilt and fear.”
Ansley took another sip of her coffee, still not able to picture it. “I really think Dustin would fight tooth and nail to keep this place open. It’s basically all he’s got. And he just made this huge investment into it.”
“Maybe if we can ever find him, we’ll ask him and find out that information for ourselves.” Luke made a face before pulling out his phone and dialing again. “Deputy, one more question. Was Dustin’s truck in his driveway?”
The deputy said something, and Luke grunted. When Luke put his phone away, he turned back to them. “It looks like Dustin’s truck is still at his place.”
A bad feeling swirled in Ansley’s stomach. Just what was going on with Dustin? He wasn’t her favorite person, but she didn’t wish him harm either. This wasn’t like him.
“What do you know about Dustin, Ansley?” Ryan asked.
Her muscles tightened. She almost felt like she was being interrogated. “I don’t know. He came to the area probably six years ago and started working at another zipline the next county over. He liked it so much that he decided to start his own.”
“Is he a stand-up guy?” Ryan continued.
Her conversation from last night filled her mind. “He’s not perfect—not by a long shot. Then again, neither am I. The rest of it, you probably know. There are rumors about his drinking and drug use. I heard the loan he got to build this place was dicey, at best.”
“Do you get along with him?”
Ryan wasn’t going to let this drop, was he? “I don’t know. For the most part. You know me, I don’t always play well with others. Especially when they act like jerks. I call people out. People don’t like to be called out.”
“Anything else we should know?” Luke asked.
As the thought seemed to be heavy on each of their minds, another figure approached from a stairway in the distance.
It was Jonathan. Ansley had a quick flashback from yesterday. He’d helped them out on the river, hadn’t he? During the rescue operation?
She knew Jonathan, but not very well. The two weren’t exactly on warm and fuzzy terms, but they were civil to each other while in public.
Right now, he looked upset. His tanned skin looked slightly flushed, his unkempt hair stood in windswept wisps around his face, and his muscular arms looked tense.
He held something in his hands as he approached Luke. “Hey, I thought I saw you all up here.”
“What’s going on?” Luke asked.
“I was doing a run down the river this morning. The water levels were low, so I actually had to get out and push the raft through one part. Anyway, when I did that, my feet hit something.” He held up the object in his hands.
“That’s a bolt cutter,” Ryan muttered.
Ansley sucked in a breath. He didn’t have to spell it out for her to know the significance of the tool. Someone had used it to sabotage the cable, hadn’t they?
Jonathan nodded. “I know. And I found it right below where the zipline was cut.”
Chapter Seventeen
Two hours later, Ryan left the zipline.
He and Luke had gone down to the river with Jonathan, who’d shown them exactly where he found the bolt cutters. Luke had documented the scene and would examine the tool for fingerprints back at his office.
At least some answers were coming together.
Still, Ryan didn’t like the sound of all this.
Meanwhile, Ansley had stayed up at the top. After yesterday’s accident, she wasn’t in shape physically to make the climb down, although Ryan suspected she would never admit that. Instead, she’d waited for the deputy to arrive and said she’d remain on the deck in case more visitors came.
They’d done everything they could do here, and now Ryan was going to head over to Dustin’s with Luke. They were going to drag Ansley along also. He climbed into his SUV and cranked the engine.
It wasn’t part of his job to help Luke with this investigation, but Ryan wanted to know what was going on with Dustin. Wanted to know why he hadn’t shown up. The fire station had been quiet, but if they got any calls, Ryan could get there fast.
He wouldn’t let his guys down.
Not again.
At the thought, he dialed Lyndsey’s number. Her soft voice came over the line. “Hi, Lyndsey. How are you and the kids?”
“Ryan! I was hoping you’d call. We’re doing fine. We miss you. The boys miss you.”
His heartrate quickened when he heard her voice.
She sounded warm and friendly, yet with a hint of distance to her tone. Distance was good—especially when considering how everything had changed recently.
“Tell the boys that I miss them too,” Ryan said. “I’ll try to get back as soon as I can to visit.”
“Are you sure this move was a good idea, Ryan?” Her voice turned serious. “Are you sure you’re not just running away?”
He ground his teeth for a minute before nodding. “I’m sure this is what I needed to do. I’m sorry for how it affects you and the boys, though.”
“Don’t apologize. But we do want to hear from you. Okay?”
His throat felt dry. “Okay, Lyndsey. If you need anything—”
“You’ll be the first person I call.”
As Ryan ended the conversation, a weight pressed on his chest. Lyndsey and the boys had been the hardest thing about leaving Philly. They’d been the one thing that kept him there. But Ryan had had little choice but to leave. His decisions had forced changes that he didn’t want—or anticipate.
He wouldn’t be making those mistakes again.
He turned into Dustin’s driveway and saw that Luke’s SUV was already there.
Ryan stared at Dustin’s house a moment. The place wasn’t typical for the area. Though it was on the mountainside, it looked like it belonged in an old, rundown neighborhood. The sides were cinderblock and painted a faded blue. Everything looked outdated and several old cars sat abandoned on the edge of his property.
Luke stood on the porch while Ansley waited in the car—no doubt that wasn’t her choice. She wasn’t the type to scamper away and hide in the corner. The fire in her eyes made it clear that no one would walk on her.
Ryan smiled at the thought.
He cut the engine and stepped out into the brisk day. He’d always liked a woman who knew what she wanted. But Ansley Wilder would be a lot for any
one to handle. One day, the right man would be willing to take up that challenge.
If Ryan didn’t have so much baggage in his own life, he might be interested. But not now. Maybe not ever. It was a good thing he had so much work to distract himself with.
Ansley crossed her arms and waited in Luke’s SUV.
This was not how she’d envisioned spending her day. She didn’t know what exactly she had envisioned, but it definitely hadn’t been tagging along with her brother and his friend. For a moment, she felt like she was back in middle school.
On occasion, Jaxon had babysat her. She remembered one time when she’d probably been in seventh grade, and Jaxon and Ryan had been eleventh graders. Even back then, she’d had a crush on Ryan.
On that particular day, she’d dressed up in her heels, put on lipstick, and she’d done her best to look grown up. It hadn’t done any good. Ryan hadn’t given her a second glance as he and Jaxon had played basketball outside. She’d simply been his best friend’s little sister.
Looking back, Ansley supposed that was a good thing. There had been too much of an age gap. But, at the time, she’d been desperate to get his attention. Her mom had just left. Her dad had been diagnosed with cancer.
Her life had been falling apart. She’d wanted something to distract her—and what could be better than attention from an older, handsome boy?
Into her later high school years and after graduation, Ansley had always turned to men to fill some kind of unseen need. Not anymore.
Back in the present, she watched as her brother and Ryan moved around Dustin’s house, peering inside the windows. Swiftly, they walked back to the front door, still talking and most likely devising a plan.
Dustin, Dustin, Dustin. Where had he gone? And why?
None of this really made sense to Ansley. Maybe it never would. She’d given up on trying to figure people out. If her own mother didn’t make sense to her, why would anyone else?
At the thought of her mother, she frowned again. Though Ansley knew she had to own up to her own mistakes, she couldn’t help but wonder how differently her life would have turned out if her mother had stayed with the family.
Ever since high school, Ansley’s life had been a string of bad relationships. She’d picked the bad boys. The ones she’d known weren’t good for her. She hadn’t been looking for anything serious—only something to numb her pain.
For a while, that seemed okay. She would lose interest in one guy and move on to the next thrill.
But now Boone and Luke had found the loves of their lives, and it made Ansley question what she thought she wanted. When she saw how happy they were, she wanted some of that for herself. Ansley wanted a love that was unconditional. For so long, she didn’t even think that existed. She had to remind herself all the time that not everyone was like her mom.
Ansley shifted in her seat, her leg starting to ache again. She hadn’t taken her pain medication today. She wanted to be alert. She’d told herself she’d wait until after this meeting with Luke and Ryan.
Now this meeting was taking entirely longer than she’d anticipated.
She sucked in a breath when she saw Luke slam his shoulder into the door.
Wait . . . they were trying to break in? Had they seen something inside?
Even though she’d been told to wait in the car, her hand went to the door handle. As it did, Luke broke through the door and into Dustin’s house. He and Ryan disappeared inside.
Ansley knew she shouldn’t, but she stepped out of the car. She’d keep her distance—for now. But she was desperate to know what was going on inside. Her gut told her it was something bad.
The gravel crunched beneath her feet, seeming to warn her to stay away. Leaves scattered, dry and dying on the ground. A bird of prey stood guard in a tree above her.
She paused by the door, contemplating the wisdom of what she was about to do.
The minutes ticked past. Slowly. Second after drawn-out second.
Ansley couldn’t just stand here. What if Luke and Ryan were in trouble? What if Dustin had been waiting inside and had done something stupid when he saw them?
Before Ansley could second-guess herself, she strode up the rickety front stairs. Cautiously, she stepped past the broken door and through the entry.
She still didn’t see her brother or Ryan.
But Dustin’s place . . . it was a pigsty. And it smelled so, so horrible. Did he have rotting food in here? Had he even cleaned the place in the past few years? Her stomach revolted, and Ansley wanted to gag. She held herself together, though.
Carefully, she bypassed the piles of old food and dirty clothes. She rounded the corner and glanced at the kitchen.
No one was there.
With trepidation, she headed down the hallway, to where the bedrooms probably were.
Voices drifted from that direction.
Luke’s and Ryan’s. They murmured in low tones.
As Ansley stepped in front of the doorway, she gasped.
Dustin lay on the floor. Blood pooled around him, and a huge gash sliced across his throat.
He was dead. Murdered.
Chapter Eighteen
Ryan glanced back and saw Ansley standing in the doorway. Her face paled as her gaze locked on the dead body on the floor. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to pass out.
“Ansley.” Luke raised a hand to keep her back, yet compassion stained his voice.
“I’ve got it.” Ryan straightened from his position over Dustin and strode toward Ansley.
He took her elbow and led her down the hallway then out the front door. Luke needed to process the scene, and the less people who came into this house, the better. Any evidence needed to be preserved.
As soon as they stepped out of the room, Ryan turned toward Ansley and studied her face. Fear flashed in her eyes—just for a moment before she concealed it. She was trying to be strong, he realized. But she’d been through so much. She looked so alone right now—not like the strong woman everyone else saw. Right now, Ansley reminded him of a little girl.
“Ansley . . .” Ryan pulled her toward him until she hit his chest. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t resist his embrace, didn’t fight it, though her limbs felt stiff. She said nothing for a moment, just rested against him.
Finally, she pulled away and seemed to snap out of her shock as she whispered, “He’s dead.”
Ryan nodded grimly. “Looks like someone caught him by surprise.”
She winced. “Why would someone kill him?”
“Maybe all of this was targeted at Dustin after all. That’s definitely what it looks like.”
“But I just talked to Dustin yesterday. He was fine. Angry. Scared. But he . . . was alive.”
“I know. Crimes don’t make sense, Ansley.”
She touched her throat and looked up at Ryan. Her eyes looked surprisingly vulnerable. “You sound like you know.”
His jaw tightened. “You could say that. As a firefighter, I’ve seen my fair share of injustices.”
“I . . .” She swallowed hard and leaned against the car. “I was abducted by a serial killer.”
Ryan remembered what Boone had told him, but he remained quiet. She obviously needed to talk, and he didn’t want to stop her. “What happened?”
Ansley glanced up at a tree. Ryan followed her gaze and saw the bird of prey there, watching them. It was almost like the creature knew there was a dead body inside and was trying to formulate a way to get closer.
“This guy . . .” Ansley’s eyes glazed over as memories seemed to consume her. “He grabbed me and Harper. Put us down in a basement. Tied us up. It was so dark.”
“You don’t have to finish . . .”
Ansley didn’t seem to hear him. Instead, she shivered, and her voice took on a new tone, almost sounding hollow. “I didn’t think I was going to come out of it alive.”
Ryan watched her carefully, afraid she might pass out. “I can’t imagine.”
She shive
red again, her gaze going back to that bird—a hawk. “As scary as yesterday was, it doesn’t compare to what Harper and I went through with this guy.”
Ryan’s heart panged with empathy. He’d been in danger many times, but not because someone had targeted him. To have someone purposefully plot his demise . . . he could only imagine the fear that would cause.
“Luke caught this guy?”
“He did, and the killer’s going to be in jail for the rest of his life. Luke and Harper, they were the real heroes. Me? I froze up. I thought I was strong, Ryan. That day, I learned I wasn’t.”
Her honesty caused a surge of protectiveness to rise in Ryan. “You can’t beat yourself up over that. Anyone in your shoes would have these same feelings now. Trauma . . . it changes the way people think.”
“I guess the situation bonded Harper and me forever.”
“I can imagine.”
Her tortured gaze met his. “How do you get past it?”
Her question threw Ryan off guard. He hadn’t expected her walls to come down, hadn’t expected to see this side of her. “Get past what?”
She stared off into the distance, the breeze pushing her hair back from her face. “Seeing the worst side of people? Seeing the devastation people can face in their lives.”
Memories flashed back in his mind—memories he wanted to forget. But he knew he never would. There were some things a person could never unsee. There were regrets that could never be erased.
Somberness washed over him at the memories.
“You just try your best every day.” Ryan’s throat ached as the words left his lips. “You don’t try so much to forget as you try to just live with it. You try to let it make you become a better person.”
Ansley nodded, some of the heavy clouds disappearing from her gaze as the initial shock seemed to fade a bit. “I guess you’re right.”
Ryan wished he could tell her something else to make her feel better, but there was nothing else he could say. Not now.
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