Ian

I jerked awake and tried to move my arms and feet, but they were bound tight. I wasn’t in the barn, but a basement. The cement floor was cold on my skin and it smelled like mold. It was dark, with only a trickle of light coming in from somewhere behind me.

“I’m gonna kill that fucker,” I grumbled.

“Wish I could help you.” The voice came from across the room and I recognized it.

“Jared?”

He sighed. “Yeah. I know who you are too. I watched them bring you down here.” So that was where Jared had been the whole time.

Growling, I rolled onto my stomach and pulled my knees beneath me so I could sit on them. Looking around the room, it was still dark, but the light coming from the door helped illuminate edges and corners. Jared was on the floor, leaning up against the wall.

“Why are you in here?” I snapped. “I thought you were a part of this.”

“Hell no, are you fucking crazy? I had no clue my friends were into this shit.”

“Then how come your father did?”

The room fell silent. “How did you know that?”

“I know a lot of things, Beckett. Now answer the goddamn question.”

“He told me the night he died. He said he was Larry Bradfield’s partner. Larry Bradfield is . . .”

“Yes, I know who he is,” I cut in impatiently. “Keep going.”

“Well, they started a hunting business together. But when killing bison and elk became boring, they came up with the idea of hunting your enemies. It became a game. And then when the disappearances started again, my father got scared because Grace was taken. Now he’s dead and Grace hasn’t been found.”

“He’s dead because Daniel killed him.”

Jared gasped. “What? How do you know?” Stretching my arms back, I jammed my watch into my boot, over and over until I saw the light flash. The distress signal had been sent. “How do you know?” he repeated desperately.

“Because Grace told me.” It didn’t have to be a secret anymore. With the distress call, Reed would get Colton and his squad involved. Soon, it’d all be over.

“Wait. She knew about all of this too? Or are you saying she’s still alive?” His voice held such hope.

“She’s alive, Jared.”

He broke down, then breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought she was dead.”

“That’s what we wanted everyone to believe. She’s the one who heard Daniel attack your dad.”

“When I get out of here, I’ll kill him with my bare-fucking-hands.”

“Get in line, Kemosabe. I plan on taking him out first. He locked Grace up in a barn like a fucking animal, and she had to stay there until whoever wanted her dead could come in and finish the job.” Rage consumed me. “Who wanted her dead, Jared?”

His voice shook with anger. “I don’t know. When I confronted Daniel about Grace, he swore he had nothing to do with her disappearance. I didn’t believe him. Then I threatened to go to the police, and that’s when his cousin attacked me.”

I scoffed. “So that’s the inbred lard ass who bashed me over the head?”

“Yeah, he stays in the background and does most of the dirty work.”

“What does Daniel plan on doing with you?”

He huffed. “Fuck if I know. Andrew doesn’t know I’m here, and I’m not sure what Marcus knows. He owns a hunting business with Daniel.”

“Looks like he’s doing the same thing in Montana.”

“After I found out what Daniel was doing, I kind of figured that out,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t think Andrew knew about Grace though, judging by the surprised look on his face when I mentioned it to Daniel.” It all started coming together. With Jared’s testimony, we’d be able to put them away for good—if they lived that long. “Why are you here?” he asked.

“Hell if I know, but I sure as hell plan to find out.”

“Did you pay to kill someone?”

“No,” I said with a huff. “It was staged to make it look like I did though.”

“What, are you the police?”

“Nope, FBI.”

He sighed and cursed under his breath. “Am I going to jail?”

“I don’t know. With your father being a part of this, it doesn’t look good on you. When this is over, you’ll have a lot of questions to answer.”

“I’m going to lose everything, I just know it. Fuck, I wish I never knew about this. All I wanted was for Grace to be okay.”

“And she is. She’ll be happy to know you weren’t a part of her abduction. She’s been torn over it.”

“I care about her, Chandler. She’s been a friend for many years. I’m just glad she’s alive. Looks like the only thing we don’t know is who wanted her dead.”

And it was beginning to look like we’d never find out. “Let’s not worry about that right now. What we need to focus on now is getting out of here. Are you tied up over there? I can’t see.”

He grunted. “My wrists and ankles are. I can barely feel my hands and feet.” He’d been here longer than me; I could only imagine what state his limbs were in. Is this what Grace got out of? I struggled to get to my feet, but the door opened and the light blinded me.

“Well, well, look who’s awake. Ready to have some fun, guys?” Daniel taunted.

I spat at him. “Go fuck yourself.”

His cousin appeared behind him, then lumbered into the room. He was a huge man—all fat and muscles—about three times bigger than me. Grabbing Jared around the waist, the man lifted him over his shoulders like he was nothing.

Jared kicked and fought, but he was no match for the behemoth. Daniel strolled into the room, grinning as wide as he could.

“Why am I here?” I growled.

He knelt in front of me. “You pissed me off. I don’t like it when people do that. Take Jared for example. He butted into my business and now he’s being dealt with.”

“He’s your friend,” I shouted. “Why would you do that?”

His smile turned to a grimace. “He’s a bitch, just like his father. Why do you think Andrew and I didn’t tell him about the business? We knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

I shook my head. “So now you’re going to hunt me down yourself? Or are you too much of a chicken shit?”

He punched me in the jaw, but I was so angry I didn’t feel a thing. Eyes wild, Daniel huffed, his breaths coming out as pants.

Sneering, I stared him down. “I’m going to make you die slow for that.”

The mountain of a man appeared in the doorway, then hauled me over his shoulder. “You’re the one who’s going to die slow, cocksucker.”