“How much farther?”

Alex glanced at Nate’s phone. “Ten minutes.”

They were flying up the highway in Nate’s unmarked car, hurtling past acres of cornfields and wild prairie. Apart from the occasional semitruck and RV, the highway heading toward Bentley was mostly empty.

Alex had never been to Travis’s house, but he had a general idea of where he lived, could probably get them there without the map. But watching the miles tick away, bringing them closer to Cam, calmed him down a little.

She was there. She had to be.

Because the alternative was too disturbing to think about.

He wasn’t being an alarmist when he thought about all of the things that could go wrong if Cam had decided to head into town and start asking questions. And clearly Nate had similar thoughts, because he’d been the one to jump up and insist on coming to Bentley.

The phone’s screen went black, and then a phone number popped up. Nate glanced over it.

“Give me that,” he commanded.

Alex was loath to give it up.

“It’s Kellan,” Nate said.

As if that meant anything to Alex.

“Police chief,” Nate added as he yanked the phone out of Alex’s hand.

Alex sat in stony silence as Nate filled his chief in on where he was going and what was happening.

Everything was going off the rails, mostly by his own doing. He’d been the one to go to AFPD, because of his fears surrounding Cam and just what kind of situation she might have put herself in.

And that was all it took.

Nate sprang into action. Now he was sharing every last detail with Kellan.

Alex had no idea if he could trust these guys. None. And yet here he was, riding shotgun with Nate Hartford, putting his trust in him when Alex’s MO had always been to trust no one.

Well, no one except Cam.

He tried to take a deep breath but his lungs wouldn’t inflate.

Fuck.

Fear gripped him.

He felt more vulnerable now than he had hiding out at Cam’s.

Because he was out in the open.

Helpless.

Defenseless.

And, even worse, so was Cam.

Nate was still on the phone when Alex barked out, “Turn here.”

Nate complied, and they trundled down the road for a bit until Alex pointed to a doublewide trailer. “There it is.”

The car hadn’t even stopped before Alex bolted out the door.

“Hey,” Nate said sharply. He’d just finished his call.

Alex raced for the front door. He could hear Nate on his heels, his footsteps thudding against the gravel. Alex’s chest hurt so much it was hard to breathe. Not from the lingering effects from his bruised ribs, but from the fear of what he might discover when Travis opened the door.

His fist connected with the door and he rapped it hard.

Nate was now standing next to him. Alex stole a glance at him. He looked calm, composed.

Everything Alex was not.

The door finally opened, and it took every ounce of control Alex had to not force his way inside.

“Alex.” Travis couldn’t hide his surprise.

Nate stepped forward first.

Alex pushed past him. “Travis.”

The two of them stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, and then Travis extended his hand. Alex accepted it gratefully and they shook, long and hard. Despite the reasons for Alex being there, he had to admit that it was good to see him.

Nate cleared his throat. “Done with the niceties?”

Travis dropped Alex’s hand and leveled his gaze on the man standing next to him. “Who are you?”

“Detective Hartford.” Nate held out his own hand, which Travis took reluctantly. “I’m with the Aspen Falls police department.”

Travis arched a brow. “Police?” His eyes flitted to Alex.

“I’m looking for a woman who stopped by earlier,” Nate continued. “Early thirties, Latina. Long dark hair, slim build.”

Travis ignored the question. His attention was on Alex. “What are you doing with this guy, man? What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story,” Alex said. “But we need you to answer the question. Is she here?”

Travis chewed the inside of his cheek. “She’s a friend of yours, right?”

Alex nodded.

“She’s also an officer with AFPD,” Nate added.

Travis’s eyes widened. “She is?”

Nate gave a curt nod. “So you can see why your cooperation is needed.”

“She was here earlier,” Travis offered.

Alex pounced. “What did you tell her? Where did she go?”

Nate held up a hand. “Hey, slow down, man.” To Travis, he said, “When was she here?”

“This morning,” Travis answered. “I don’t know the exact time, but it was early. Definitely before ten.”

“And you spoke with her?” Nate asked.

“Yeah, for a little bit. She said she was a friend of yours.” He said this to Alex. His expression hardened. “She didn’t mention anything about being a cop.”

“What did she tell you?” Alex asked.

Travis ran a hand across his bald head. “She told me you were missing. Which you’re obviously not.”

Alex didn’t know what kind of story Cam had floated for Travis, and he didn’t much care. He just wanted answers.

“This have something to do with the shooting last week?” Travis asked. “Double homicide, right?”

Alex wasn’t surprised by him saying this. Just because Travis wasn’t a cop anymore didn’t mean he stopped following the news. His statement was a perfect illustration of that.

“Sort of,” Alex hedged. “What did she ask you? What kind of info did you give her?”

Travis shrugged. “She said you were missing, that she was an old friend. Made some allusions to the sergeant, how you’d told her I’d gotten a bad rap.” His mouth tightened. “And then she asked about Necco.”

Necco.

Alex leaned forward. “What did you tell her?”

“I gave her a description of the kid. Told her what part of town she might find him in. That was pretty much it. She said she wanted to come back later this afternoon to talk to me about…about the harassment charges.” He scowled. “Anyway, I haven’t heard from her since.”

Thoughts raced through Alex’s mind. Had Cam found the kid? Was she still in Bentley, hunting down more clues? Or had someone intercepted her?

“What part of town?” Nate asked.

“Southside,” Travis told him. “By the old cement plant.”

Nate was already backing away from the door. “You should stay here,” he said to Alex. “In case she comes back.”

Alex glared at him. “Not a chance.”

“You really think you should head into a town where half the people want to kill you?” Nate asked.

“I don’t care,” he said. “If Cam’s there, I’m going.”

Nate stared at him for a long moment. “Not a good idea.”

“Yeah, well staying here isn’t any better,” Alex argued. He looked at Travis. “You have your phone on you?”

Travis nodded.

“Let me give you my number. You can call if she shows back up. Keep her here until we get back.”

Travis pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Take my number, too,” Nate said.

He typed in the numbers. “Got ’em.” He looked up at Alex. “I’ll let you know as soon as she gets here.”

There was no ‘if’ she gets here, and Alex was grateful for that. Travis was ready to assume the best, even when Alex was prepared for the worst.

“Let’s go,” Nate barked.

Alex didn’t have to be told twice.

He was back in Nate’s car seconds later, yanking his seat belt across his shoulder. He pulled his burner phone out and tried Cam’s number one more time. Maybe she’d pick up this time.

It went straight to voice mail. He let out a sigh of frustration. A sigh of fear.

“She might be talking to this Necco kid,” Nate said as he peeled out of the driveway. He handed Alex his phone. “Try mine.”

“It’s going to voice mail.”

“So she has it turned off,” Nate said. “She’s probably in the middle of something.”

“Why would she turn her phone off?” Alex asked. “Especially since you called her earlier and she hung up quickly? She’d know you’d be calling back, especially since she didn’t get back in touch with you.” He tapped his phone against his leg, a nervous gesture that became more forceful each time the device hit his thigh. “I think she’s in trouble.”

Nate wouldn’t look at him.

And he didn’t answer.

Alex’s heart felt like a wild horse stampeding. Every bad scenario played on repeat through his mind. He broke into a cold sweat.

They needed to find Cam.

Fast.

Before it was too late.