“Detective,” I say, switching the line over.

“Can you come to the hospital? Bryan wants to see you again. He told us some information that might just be what we need.”

I grab my keys off the kitchen counter. “What’d he say?”

“Well, for starters, my guys have been searching his home for evidence. Nothing has been found that could be linked to Ellie. But when I came in this morning to talk to him, he told me about a hidden camera he has placed at his front door.”

Hurrying out to my truck, I get in and start on my way. “What all does he think it’ll show?”

“The last thing he remembers is coming home from the PD, so he could get packed up to leave on his undercover case. I’m hoping we’ll see something in the video. Officer McGee is bringing Bryan’s laptop, so he can access the footage.”

I press on the gas. “I’ll be right there.”

When I pull up to the hospital, I rush inside. Kevin stands guard outside of Bryan’s room and he nods, stepping out of the way so I can enter. When I get inside, Terry is by Bryan’s bed, writing down notes.

The man on the bed yesterday was broken and upset, his face pale and eyes distant. Today, he’s more alert. There’s color to his cheeks, painted by his obvious anger. I recognize that look. It reminds me of the way I feel about everything going on with Ellie. I look over at Terry and he points to Bryan.

“There are some things he wants to say to you. I’m here to listen and stand witness.”

I move closer and Bryan looks up at me. “I know you don’t trust me; that you must hate everything about me. But I know for a fact, drugged or not, I would never harm you or Ellie. I don’t know what’s going to be on my camera footage, and to be honest, I’m fucking terrified. Someone killed the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and there’s a chance I could see who that person is in just a matter of minutes.”

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “If I can prove I’m innocent, I want to help you figure out who’s going after Ellie. Killing the fucker responsible is all I want.” His eyes open and feral tears fall down his face. “I need to figure out who killed Samantha, just as much as you want to keep Ellie safe.”

Blowing out a heavy sigh, I glance at Terry before settling my gaze on him. “Why don’t we wait to see what your camera footage has to show. I’m not trusting you with anything until I see what or if anything happened.”

Bryan’s jaw clenches. “Whether you want me to or not, I’m going to work on this case when I’m released. You need me. I’m the best there is.”

Terry agrees with a nod. “He’s right, Jake. I know you’re not going to like it, but he can help. I need him.”

Before I can say anything, the door opens and Officer Charles McGee marches in, holding a computer bag. Terry takes it and pulls out the laptop. “The password to get in is silverbird98, all lowercase.”

Terry types it in and sighs. “When it comes to computers, I’m not the best.”

Bryan beckons him closer. “Let me have it and you can look over my shoulder. I can’t wait any longer.”

Terry gives him the laptop and we both hover to the side, so we can see. Bryan’s fingers move like lightning over the keys. There’s a whole database of screens he goes through before I see any kind of video pop up. When it all becomes clear, the footage shows the front entrance of a door.

“Is that your house?” I ask.

Bryan nods. “My neighbors had some packages stolen off their front porches a few years ago, so I put the camera in to see if I could catch someone doing the same at my house. It never happened though. I’m guessing the thieves know who I am.”

He fast forwards through multiple videos, until he lands on one with him and Samantha, dated about six months ago. She was a beautiful woman. They walk up to the door and he kisses her. The way he looks at her is the way I look at Ellie. Bryan’s fingers freeze, and he clenches his hands into tight fists.

“I remember that night,” he growls low, voice thick with emotion. “We went to dinner at the Grove Park Inn, and afterward, we walked around the gardens. It’s the night I first told her I loved her. I was going to propose to her at the Biltmore House this spring.”

I can hear the truth in his voice. Terry places a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Her funeral is in two days. If we can prove your innocence, you’ll be free to leave tomorrow. You can go home.”

Bryan scoffs. “Home? All it’s going to do is remind me of what I’ve fucking lost. My life is shit now, and I don’t know if it’ll ever get better.” He types away, his fingers pounding on the keyboard. “I know what date to look for. It’s the night I was wearing the clothes I was found in on the side of the road.”

He skips through the feed and the video begins to play. It’s dark and cars drive by, but it’s hard to get a good look at them. The angle of the camera is centered on the door, not its surroundings. “I remember getting home around seven, but after that, I can’t recall a thing.”

It’s one minute until seven on the feed, and just like he said, his truck pulls up into the driveway. From the angle of the video, you can’t tell what type of truck it is, but you see him getting out and fiddling with his phone.

“I’m texting Samantha to let her know to stop by on her way home from work. I wanted to see her before I left.”

It’s like everything moves in slow motion. Bryan walks away from his truck, but then someone comes up behind him. “What the hell?” I say, moving closer. “Is there audio on this?”

Bryan shakes his head and pauses the video, but it’s too dark to see much detail. All we can see is a man behind him, grabbing him around the neck. “I remember this happening now. There was a prick in my neck and then everything went black.” He plays the video and we watch as he’s loaded into the backseat of his truck. The man then gets into the front and drives away.

“Where is your phone now?” I ask.

“We haven’t been able to locate it,” Terry adds.

Bryan pulls up another screen and types in a few more codes. A map pulls up with a blinking blue dot. He points at it. “There. It’s right off Route 16.”

Terry studies it. “You were found about a quarter mile down from that.”

“I don’t know how it got there,” Bryan says. “Not unless the person who had me threw it out the window while he drove away.”

Terry gets on his radio and instructs his guys to search the area for Bryan’s phone.

Bryan looks up at Terry. “Did anyone take note of the tire marks or other footprints in the snow where I was found?”

Terry nods. “That portion of the road was clear. There were no tracks to look at.”

Bryan shakes his head and resumes the video. About thirty minutes after he was taken, Samantha shows up and knocks on the door. She pulls out her phone and is obviously calling and texting him. I watch Bryan’s reaction as he watches her on the screen. Tears pool in his eyes, but he angrily wipes them away.

“I know my phone will need to be searched through for evidence, but do you mind if I see my last texts from her?” he asks, turning his weary gaze up at Terry.

Terry rests his hand on his shoulder. “Of course.”

Samantha leaves and there’s no other movement at his house for the rest of that night. Bryan takes a slow, steady breath and lowers his head. His shoulders shake, and he falls apart, his voice full of rage and sadness. “I know I didn’t ask this yesterday, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it . . . but I need the truth.” He lifts his face, all red and wet from tears. “Did the fucker rape her or violate her in any way?”

Terry shakes his head. “No. She was killed quickly, almost like it might’ve been a spur of the moment thing.”

Bryan focuses back on his laptop and fast forwards through the feed. “What was she wearing when she was found?”

Terry clears his throat. “A pink sweater and jeans.”

I can tell by his expression that the wheels in his head are turning. It’s the same look Owen gets when he’s trying to figure out something on a case. It must be a cop thing. “What are you thinking?” I ask him.

Bryan points at his laptop. “As far as a motive to kill her, the only thing I can think of is that this guy wants people to think I murdered Samantha because I want Ellie.”

“You could’ve easily broken up with her,” I state.

“Exactly,” he agrees, “not unless it was a spur of the moment thing. She could’ve been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He takes in a shaky breath. “And I’m about to find out.” We watch the video as he scrolls through it and there are several times when Terry can be seen knocking on the door and looking around the front of the house.

“That’s when we were looking for you,” Terry says, pointing at himself on the screen.

Bryan peers up at me. “Is Ellie afraid of me now?”

“Actually, no. She’s the one who hasn’t believed you were capable of any of this. It’s been hard for her to grasp.”

“I’m ready for her to know it wasn’t me.”

“I’ll talk to her tonight. She’s up to date on everything so far,” I assure him. “She’ll be happy to know it wasn’t you, but not happy to know that someone is still out there looking for her. I’m not gonna lie, I was hoping it was you, so this shit would end.”

He sighs. “Ellie’s such a down-to-earth, fun girl to be around. Not to mention, beautiful. There were so many guys who wanted to be with her. She just has that certain quality about her that makes people want to be around her.”

“She does. Why do you think I married her?”

Swallowing hard, he clicks on a picture of Samantha. “You’re a lucky man, Jake. I’d found someone like that too, and now she’s been taken away from me.” Tears form in his eyes. “I never thought anything like this would happen to me. I’m an undercover cop for fuck’s sake. I should’ve protected her. Being in my line of work, sometimes it’s hard not to think you’re invincible.”

“I know how that goes. I thought I’d have learned my lesson after my motorcycle accident a few years ago, but it finally took getting run off the road and possibly dying again to make me see the light.” Luckily, in my motorcycle accident, I high-sided and only dislocated a shoulder in the process. My rear brakes had locked up and I was thrown off. Never in my years of riding had I ever had that happen to me.

Terry’s phone rings and he steps out of the room. Officer McGee comes over and takes his place beside the bed to look at the video. We watch more, and nothing exciting happens, until Bryan’s truck pulls up the driveway. It’s dark, but I can see the driver get out of the truck, wearing a dark jacket and a ballcap on his head. He’s taller than Bryan, and a little more muscular up top. I can’t see any distinct facial features.

“He’s back,” I say.

Bryan huffs. “But what for?”

The man sneaks out of view, just as another car pulls into the driveway. I point at the screen. “Is that Samantha pulling in?”

Bryan holds his breath, his focus on the video. We watch as Samantha walks up to the door, dressed in her pink sweater and jeans. My stomach drops because I know what’s about to happen. Bile rises up the back of my throat, especially when I see the dark figure coming up behind her. I know I should turn away, but I can’t. He hits her on the back of the head and carries her to the truck, tossing her in the back, along with the two by four.

Bryan’s chest rises and falls so fast, I’m afraid he’s going to hyperventilate. I’ve seen people lose control and he’s already there. “Bryan,” I say, keeping my voice calm.

“He killed her on my fucking doorstep.” Tears fall freely down his face. He looks up at me and screams. “HE KILLED HER ON MY FUCKING DOORSTEP!” Ripping out his IV, he pushes his computer off the bed and jumps to his feet, slamming his hands on the wall. “I need to get out of here. I need to find him.”

The machines beep out of control and a nurse rushes in. She sees what’s going on and her eyes widen, but by the look on her face, she’s too afraid to approach Bryan. Officer McGee pulls her aside. “We need to get him calmed down.”

Terry hurries in and tries to calm Bryan down, to no avail. Bryan is much stronger, and Terry can’t keep up. I grab Bryan around the waist, pinning his arms to his side. I have my strength from MMA fighting on my side. The nurse scrambles to get to us with a syringe in her hand. “I don’t want that,” he yells.

I squeeze him tighter and he fights me. “If you don’t calm down, that’s exactly what you’ll get. I know what you saw hurt, and I can’t imagine the kind of pain you’re feeling right now, but you have to focus on getting out of here. You can’t help find her killer if you’re doped up in a hospital bed.”

A loud, guttural scream belts out of his mouth and he drops to his knees, completely lost, sobbing uncontrollably. We let him mourn and it’s hard to watch; I feel every ounce of his pain and grief, as if it’s my own. As the minutes pass by, his breathing slows, and his tears stop flowing. Anger takes hold once again, but he’s keeping it restrained—boiling close to the surface. He glares up at Terry, body tense. “I’m out of here tomorrow. I don’t care what you have to do, make it happen. You all know I’m innocent. I need to be out there looking for this bastard. He’s mine.”

When Terry nods, Bryan cooperates with the nurse and sits back on the bed, while she puts his IV back in.

Terry pulls me over to the side. “What the hell happened while I was gone?”

I nod toward the laptop still on the floor. “He watched Samantha’s murder.”

Terry bows his head. “Fuck. No wonder he went crazy.”

“What’s going to happen now?”

He looks over at Bryan whose hard gaze is focused on the ceiling. “We let him go and I clear him of all suspicion. He won’t stop until he finds who’s responsible.”

“Agreed.” The sooner he does, the sooner I can have my wife back.