Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers #1)(20)

Greg sat back. “Wise choice.”

“Who is she?” Ryker studied the fine lines of her face. If he found her, he’d be digging up a past he’d spent ten years burying. Hell. Fifteen years.

“Her name is Dr. Isobel Madison, and she disappeared from a covert military facility in Utah last year,” Greg said.

A covert military facility? Ryker eyed the kid. Why did the woman have two names? “If she isn’t your mother and you don’t want to hurt her, why do you want to find her?”

Greg ran his hands down his legs, his jaw trembling until he visibly controlled himself. “She’s my last hope, man.”

*



Several hours after Greg had disappeared from the office, Ryker leaned back in his chair, his emotions rioting. Every once in a while he could feel control slipping away, and he grabbed it back with ruthless hands. He’d been on the computer, doing searches, and nothing had popped, which didn’t surprise him. Heath and Denver were still away from the office, and he hadn’t discovered Zara’s secrets.

At the moment, he wasn’t doing anything right.

Taking a deep breath, he kicked his feet up onto his desk and closed his eyes.

Memories battered him, and he let them come, trying to find a pattern in the past. Just who was Isobel Madison?

He was twelve years old, had just taken Denver under his wing, and was worried Heath would try to recruit more members into their sad little team. He could cover only so many people, and two was his limit.

Even though it was Sunday, he’d been told to report to one of the two classrooms and continue working with Sylvia Daniels.

A thought played through his mind that he could just up and leave and nobody would find him, but he couldn’t leave Heath and Denver. How could he take care of them if they all ran now?

Time. He was smart, and he’d bide his time.

The classrooms were on the second floor of the main building, and on Sunday, the entire floor was empty. He plodded down the empty hallway, his footsteps silent.

A woman’s cry stopped him short. Chills darted down his back. He inched down the dingy walls and stopped, peeking into the classroom. Daniels was on her back on a table, her legs up over Sheriff Cobb’s shoulders as he stood beside the table, and his pants were down around his ankles. He was holding her hips and thrusting hard, grunting each time, his butt in full view. His body shuddered, and he groaned.

Ryker jerked around, put his back to the wall, and kept out of sight. His stomach heaved. Old people having sex were grosser than he would’ve thought. Cobb had to be almost thirty, for pete’s sake.

“That was lovely,” Daniels said, her voice drowsy.

The sound of rustling clothing echoed. “When are you going to move here for good?” the sheriff asked, his voice growly.

Daniels sighed. “I have work elsewhere, and you know it. We have what we have, Elton.”

A belt buckled. “What is it with these kids?” the sheriff asked. “Why these three, and why do you keep studying them?”

Ryker leaned closer to the door, his heart rate picking up.

Daniels laughed. “They’re mine…just mine. I’m doing a study on kids in homes, and these three boys are exemplary. It’s my private little study, which I don’t share with anybody.”

They were part of a study? She’d always said that, but instinct whispered to Ryker that it was something more. He leaned farther so he could see.

The sheriff helped Daniels set her clothes to right and kissed her—gently, really—on the forehead. “Whatever your reasons for being here, I’m glad my brother introduced us when you approached him about your little study.”

“Me too.” Daniels slid her hands over the sheriff’s chest. “I really do like you, Elton. You’re just for me, too. One more thing that’s all mine.”

Ryker shivered in the hallway. Her voice was so possessive. Who claimed other people like she did? Something was seriously wrong with this woman. Even though the Cobb brothers liked to beat kids, instinct told him she was the biggest threat in his life.

As if to confirm that fact, she glanced around Sheriff Cobb’s shoulder and winked at him. Oh God. She knew he’d been watching.



Ryker sat up in his chair, shaking. He’d always known he’d have to confront the past, but he’d hoped to be able to run a while longer.

His time was up.





Chapter





7




Zara pulled her compact into a parking spot behind the Lazy Horse Motel, her stomach cramping. She’d told her receptionist that she had to run out for a few minutes, and now she had only an hour to get back to the office building before Ryker showed up for dinner. She really didn’t want another confrontation with him. He was acting like a boyfriend, not a casual lover, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that.

Did she want a real shot with him? An affair with a sexier-than-hell rebel was one thing, while a real relationship with a guy like him held certain danger. He was a rambling man, and the idea of him settling down didn’t seem possible. For years she’d watched her mother fall for the wrong guy and then get her heart shattered when he left. In fact, her relationship with the wrong man had led to her death.

Rebels left.

They were hell on wheels for a short time, but they eventually rambled on.